A (fully funded, 3.5 years) PhD Studentship is currently available to British and EU applicants within the DImEnsION @ Warwick Research Group, under the supervision of Dr. Gabriele C. Sosso.

The Studentship will focus on Molecular Simulations of Ice Formation in Soft and Biological Matter.

The deadline for submitting an application is December 15th 2017. The starting date of the Studentship (ideally February 2018) can be negotiated.

Project description:  The formation of ice in soft and biological matter plays a very important role in atmospheric science, in the food industry, in cryobiology and the biomedical sciences, most prominently perhaps the cryopreservation of blood and tissues. And yet, why and how exactly ice forms/percolates on/through e.g. cellular membranes is still largely a mystery. The successful candidate will investigate, by means of molecular simulations (chiefly molecular dynamics and enhanced sampling techniques), the molecular-level details of ice formation on/within a variety of biological substrates/membranes. This highly interdisciplinary PhD Studentship aims at obtaining microscopic insight into the mechanism and the kinetics of ice formation in soft and biological matter. This will in turn further our fundamental understanding of the physical chemistry of water freezing. In addition, the successful candidate will be taking advantage of collaborations with several experimental partners, both in Warwick (Prof. Matthew Gibson, Department of Chemistry and Warwick Medical school) and elsewhere (Dr. Heather Knight, Department of Biosciences, Durham University), to complement and guide the computational/theoretical work - thus maximising the practical impact of this PhD Studentship.

Representative references are: Chem Rev. 116, 7078 (2016) [review article] and J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 7, 2350 (2016) [specific example].  Further information can be found at the DImEnsION Group @ Warwick.

Requirements: This PhD Studentship is open to British and EU Citizens. Eligible candidates must hold (or be about to receive) an Honours/Masters Degree (at least II.1 or equivalent) in Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science, Biophysics or other relevant disciplines. A strong background in physical chemistry, statistical mechanics, and/or biophysics is desirable. Previous experience with computer programming and molecular simulations is also welcome.

How to apply: Informal enquires may be made to Dr. Gabriele C. Sosso ([email protected]) and should ideally include: (i.) a personal statement, outlining the reasons for applying for the Studentship; (ii.) full CV; and (iii.) two references (contact details will suffice, no need for reference letters at this stage). Details on the formal application procedure can be found at http://www.go.warwick.ac.uk/pgapply