The Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) is a German-Polish research center for data-intensive digital systems research. We combine innovative methods from mathematics, theoretical systems research, simulations, data science, and computer science to provide solutions for a range of disciplines – materials science under ambient and extreme conditions, earth system research, systems biology, and autonomous vehicles.

CASUS was jointly founded in August 2019 by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, the Technical University of Dresden, and the University of Wroclaw. CASUS is located in the heart of Görlitz at the border between Germany and Poland. The CASUS start-up phase is hosted by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and is financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Art, and Tourism (SMWK).

The Department on Matter under Extreme Conditions is looking for a Ph.D. student / post-doctoral researcher interested in developing and applying numerical modeling techniques for Electronic Transport Properties and Nonequilibrium Phenomena in Warm Dense Matter.

The Scope of Your Job
You are expected to apply high-fidelity electronic structure methods (DFT-MD and TDDFT) to compute electronic transport properties in warm dense matter. You will further develop a surrogate model for the numerical modeling of warm dense matter that is based on high-fidelity data but computationally more efficient. You will implement the surrogate model in a suitable software package. Furthermore, you will use the surrogate model as a testing ground to implement novel methodologies for modeling nonequilibrium behavior beyond local thermal equilibrium. You will also complement state-of-the-art fluid dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics codes with on-the-fly data from high-fidelity simulations and your surrogate model. In collaboration with our partners at international research institutions and the Helmholtz association, your surrogate model will support the successful characterization of HED phenomena generated in laboratories such as coherent light sources and pulsed power facilities. 

Your Tasks

• Compute electronic transport properties to support the diagnostics of x-ray scattering experiments in warm dense matter using high-fidelity electronic structure methods (DFT-MD and TDDFT);
• Devise the formalism and modeling techniques to capture the physics in high-fidelity data within a surrogate model;
• Implement the surrogate model in a suitable software package;
• Validate against electronic transport properties from high-fidelity calculations and experiments;
• Extend the surrogate model by implementing non-equilibrium methodologies and establishing a link to state-of-the-art fluid dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics codes;
• Publish your results in academic, peer-reviewed journals;
• Present your results at scientific meetings.
  

Your Qualifications 

• Master's degree / Ph.D. in physics, theoretical chemistry, or in a related subject;
• A solid background in mathematics, theoretical and computational physics, or in a related subject;
• Experience in quantum mechanics or many-body theories;
• Excellent programming skills in languages such as Fortran, Python, or C/C++;
• Experience in methods development or data generation with electronic structure codes (such as VASP, Quantum Espresso, Elk);
• Strong motivation to work in a collaborative environment;
• Excellent communication skills in English and in a professional context (presentation of research results at scientific meetings, colloquial discussions, writing of manuscripts).
   

What We Offer

• A vibrant research community in an open, diverse, and international work environment;
• Scientific excellence and high quality of training according to the Helmholtz Doctoral Guidelines;
• Broad national and international science networks;
• Salary according to the German Collective Wage Agreement for the Civil Service (TVöD);
• Comprehensive benefits package (30 vacation days per year, company pension plan (VBL), flexible working hours, in-house health management, relocation assistance).

Apply

• Please include a one-page cover letter, CV, academic degrees, and transcripts.
• Apply for the Ph.D. student position here.
• Apply for the post-doctoral position here.

Deadline: November 27, 2020.