The STAGE Center is always looking for enthusiastic undergraduate or graduate students to support a variety of ongoing projects. Opportunities may include assisting with social media content, coordinating events, or helping with other evolving needs. See below for current available positions

We will focus on several theatrically-based research projects. The primary projects are storyboarding theatrical scenes with technological elements (multimedia, projections, etc.) for a play about quantum science and researching and developing techniques for an immersive theatrical experience. The student will assist and be mentored in any and all aspects of theatre-making. Technically savvy students, including artists and scientists, who like to work at the intersection of storytelling and science are encouraged to apply.

The STAGE Center is seeking new members to join an existing team of dedicated students on Curiosity: The Making of a Scientist, a film-based project with a focus on storytelling, science communication, and filmmaking. We seek scientists and artists who want to expand beyond the traditional boundaries of filmmaking and engage in interdisciplinary collaborations.

The Quantum Games team is an interdisciplinary group focused on inventing, prototyping and playtesting original game ideas and adaptations.

The STAGE Center seeks TAs to help lead a group of undergraduate and first- and second-year graduate students to create quantum games as a means to explore the various core principles of quantum science in an entertaining and interactive experience. Core concepts of quantum science, such as probability, measurement, randomness, and uncertainty, can manifest in natural ways in these games of chance.

This TA-ship will afford a senior graduate student extensive experience in science communication and conveying complex scientific information to the general public in unique, comprehensible, and captivating ways. The TA will work closely with undergraduates, graduates, and postdocs, all from diverse
disciplines, and will collaborate and communicate across disciplines. Additionally, they will have opportunities to actively lead group brainstorming sessions with students and multidisciplinary faculty, as well as professional artists. Through this TA-ship, the graduate student will learn to develop ideas in very
different ways.

TA positions with STAGE are available and offered each quarter, and students may apply in and for Autumn, Winter, Spring, or Summer Quarters. Interested candidates should contact the STAGE Center directly for additional details at stagecenter@uchicago.edu and are also encouraged to send their CV to Professor Nancy Kawalek at kawalek@uchicago.edu.

The STAGE Center is seeking a postdoctoral scholar with a PhD in science or engineering and strong interdisciplinary interests. Candidates may come from various fields within science and technology, and should have the ability to curate scientific research in order to inspire topics of artistic production.

In addition to a core project with a focus on conveying science through a unique storytelling process, the postdoctoral scholar will be an active collaborator in all STAGE projects. Duties include but are not limited to:

Contribute to core lab research activities of theatre making, filmmaking, game design, curricular development, etc
Mentor undergraduate and graduate students of various disciplines
Communicate the central principles of scientific themes underlying STAGE’s work to collaborators of various backgrounds
Connect with various departments and centers at the University and beyond

Familiarity with and/or a strong personal interest in the arts and the theatrical environment preferred. Proficiency in a foreign language and experience working in a multicultural environment is a plus.

The research will be conducted on the campus of the University of Chicago, and will provide the opportunity to work with scientists at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and the University as a whole. Interested candidates should contact the STAGE Center directly for additional details at stagecenter@uchicago.edu and are also encouraged to send their CV to Professor Nancy Kawalek at kawalek@uchicago.edu.