MRL Awards, Employment, and Funding
PPG-MRL Collaborative Graduate Research Program
Under support of the PPG Foundation, the Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) is accepting applications for PPG-MRL Collaborative Graduate Research Awards. This program will support a team of two graduate students from different research groups on a student-initiated collaborative seed project. Students are encouraged to be from different departments, though not required. The project should not be a direct extension of the individual student projects although the project can be related to one or both the students’ projects. Targeted areas include materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, chemistry, and related areas of study of potential relevance to PPG. To learn more about PPG, visit http://ppg.com
The PPG-MRL Collaborative Graduate Research Award provides each student with nine months of support at their home department’s standard 50%-time Graduate Research Assistant stipend rate. The award typically covers two academic semesters; any summer stipend is the advisor’s responsibility. Each team will be provided with $7,500 to support their research; funds for research support must be used during the award period.
The PPG-MRL Collaborative Graduate Research Award recipients will:
- Submit a final project report
- Acknowledge support of the PPG Foundation in publications and presentations based upon work performed while supported by the PPG Foundation
- Meet with PPG representatives on campus when requested.
- Both applicants’ primary advisors must be affiliated with the Grainger College of Engineering or the School of Chemical Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- The applicants must be from different research groups
- Applicants should be at least in their second year of graduate school at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (graduate school started at Illinois August 2024 or earlier)
- Applicants must be graduate students in good standing
- Applicants must not anticipate graduating before May 2027.
The applicant should upload items 1-3 as PDF files to the application portal. Item 1 is available as a download from Box. The applicants’ advisors should send item 4 to mrl-director@illinois.edu. All materials are due by 4pm CT on Tuesday, December 2, 2025.
The following documents are required:
- Cover sheet
- CV (include graduate GPA; no page limit)
- Proposal (must be written to be accessible to readers outside of the applicants’ area of research)
- A recommendation letter for each of the applicants from their advisor
There should be only ONE proposal submitted per team. The proposal should be no more than 1200 words, not including figures, figure captions, and references.
Use the following required section headers, with at least one paragraph in each:
- Significance and Innovation
- Background
- Proposed research
- Relevance to PPG
- 5 to 10 references should be included.
The cover sheet must include the signatures of both students’ advisors, indicating approval for each student to spend nine months on the proposed project if selected. At the project’s conclusion, the team must submit a final report of research performed.
Professor Joe Greene Postdoctoral Fellow Program
These prestigious postdoctoral positions are designed to support outstanding early-career scientists and engineers specializing in Materials Science, Physics, Chemistry, and related fields. Successful candidates will initially be appointed as full-time Postdoctoral Research Associates for one year, with the option of a second year. This program is available thanks to an endowment created by Phyllis Greene, Joe’s wife of 55 years, to honor Professor Joe Greene (Dr. J.E. Greene), who was a distinguished faculty member in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a former director of The Materials Research Laboratory. Prof. Greene was renowned for his enduring impact and dedication to fostering the careers of young scientists and emerging leaders in the fields of materials science engineering, basic science, and applied technology. Read more about Professor Joe Greene's Legacy.
Information on the application process will be available in the fall 2025.