PhD student in physics at the Department of Physics and Astronomy

The research conducted at the Department of Physics and Astronomy encompasses a wide range of physics topics, distributed over nine divisions. The department is located in the Ångström laboratory and employs nearly 400 people, 100 of whom are doctoral students. It offers a broad physics curriculum to undergraduate and graduate students, participation in nationally and internationally leading projects for researchers, and opportunities for partnership with industry and various outreach activities. Read more on www.physics.uu.se

The research in the materials physics division focuses on metamaterials and functional materials with an emphasis on non-equilibrium and finite size effects in, amongst others, magnetic materials, metal hydrides and soft matter. Samples are synthesized as well as studied in-house with e.g. x-rays, ions, optical methods and transport measurements. These characterization tools are complemented by advanced x-ray and neutron scattering methods in the labs in Uppsala as well as at large scale facilities. The group also operates several accelerators for ion beam physics in the tandem laboratory as well as the neutron reflectometer SuperADAM at the Institute Laue-Langevin in Grenoble (France), bot as user facilities and national Swedish infrastructures.

Uppsala University hereby declares a PhD student position, at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, to be open for application. The PhD project will focus on studies of kinetic processes for hydrogen and other light chemical species in energy materials. The work will include both studying the fundamental thermodynamically aspects which govern, for example how hydrogen is absorbed and transported in materials on an atomic scale, but also improvement of analytical methods for detection of light chemical species with high resolution and sensitivity. An important aspect will be to develop methods for tracking processes in a specific environment in real-time, referred to as in-situ and in-operando techniques. The work will be of primarily experimental character.

Duties
The project is focused on experimental studies to study light chemical elements such as H, He or Li in different material systems. More specifically, this will include:

• Experiments to detect light chemical elements in materials which have been exposed to different environments.
• Synthesis and modification of different energy material containing light chemical species.
• Handling and development of large-scale instrumentation for non-destructive materials analysis, in particular using ion beams for in-situ and in-operando analysis.
• Handling and analysis of complex experimental data, evaluation and simulation with e.g. Monte-Carlo and Molecular Dynamics approaches.

Requirements
To meet the entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must

• hold a Master’s (second-cycle) degree in physics or equivalent, or
• have completed at least 240 credits in higher education, with at least 60 credits at Master’s level including an independent project worth at least 15 credits, or
• have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way.

The candidate must be able to demonstrate excellent communication skills in English, spoken and written, as well as excellent academic records.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

Read more about requirements in the general study syllabus for physics.

Additional qualifications
Strong data analysis skills; past experience with vacuum systems and experience in materials research with ion beams is considered a merit.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date 2024-10-01 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala

For further information about the position, please contact: Daniel Primetzhofer, +46 18 471 3040, daniel.primetzhofer@physics.uu.se

Applications should include a brief description of research interest and past experience, a CV, copies of exams, degrees and grades, a copy of your Master thesis (or a draft thereof) and other relevant documents. The candidates are encouraged to provide letter(s) of recommendation and contact information to reference persons.

Please submit your application by 12 August 2024, UFV-PA 2024/2286.

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