PhD student in self-driving labs for electrolyte research

The Department of Chemistry - Ångström conducts research and education in the chemistry field. The department has more than 270 employees and has a turnover of 300 million SEK. At the department's six programs, we conduct very successful research of a high international standard. We have a large number of externally funded research projects, often with international cooperation and we see continued good growth in our subject area. The department has education assignments in engineering programs and master's programs. More information is available on our website: (https://kemi.uu.se/angstrom/?languageId=1).

The Department of Chemistry – Ångström Laboratory has for many years hosted an environment focused on research and development of materials and their applications within the energy storage area: the Ångström Advanced Battery Centre. We develop novel electrode and electrolyte materials, characterize them, evaluate and improve them with respect to battery performance, and study fundamental chemical processes and properties using both experimental and computational techniques. The research is, as such, both fundamental and applied.

Project description
Self-driving labs promise to accelerate scientific research, leveraging automation and artificial intelligence to conduct experiments with minimal human intervention. By combining advances in robotics, machine learning, and high-throughput screening techniques, experiments are autonomously designed, executed, and analyzed. The continuous learning from data optimizes experimental conditions on the fly, thereby accelerating discovery processes, and significantly enhances the efficiency and reproducibility of research. Recent development and application of self-driving labs have made our approach particularly interesting for research on electrolytes for rechargeable batteries.

Future grid energy storage technologies must rely on abundant materials sourced from energy-efficient and environmentally friendly processes. Rechargeable batteries based on widely available elements such as Na, Fe, and S hold considerable promise but face significant challenges with electrolyte degradation and rapid capacity fade. Several mitigation approaches are however emerging, among which the inclusion of functional molecular electrolyte additives stands out. The research project aims to further develop a self-driving lab for electrolyte research and explore the compositional space of electrolyte additives for future generation batteries.

Duties
We are looking for a highly motivated and ambitious student for this challenging project.The studentwill design, plan, and execute the experimental work, often in collaboration with colleagues, criticallyanalyze and discuss the results, and disseminate the work orally at scientific conferences and written inthe form of papers in peer-reviewed journals. Finally, the student is expected to be a good team player,and also participate in all mandatory group activities, including becoming the responsible person forspecific lab equipment.

Requirements
The student should have a background in chemistry, physics, information technology, computer engineering or equivalent. In addition, the student is expected to have

• been awarded a Master’s degree in one of these subjects, or
• satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second cycle, or has acquired essentially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.
• excellent oral and written proficiency in English.

Consideration will also be given to good collaborative skills, drive and independence, and how the applicant’s experience and skills complement and strengthen ongoing research within the department, and how they stand to contribute to its future development. 

Additional qualifications
Experience in electrochemistry, electronics, and/or programming is beneficial.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date 2025-08-01 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala

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

For further information about the position, please contact:
Erik Berg, erik.berg@kemi.uu.se

Please submit your application by 14 March 2025, UFV-PA 2025/458

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