Last Date: 2 April, 2024.
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We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher to join the ERC Starting Grant Project: Understanding material synthesis conditions and complexity at high pressure (UNMASCC-HP). The position will be located in the Physics at Extreme Conditions Unit within the Theoretical Physics Division at Linköping University.
Finding sustainable materials with advanced and technologically relevant properties fulfilling the UN sustainability goals and optimising our energy production, transport, and usage is one of the main tasks of today’s science community. A wide range of materials with the necessary functionalities can be synthesised under extremely high pressures of up to several megabars (i.e., millions of times the atmospheric pressure) and temperatures of thousands of Kelvin, but their outstanding properties or even phase stability often vanishes under decompression to ambient conditions. The goal of this project is to understand stability ranges and synthesizability conditions of high-pressure high-temperature formed materials, with the aim of searching for next-generation materials that retain functional properties under decompression or are even directly synthesizable at ambient conditions.
To achieve this goal we will use density functional theory based calculations, machine learning based techniques and work in close collaboration with an international network of theorists, computational scientists and experimentalists at LiU within the theoretical physics division, the International Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Advanced Functional Materials (AFM), as well as the Visualisation Center and internationally with the University of Edinburgh, the University of Bayreuth and more. More information about recent projects can be found here.
Work assignments
As postdoc, you will principally carry out research, including independent work and close collaboration with other researchers and students from a variety of disciplines, including theoretical, computational and experimental physics and chemistry. You will take part in our joint seminars, other research group activities as well as visits to our collaborators and international scientific conferences. A certain amount of teaching may be part of your duties, up to a maximum of 20% of working hours. You may be involved in the supervision of Bachelor/Master/Diploma projects as well as PhD student supervision.
Within the main research project your tasks can vary depending on background and personal interest. In general, the topics are:
- Density functional theory based calculations of material properties for new experimentally synthesized materials in collaboration with experimental colleagues as well as predictions of new crystal structures.
- Method development (theory and programming) with respect to stability and property predictions based on density-functional theory calculations as well as machine learning techniques.
- Theoretical description of high-pressure synthesized materials and their stability as well as exploring decompression paths towards industrially relevant pressure and temperature conditions.
Qualifications
To be qualified to take employment as postdoc, you must have been awarded a doctoral degree or have a foreign degree that is deemed to be equivalent to a doctoral degree. This degree must have been awarded at the latest by the point at which LiU makes its decision to employ you.
It is considered advantageous if your doctoral degree is no older than three years at application deadline for this job. If there are special reasons for having an older doctoral degree – such as taking statutory leave – then these may be taken into consideration.
- It is a requirement for the position to have one of following backgrounds:
a) A PhD degree in Theoretical Physics, Material Science, Chemistry or equivalent with a clear relation to solid state physics and/or materials chemistry. Documented experience with density functional theory based simulations is required. Documented experience with high pressure physics and crystallography will be evaluated strongly beneficial. Documented experience with high-throughput frameworks is beneficial. In this case, a one page letter of intent connecting the applicants experience (specifically summarise the PhD project) with the topic of the project, a list of publications and documentation of the above stated requirements and merits is expected.
b) A PhD in Computational Physics, Scientific Computing, Mathematics or similar with a strong programming and machine learning background that the applicant can transfer to material science problems. Documented knowledge in group theory and graph theory will be evaluated beneficial. If this applies, we accept an up to two page letter of intent in which applicants are expected to explain the transferability between previous experience (specifically summarise the PhD project) and the project, additional to a list of publications. Documentation of the above stated requirements and merits is expected.
- A requirement for the position is in both cases documented experience with programming in the programming language Python as well as working with HPC environments. Documented experience with machine learning frameworks and GPU-acceleration (e.g. JAX, Torch) is meriting for a) and a requirement for b). Programming experience in other languages is meriting. The application should include a description of the level of programming in general, and specifically in Python, with concrete examples of attended courses, publications, and software that the applicant has written or contributed to. Contributions to publicly available program code (e.g., in open source projects) are meriting, and if available, links to such contributions should be included in the application.
- Since research and collaborations are conducted in English, strong proficiency in written and verbal English communication are a requirement. The ability to teach in Swedish is beneficial but not necessarily required. Interest in learning Swedish during the appointment will be strongly supported.
The workplace
The position will be located within the Physics at Extreme Conditions Unit within the Theoretical Physics Division. You will be working in strong collaboration with the Materials Design and Informatics unit lead by Rickard Armiento, but also other researchers within the Theoretical Physics Division as well as local and international experimental collaborators. You will work with the most advanced high-performance computing infrastructures (e.g. the Berzelius, DARDEL and LUMI supercomputer).
The employment
This employment is a temporary contract of two years with the possibility of extension up to a total maximum of three years.
The employment is full-time.
Starting date by agreement.
Salary and employment benefits
The university applies individual salaries. State your desired salary in the application.
The position comes with employment benefits, e.g. financial support for preventive health care, reimbursement of prescription medicine costs up to the high-cost threshold, and more.
More information about employee benefits is available here.
Union representatives
Information about union representatives, see Help for applicants.
Application procedure
Apply for the position by clicking the “Apply” button. Your application must be received no later than 2 April, 2024.
Applications and documents received after the date above will not be considered.
Please attach your selected research publications electronically, in pdf or word format, in the application template. Research publications, e.g. monographs, which cannot be sent electronically should be sent in three sets by mail to the University Registrar at Linköping University, University Registrar, S-581 83 Linköping, Sweden. The publications must be received by Linköping University no later than the deadline for application.
Please note that printed publications will not be returned. They will be archived at Linköping University.
In the event of a discrepancy between the English translation of the job announcement and the Swedish original, the Swedish version shall take precedent.
We welcome applicants with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives – diversity enriches our work and helps us grow. Preserving everybody’s equal value, rights and opportunities is a natural part of who we are. Read more about our work with: Equal opportunities.
We look forward to receiving your application!
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