IISER Bhopal JRF Chemical Engineering Recruitment 2026

IISER Bhopal JRF Recruitment 2026: Overview

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal (IISER Bhopal) is hiring a Junior Research Fellow (JRF) in its Department of Chemical Engineering. The fellow joins a CSIR-funded project under the ASPIRE scheme that develops biomass-derived, carbon-based gas diffusion layers (GDLs) for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells and electrolyzers. It is a purely contractual, time-bound research position, a good fit if you have cleared GATE or NET and want hands-on clean-energy research.

The project sits where materials synthesis meets electrochemistry. You will make carbon materials from biomass and test how they perform as GDLs inside fuel cells and electrolyzers, so the team is looking for someone from chemical engineering, chemistry or an allied area who is comfortable with electrocatalysts, characterization tools and potentiostat-based testing.

Service Conditions and Caveats

• Short initial tenure: the position is offered for 3 months, although the project itself runs for 24 months.
• Contractual basis: the engagement is temporary and purely contractual, linked to this CSIR project.
• NET/GATE is a must: a degree with the required marks is not enough on its own — you must also have passed NET or GATE.

Application Submission Notes

There is no online portal. Email your application as a single PDF file to swetalal@iiserb.ac.in with the subject line CSIR-JRF.

Merge your mark sheets, degree certificates, NET/GATE certificate, caste certificate (if any) and photo ID into that one file before sending, so nothing gets lost.

• Synthesize biomass-derived carbon materials for gas diffusion layers in PEM fuel cells and electrolyzers
• Characterize materials using physical, chemical and functional techniques
• Run electrochemical tests on three-electrode systems and fuel cells using potentiostats or electrochemical workstations
• Analyze and interpret experimental results
• Prepare scientific reports and present research findings
• Coordinate with project team members