The Materials Theory group at ETH Zürich has the following openings for PhD students with an expected starting time-frame of Summer 2019. A Master degree in Materials Science, Physics, Chemistry, or a closely related field is required. 

Development and application of the DFT+DMFT approach to complex materials systems. The combination of density functional theory (DFT) with dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) opens up new possibilities to explore materials where electronic correlation effects are crucial (e.g., materials close to a Mott metal-insulator transition). The focus of this PhD project will be to adopt the DFT+DMFT approach for the study of materials with strong coupling between electronic and structural degrees of freedom, with the goal of enabling both qualitative as well as quantitative predictions about the resulting emergent properties. Previous exposure to quantum mechanical many-body theory and experience in python programming is desirable.

Hidden, entangled and resonating orders. As part of our ERC Synergy Collaboration, HERO, we aim to identify materials with new kinds of coupled and explicitly quantum mechanical orderings. The focus of the PhD will be the exploration of unconventional ferroelectric materials, in which the unusual mechanism for the ferroelectricity allows or even encourages other kinds of order (for example magnetic) to emerge. Electronic structure calculations based on density functional theory will be used to design new materials with optimized properties, and to explain newly observed phenomena. Some experience with computational materials science research is desirable, as well as an interest in collaborating closely with experimental groups.

To apply please upload a letter of interest (indicating which position you are applying for and why), your CV, your transcript of courses and grades, and the names and email addresses of two references to the following web-site:

DFT+DMFT: https://apply.refline.ch/845721/6815/pub/1/index.html

HERO: https://apply.refline.ch/845721/6816/pub/1/index.html