We Are Hiring!
We’re recruiting undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs!
If you’re interested in joining the Zheng Lab, please email Dr. Zheng at z.z@wustl.edu.
When you write, be sure to:
Attach your CV.
Indicate your current status—undergrad, prospective / enrolled graduate student, or postdoctoral applicant—in the email’s subject line or body.
Zheng Lab Mission
The aim of our lab is to be a leader in developing and applying AI tools for the experimental discovery of reticular structures in the wet lab. We are highly interdisciplinary, covering organic, inorganic, solid-state, and data-driven chemistry, and we couple these approaches with synthetic methods and characterization tools. We strive to be rigorous and innovative. We also aim to create an environment that helps all lab members—no matter whether they come from a synthetic or computational background—achieve their maximum potential and become some of the best reticular chemists of their generation.
- You can expect me to do everything in my power to find or create opportunities that will help you achieve your career goals, whatever those goals may be.
- You can expect me to meet with you regularly (typically once per week) for one-on-one discussions about experiments and future plans, with my undivided attention.
- You can expect me to help you prepare applications and papers, and to edit mature drafts of written work (with earliest drafts reviewed by labmates first).
- You can expect me to respond to emails or Slack messages within a reasonable amount of time; if I fail to respond within two days, please send me a reminder or knock on my office door.
- You can expect me to be understanding of family plans, international travel, and physical or mental well-being, and I am happy to help arrange a work plan that accommodates your personal needs.
- I expect you to be brave enough to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and become “the expert” on a particular topic—surpassing even me or anyone else in the world in that specialization.
- I expect you to be punctual for all scheduled meetings with me or your labmates; if you must miss a meeting, please let me know in advance.
- I expect you to communicate openly about whatever you need to be productive and happy. Please don’t hesitate to tell me if there is anything about my supervision or the lab management that could be improved, or if there are any conflicts we need to address privately.
- Safety is foremost. Regardless of your synthetic or computational background, you must know and follow all relevant safety protocols. When conducting any reaction, make sure someone else is nearby in case of emergency.
- For group meetings and project meetings, I will minimize any unnecessary gatherings and aim to keep them short (e.g., 30 minutes), so you have more time for research. In return, please present your data in a clear, rigorous way—screenshots of analysis might be acceptable at the early stages, but formatted figures will eventually be needed and can be repurposed for manuscripts.
- We will have “lab czars” to manage each instrument (e.g., rotary evaporator, PXRD, sorption instruments), and these responsibilities will rotate every six months.
- For ordering supplies and chemicals, please compare quotes from at least three vendors and post them to Slack. I will review and help place the order.
- I do not strictly track office/lab hours. You have flexibility to set your own schedule, but I do expect you to be in the lab/office in person as much as possible between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. as other research groups and reply to Slack or emails within a reasonable time.
- We will organize group lunches/afternoon gatherings and hold an annual lab retreat. If you have any fun ideas, feel free to share them.
- I encourage collaborations with other research groups and appreciate transparency. As soon as you begin discussing a potential collaboration, please let me know so we can plan together.
- For graduate students: You’re welcome to take your creativity and connections to explore side collaborations (both within the lab and with external groups) as long as your main project stays on track—just check in with me first.
- For postdocs: I expect you to pursue funding opportunities when possible. If you have your own fellowship, you have more freedom to pursue your own projects. However, if you are supported by the lab’s funding, I expect at least 90% of your time to be devoted to lab projects.