Post-Doctoral position in Edible Electronics applied to Edible Robotics

Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia – IIT (www.iit.it) is opening a Post-doctoral position in Edible Electronics, for the recruiting of a brilliant young researcher with the goal to develop edible circuits, sensors and energy sources in the context of the visionary project “ROBOFOOD”.

By combining food science and robotic science in a radically new way, the ROBOFOOD project, for the first time, will create robots that can be eaten and foods that behave like robots. Such edible robots could deliver lifesaving nutrition to humans in emergency situation; they could supply vaccines and supplements to endangered animal species; robotic food with edible actuators and electronics, on the other hand, could tell us when it is well preserved and safe to eat; it could protect itself from excessive heat or humidity during storage; it could facilitate swallowing for neurologic patients, and interact with humans and animals in totally new ways, to address dietary goals or influence eating habits.

These goals require an interdisciplinary investigation into the principles of robotics and food science, which have very different and contrasting properties. Traditional robots are inorganic systems that perceive the environment and perform actions. Food instead is mostly organic material that can be digested and metabolized to support life. We will use soft robotic principles and advanced food processing methods to establish a common ground, and pave the way towards a new design space for edible robots and robotic food. We will validate it with proof-of-concept technologies for animal preservation, human rescue, human nutrition. The project is profoundly interdisciplinary, merging two fields that have hardly ever interacted before and pushing them well beyond the state of the art; its ambitious science-based technological breakthroughs have the potential to address environmental and health problems.

ROBOFOOD is an EU FET project (GA n. 964596) coordinated by EPFL (Prof. Dario Floreano) in collaboration with University of Bristol (Prof. Jonathan Rossiter), Wageningen University (Prof. Remko Boom), and IIT.

The Research activity will be carried out at the “Center for Nano Science and Technology” of IIT in Milan (Italy), under the supervision of Dr. Mario Caironi, within the “Printed and Molecular Electronics” Research Line.

The candidates must have a PhD either in Engineering (Electronics, Energy, Physics, Chemistry, Materials), Chemistry, or Materials Science.

Eligible applicants are required to have a solid expertise and track record in the fabrication, characterization and device physics of carbon based and hybrid electronic devices.

Competences in Electrochemistry will be considered a plus. The successful candidate is enthusiastic in tackling challenging studies in a multidisciplinary and visionary project, and is naturally interested in applications of newly acquired knowledge. He/she is fluent in English.

CVs not meeting the above requirements will not be considered.

Applications, including a cover letter, a detailed Curriculum Vitae and name and contacts of 2 referees, must be submitted using the online form.

Deadline: September 15th, 2021

Salary will be commensurate to qualifications and experience and in line with international standards.

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, with its headquarters in Genova, Italy, is a non-profit institution with the primary goal of creating and disseminating scientific knowledge and strengthening Italy’s technological competitiveness. The institute offers state-of-the-art equipment and a top-level interdisciplinary research environment focused on robotics and computer vision, neuroscience, drug discovery, nanoscience and technology.

Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia – IIT (www.iit.it) was founded with the objective of promoting Italy’s technological development and further education in science and technology. In this sense, IIT’s scientific program is based on the combination of basic scientific research with the development of technical applications, a major inspirational principle. The research areas cover scientific topics of high innovative content representing the most advanced frontiers of modern technology, with wide application possibilities in various fields ranging from medicine to industry, from computer science to robotics, life sciences and nanobiotechnology.

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia is an Equal Opportunity Employer that actively seeks diversity in the workforce.

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Primary Location

 MILANO POLIMI

Job

 Postdoc

Organization

 Printed and Molecular Electronics