A three year PhD position is available to fully fund a student in the “Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg" (IPCMS) at the University of Strasbourg (France). The position will start in Fall 2016 semester. The successful applicant will use quantum physics and molecular dynamics methodologies in order to study single-molecule junctions. The project aims at disentangling the roles of external parameters such as the sample voltage, the stress experienced by the devices and the temperature on the optical properties of the molecule. In particular, we will search to establish the links between light emission, electronic structure and atomic arrangement in a nanojunction composed of a grafted molecule between two metal electrodes.

The successful candidate will use classical molecular dynamics and density functional theory (DFT) for the structural optimization of the system and the time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) for determining the optical properties of the device. The ideal candidate will have a Master degree in Physics or Chemistry, successful experience in computer simulations and numerical modeling and a solid background in theoretical and solid state physics. Good knowledge of English and scientific programming skills are required.

Applicants should send an email wit detail CV (including list of any publications and at least two references) to Dr Hervé Bulou ([email protected]).

More information about the works of the group can be found at http://www.ipcms.unistra.fr/?page_id=21285&lang=en