Position Summary - Develop, formulate, and characterize bio-based adhesive and composite systems utilizing agricultural and lignocellulosic feedstocks. - Investigate relationships among raw-material characteristics, particle size, dispersion, adhesiveformulation, processing conditions, and final material performance. - Conduct laboratory-scale fabrication and testing of plywood and other wood-based compositematerials. - Evaluate adhesive bonding and interfacial behavior, including glue-line quality, wet shearperformance, wood failure, curing behavior, and moisture response. - Conduct research on drying and dewatering of wood and lignocellulosic materials and evaluatedrying kinetics, dimensional changes, energy-related process performance, and resultingmaterial properties. - Conduct mechanical, physical, thermal, chemical, and surface characterization of renewablematerials and composites. - Utilize appropriate analytical techniques such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), thermal analysis, microscopy, contact-angle measurements, particle-sizecharacterization, and mechanical testing. - Design experiments and use statistical and multivariate methods to evaluate relationshipsamong feedstock properties, processing conditions, and material performance. - Analyze experimental data and maintain appropriate documentation of experimental methodsand results. - Prepare manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication, technical reports, presentations, andsponsor deliverables. - Collaborate with faculty, students, research staff, external university collaborators, materialsuppliers, and industry partners. - Assist in translating laboratory findings to pilot- and commercial-scale applications. - Contribute to the development of research proposals and new research directions related tosustainable materials, renewable feedstocks, packaging, forest products, and bioprocessing. - Assist with mentoring graduate and undergraduate researchers associated with projectactivities. - These responsibilities reflect the proposed experimental work, including soy-meal particle-sizeand formulation studies, FTIR and thermal analysis, plywood performance testing, wheat-soyadhesive optimization, and the DOE wood drying, surface, adhesion, composite, andmechanical-property research. As an institution of higher learning, Michigan State University is committed to providing a safe environment for its students, faculty, and staff in support of its educational mission. With this commitment, the University conducts criminal background checks and professional misconduct reviews of all applicants for employment in faculty, academic staff, and executive management searches. Professional Misconduct Review A professional misconduct review is a prerequisite for a candidate to be selected for this position. Applicants will be asked to disclose whether they are subject to any pending investigation, findings or sanctions related to professional misconduct. Professional misconduct includes misconduct related to a person's employment, including, but not limited to, theft, embezzlement, research integrity, discrimination, or harassment under civil rights laws and policies, including protected identity harassment, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct (sexual assault, sexual exploitation, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, etc.), and retaliation. All applicants will be asked to sign an authorization and release, which authorizes the University to contact the candidate's current and former employers, for a period of 7 years prior to the date of application, related to any pending investigations, findings of responsibility and/or sanctions related to professional misconduct. Nothing will be sent to current or former employers unless the candidate reaches the semi-finalist stage. The existence