A fully funded PhD student position in Computational and Theoretical Physics is available in the group of Prof. Stefan Schumacher at Paderborn University in Germany. The position (pay scale 13 TV-L / Entgeltgruppe 13 TV-L, 75% of regular working time) is limited to the duration of the PhD project, usually to a period of 3 years (according to the German law Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz). 

Project description and responsibilities: We seek to hire a motivated and creative PhD student to work on the project „Microscopic picture of charge generation in conjugated polymers“ funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). In this project we aim at a better microscopic understanding and at improving molecular doping of conjugated polymers (organic semiconductors) and of charge separation after photoexcitation of these systems (based on non-adiabatic ab-initio molecular dynamics). The project builds upon the group’s previous work on these and related subjects in molecular photophysics (e.g., [1-3]). Our theoretical work will be performed in collaboration with our experimental partners. Besides the group’s interdisciplinary research (http://www.physik.upb.de/schumacher), in the Faculty of Science we offer a very stimulating research environment with a research focus on optoelectronics and material science. 

We welcome applications from motivated and skilled candidates with interest in theoretical work and with good command of the English (or German) language (both written and spoken). Duties may also include contributions to the teaching in the Physics Department. 

Employment requirements: Master’s degree in physics, chemistry or related subject. Experience with conjugated molecular systems and numerical simulations (in particular quantum chemistry codes) will be an advantage. 

Please send applications AS A SINGLE PDF FILE in German or English to Prof. Schumacher at [email protected]. Applications will be reviewed on a continuous basis until the position is filled.

[1] Ultrafast electronic energy transfer in an orthogonal molecular dyad, C. Wiebeler, F. Plasser, G. J. Hedley, A. Ruseckas, I. D. W. Samuel, and S. Schumacher
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 8, 1086 (2017).

[2] How intermolecular geometrical disorder affects the doping of donor-acceptor conjugated copolymers, D. Di Nuzzo, C. Fontanesi, R. Jones, S. Allard, U. Scherf, E. von Hauff, S. Schumacher, and E. Da Como
Nature Communications 6, 6460 (2015).

[3] Charge photogeneration in donor-acceptor conjugated materials: influence of excess excitation energy and chain length, R. Tautz, E. Da Como, C. Wiebeler, G. Soavi, I. Dumsch, N. Fröhlich, S. Allard, U. Scherf, G. Cerullo, S. Schumacher, and J. Feldmann, Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) 135, 4282 (2013).