Are you passionate about research? Do you want to get a PhD in an emerging field that will impact the future? Would you like to work in an international multidisciplinary team of 11 PhD students? Join us at TOPOCOM!

Applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) – from chatbots to autonomous driving and medical diagnoses – have the potential to improve our lives in unprecedented ways. But there is a catch: they consume an immense amount of energy. At the current growth rate, by 2040 the total energy produced in the world would be devoted to AI applications (!). Hence, we obviously have an important challenge to address.

Unconventional Computing – which includes subfields such as Neuromorphic, Reservoir or Probabilistic Computing – explores new paradigms to create efficient and ultra-low-power computing components, taking advantage of the dynamical properties of complex physical systems to develop radically new approaches. For example, it has been shown that one can use a large variety of systems (from a bucket of water to noisy electronic circuits) to emulate the behavior of a neural network that can tackle complex problems such as pattern recognition. Most excitingly, it has been recently shown that one can use the topological quasiparticles called “skyrmions” (search the web for amazing images!) to implement similar concepts, with the added advantage that skyrmion-based components can be powered by the naturally occurring Brownian motion of such quasiparticles. In other words: we can take advantage of unavoidable thermal fluctuations, and the skyrmion random walks they cause, so they act as the main (free!) power source of the device. Truly incredible.

The use of skyrmions for unconventional computing is a rapidly expanding field with amazing results being published on a monthly basis. So far, work has focused on magnetic skyrmions, which have been known for about 20 years now. By contrast, in this project we will investigate the use of electric skyrmions for Unconventional Computing, which is a brand-new possibility presenting many fundamental Physics challenges and opportunities. In electric skyrmions the magnetic spins are replaced by electric dipoles that originate from the off-set of positive and negative ions in insulators. They were predicted and experimentally demonstrated only a few years ago (see e.g. https://als.lbl.gov/electric-dipoles-form-chiral-skyrmions/), with key contributions from simulations done at Jorge Íñiguez’s group at LIST. In this project we will use the same advanced simulation methods to better understand the physics of Brownian electric skyrmions and explore their use in selected Unconventional Computing applications.

Be part of an exciting team of PhD candidates! The PhD student will be part of team of 11 doctoral candidates associated to the Marie S. Curie Doctoral Network TOPOCOM, which gathers some of the top European groups working on topological phases in condensed-matter systems. The students will benefit from a unique programme designed to train a group of experts on the physics of topological quasiparticles and Unconventional Computing, covering all aspects of the problem – from experiment to theory, from fundamental to applied, from magnetic to electric. The team effort and broad international exposure will rely on secondments (extended visits) of the doctoral candidates to other groups of the network, as well as on periodic TOPOCOM events that will often be linked to relevant international schools and conferences. Besides the science itself, other key aspects of today’s work as a scientist – from management to communication skills – will be covered, and to a large extent tailored to the specific interest of the students.

The PhD student will be supervised by Prof. Jorge Íñiguez, an expert on the theory and simulation of nano-ferroelectrics. The student will be part of the “Ferroic Materials for Transducers” group (25-30 members) and, in particular, the theory team led by Prof. Íñiguez (6-8 members). The student will be enrolled in the doctoral programme on Physics and Materials Sciences of the University of Luxembourg, which offers a wide range of training activities as well as a vibrant and diverse environment to young scientists.

Interested candidates are welcome to submit their application through this web. (Applications by e-mail will not be considered.) Together with your CV, please submit an academic record (for both bachelor and masters) as complete as possible, as well as a letter explaining your interest in this particular position.