Postdoc or PhD position in Theory or Computer Simulations of Soft Matter

We currently offer a Postdoc or PhD position within the group of Professor Marjolein Dijkstra in the Soft Condensed Matter & Biophysics (SCM&B) group of the Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science in the Department of Physics at Utrecht University.

Your job
In this position, you will work in a dynamic team of PhD candidates and postdocs, who work on exploring adaptive, reconfigurable, shape-shifting, information-processing and computing properties within soft materials. You will have the opportunity to interact with a broad range of scientists working in the field of soft matter.

The goal of this project is "the rational design of soft hierarchical materials with life-like functionalities using theory, computer simulations and machine learning”. Projects within this scope include:

• Developing coarse-grained models of in and out of equilibrium soft matter systems using machine-learned functionals, forces, potentials.
• Controlling defects in colloidal crystals and liquid crystals for information storage and processing,
• investigating nucleation and kinetic pathways of phase transformations using enhanced sampling techniques and machine learning.
• Understanding the dynamic behavior of soft colloidal metamaterials that can sense, adapt, reconfigure, and respond to external stimuli.

Requirements:

A position as Postdoc or PhD candidate for this project is the right fit for you, if you

• are highly motivated and creative
• have a PhD or Master's degree or an international equivalent in theoretical or computational physics (or a related field);
• have a strong background in statistical physics, soft matter, and programming in languages such as C or C++, Python, and machine learning methods;
• have perseverance and an independent, pro-active working style;
• are willing to look beyond the borders of their own discipline and a strong motivation to work in a multidisciplinary team;
• have excellent collaboration and communication skills (both written and verbal) in English.

Salary Benefits:

We offer:

• participation in the education programme of the Graduate School of Natural Sciences;
• access to a network of collaborative researchers within the Debye Institute;
• a position for two years in case of a postdoc position, and four years in case of a PhD position;
• for a postdoc position: a gross monthly salary between €3,226 and €4,185 in the case of full-time employment (salary scale 10 under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• for a PhD position: a gross monthly salary starting at €2,770 in the first year and increasing to €3,559 in the fourth year in the case of full-time employment (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University has a number of schemes and facilities of its own for employees. This includes schemes facilitating professional development, leave schemes and schemes for sports and cultural activities, as well as discounts on software and other IT products. We also offer access to additional employee benefits through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage our employees to continue to invest in their growth. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

36 - 40 hours per week

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