PhD position: Theoretical investigation of the transfer between macroscopic and microscopic forces and design patterns for their control

We are offering a PhD position at the Albert-Ludwigs-University within the Cluster of Excellence Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS).

 The Cluster of Excellence livMatS develops completely novel, bioinspired materials systems that adapt autonomously to various environments and harvest clean energy from their surroundings. The intention of these purely technical – yet in a behavioral sense quasi-living – materials systems is to meet the demands of humans with regard to pioneering environmental and energy technologies. The societal relevance of autonomous systems and their sustainability will thus play an important role in their development. The research program of livMatS is characterized by highly interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers from a broad range of fields including engineering, chemistry, physics, biology, psychology, the humanities, and sustainability sciences.

Project description

The central objective of the project is to understand how mechano-sensing sacrificial bonds embedded as crosslinkers in polymeric networks need to be designed to develop self-strengthening animate materials and mechano-chemical memories. This needs profound understanding of the corresponding energy landscapes as well as in the coupling of macroscopic forces to microscopic bonds. This challenge is addressed in a combined experimental and computational study, where the PhD position is about the modelling part. The underlying questions cross multiple scales. These range from quantum mechanical (QM) descriptions for reaction barriers to the creation of effective models describing the surrounding network. The QM description also allows for parameter determination needed in modeling of the reaction network, which eventually allows for extraction of design patterns for mechano-sensing materials.

Expected candidate profile

We seek a highly motivated and well-trained individual with a specific interest in theoretical modeling on the atomic scale. A background in the underlying mathematics is a necessity. You should have a strong affinity to programming and software development, ideally, but not necessarily in Python. Experience in modeling based on ab-initio calculations and/or force fields, Monte-Carlo sampling or molecular dynamics are very welcomed. You should ideally have a Master's degree in physics with good marks in order to be accepted as a PhD student at the department of Physics. We consider also candidates with background in physical chemistry, material science or related disciplines, however.

Please contact [email protected] in case of questions and find details about the application process here: https://www.livmats.uni-freiburg.de/en/career