The Foster and Brown Postdoctoral Fellowships at LLNL enable postdoctoral candidates to pursue creative and independent ground-breaking research in any aspect of science and engineering that supports LLNL’s national security mission.
Fellows participate in experimental, computational, and/or theoretical work, and have access to LLNL’s extensive high-performance computing facilities, talent pool, specialized laboratory facilities and field equipment to take their research to the next level and solve the nation’s most pressing national security challenges.
Eligibility & Application
A verifiable Ph.D. is required prior to starting as a Foster or Brown Fellow with LLNL.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens with the ability to maintain a U.S. DOE Q-level security clearance.
The initial application submission requires:
- Contact information
- Resume/CV
- 3 named references
Upon submitting the initial application, applicants will receive an email with instructions to submit additional items.
Timeline and Process
About Harold Brown and John S. Foster Jr.
The Foster and Brown Postdoctoral Fellowships are named after two renowned physicists, Dr. John S. Foster, Jr. and Dr. Harold Brown, who both demonstrated exceptional leadership in science, technology, and policy formulation in support of U.S. nuclear security during their tenures at LLNL and beyond.
Harold Brown
Dr. Harold Brown was a nuclear deterrence pioneer and a former LLNL director, as well as Secretary of Defense under President Jimmy Carter. An intellectual giant who led development of technologies that modernized nuclear deterrence and played integral roles during the most dramatic moments of the Cold War, Dr. Brown’s life was indelibly intertwined with national security.
John S. Foster Jr.
Dr. John S. Foster, Jr. was a key figure in establishing LLNL as essential to the nation’s defense. He helped invent some of the key innovations that led to the modern stockpile, as well as introduced many important programs at the Laboratory that continue to this day.
