Chalmers University of Technology
Gothenburg, Sweden
Description
For the present position, we are looking for a PhD student to investigate the nature of local structure, hydrogen bonding interactions, strain effects, and proton dynamics in proton conducting oxides (both bulk and thin films). One of the main interests in these materials stems from their huge potential to be used as electrolytes in next-generation, environmentally friendly, fuel cells, operating in the intermediate temperature range 200-500 °C. The aim is to develop a thorough theoretical knowledge of the local structural details and the proton conduction mechanism. This is crucial for developing new proton conducting oxides, with superior level of proton conduction, which is critical to future breakthroughs in the development of intermediate temperature fuel-cell technology. The primary tools to this end involve the use of vibrational spectroscopy (Raman and infrared), available at the department, and neutron scattering methods (diffraction, quasielastic scattering, inelastic scattering, reflectivity), available at international large-scale facilities, such as the Institut Laue-Langevin (http://www.ill.eu) in France and the Spallation Neutron Source (http://neutrons.ornl.gov/) in the US. The student will be based at the CMP division, which has about 30 members of 15 different nationalities, but will be part of a larger research program, in collaboration with other groups at Chalmers, as well as with many international collaborators. In particular, we have a strong interaction with top scientists at the University of California Santa Barbara (US), University of Verona (Italy), NIMS (Japan), and with several researchers at neutron scattering facilities around the world. It implies that this PhD program not only presents an excellent opportunity for the student to develop into a highly skilled physicist, trained in unique experimental techniques, and to work on a timely topic of high societal impact, but also to broaden his/her cultural horizons. The majority of the student's working time will be devoted to his/her own research, with the main objective to obtain a PhD degree at the end of the project. For this purpose, it is expected that the student will be able to develop and pursue his/her own scientific ideas, and communicate his/her results in a wide context, through the publication of scientific articles and oral presentations at international conferences, for example. In addition, the position will normally include 20% department work, mostly teaching duties. The employment is limited to a maximum of five years.
Requirements
We are looking for outstanding candidates with a degree in physics or materials science. Candidates must have strong social skills, work ethic, and collaboration and communication (oral and written) skills. Candidates must also show great potential to drive projects independently.
More information and applications
The application should be marked with Ref 20120479 and written in English. The application should be sent electronically and be attached as pdf-files, as below:
• Application: (Please name the uploaded document in ReachMee as: APPLICATION, family name, ref. number)
- CV,
- attested copies of education certificates, including grade reports and other documents, English language test, e.g. TOEFL score,
- letters of recommendation from academic institutions and/or previous employers (optional),
• A letter of application detailing your specific qualifications for the position (named: QUALIFICATIONS, family name, ref. number)
- maximum one A4 page
• Publications: (named: PUBLICATION, family name, ref. number)
- relevant work such as bachelor's or master's thesis (or outline of a thesis under preparation).
The application should be sent electronically using the following link:
For questions, please contact Asst. Prof. Maths Karlsson, maths.karlsson@chalmers.se
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