Sandia National Labs NM Partnerships Collaboration Report 2021-2022

About the Postdoctoral Research Program Office

The Postdoctoral Research Program Office was inaugurated at Sandia in November 2020 with the purposes of nurturing the next generation of researchers in science and engineering, infusing Sandia’s research enterprise with new ideas and energy from early career researchers, and preparing postdocs for their next career step. Since launching, the Postdoctoral Research Program Office has formalized processes around Foundation Fellowships, managed the Distinguished Fellowships process, and created individualized development plans for Standard Postdoctoral Appointments. The new Program Office has increased postdoc visibility through regional competitions, helped to advance postdoc professional skills, and fostered more engagement through the postdoctoral researchers community at Sandia. Postdoctoral Research Program Office lead Tracie Durbin said, “If a postdoctoral scholar has a successful experience at Sandia, there are three likely outcomes. One, they become fully engaged staff members if they hire on at Sandia; two, they potentially become research partners if they work outside the Labs, or three, they act as ambassadors when discussing their experience with others. No matter the result, it’s a win-win for everyone involved.” A postdoctoral scholar (“postdoc”) is an individual holding a doctoral degree who is engaged in a temporary period of mentored research and/or scholarly training for the purpose of acquiring the professional skills needed to pursue a career path of their choosing. (National Postdoc Association)

Postdoctoral researcher Martha Gross, who is now working on a new kind of molten sodium battery for grid-scale energy storage, was a first place winner during the 2019 Postdoctoral Technical Showcase. 2022 Technical Showcase winners from Sandia-CA and Sandia-NM will compete in the upcoming Bay Area Research SLAM or the Rio Grande Research SLAM.

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2021-2022 Collaboration Report