Ph.D. Position Opening

University of Padua, Department of Geosciences

An opening for a Ph.D. student is available within the INHERIT project – 2021 ERC starting grant awarded to Dr. Martha Pamato, Associate Professor at the University of Padua (Italy). The aim of this project is to improve our fundamental understanding of the dynamic and static behavior of hydrogen in diamonds. This Ph.D. thesis project will involve the study of various chemical and structural factors that control how interstitial hydrogen diffuses through diamond. The successful candidate will employ atomistic simulations to evaluate the rates and mechanisms of H diffusion as a function of mechanical, thermodynamical, and thermochemical conditions. She/he will perform molecular dynamics simulations using a combination of ab initio methods and machine learning interatomic potentials. The project will be fully funded by the ERC starting grant INHERIT. For more information about the INHERIT project visit https://www.marthapamato.com/inherit. 

For more information about the PhD project, and for applying, please visit https://www.geoscienze.unipd.it/phd-research-projects-2024 (see Fixed Topic scholarships, project title “Atomistic simulations of hydrogen diffusion and point defects in diamond”).

Applications open on April 8^th and close on May 13^th 2024. (https://www.unipd.it/en/phd-programmes-calls-and-admissions).

With a duration of three years (36 months), the thesis will start in November, 2024. The successful candidate will work under the supervision of Dr. Martha Pamato (University of Padua) and Dr. Razvan Caracas (IPGP, Paris). The position is based at the University of Padua, Department of Geosciences. The thesis work will involve several long-term visits to the computational groups at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP, Paris, France) and the Center for Planetary Habitability at the University of Oslo (Norway). A master degree in Earth sciences, solid-state physics and/or chemistry or materials science is preferred. Computing and programming skills/experience are highly recommended. Proficiency in written and spoken English is mandatory.

        While the application needs to be done on the website specified above, for more information about the position and application process you can contact:

Martha G. Pamato
Associate Professor or Mineralogy
University of Padua
[email protected]
https://www.marthapamato.com/

or

Razvan Caracas
Senior Researcher
Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP)
[email protected]