As part of a new Academy of Finland project ‘Computational tomographic atomic force microscopy’ (CATAFM), two post-doctoral positions are available in computational physics and machine learning. The CATAFM project targets an opportunity to develop a systematic software approach to understand and predict atomic force microscopy images for molecules of any size, configuration or orientation. We will use the latest modelling approaches to build a database of 3D AFM images for a wide variety of molecular structures - effectively a computational tomographic approach. This will be integrated into a machine learning infrastructure that can then predict molecular structure directly from an arbitrary AFM experimental image, without any of the current constraints on dimensionality and shape. The project is built around three groups at Aalto (http://www.aalto.fi) – at the Department of Applied physics, the Surfaces and Interfaces at the Nanoscale (SIN) group (physics.aalto.fi/sin) led by Prof. Adam Foster and the Atomic Scale Physics (STM) group (physics.aalto.fi/stm) led by Prof. Peter Liljeroth, and at the Department of Computer Science, the Computer Vision group led by Prof. Juho Kannala (cs.aalto.fi).

We are looking for two computational post-doctoral researchers for the project: one to work mainly on first principles modelling of molecules on surfaces and development of the imaging database. The second should be focused on the computer vision challenges, and development of the machine learning infrastructure. However, we anticipate these researchers should work closely together, and with the experimental researchers.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS AND DETAILS

Successful candidates shall have or are close to having a PhD in Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science, Computer Science, or related disciplines. Experience of machine learning, computational physics simulations and scientific programming are also desirable. The candidate must have a high motivation for research, show evidence of good written and oral communication skills in English, and enjoy working in an international and cross-disciplinary team. The standard contract periods are 2 years for post-doctoral researchers, with possibilities for extensions (the project lasts for 4 years).  Typical gross salary ranges at the Aalto School of Science are 3400-3800 €/month for post-doctoral researchers. Moreover, Finland has a comprehensive social security system.

HOW TO APPLY

The call is open and the position can be filled as soon as a proper candidate is found. The deadline for the first round of applications is 16^th February 2018. Applications should consist of a scientific CV including publication list and the names of two referees. Inquiries and applications should be made through the Aalto recruitment system:

http://www.aalto.fi/en/about/careers/jobs/view/1729/

Living up to our values 

As a community of high ethics, we want to assure the highest international standard in research, education and teaching. We expect all our community members to respect Aalto values and follow the ethical principles of fair play and integrity in all our activities and the behaviour that we expect from each other. The Aalto University Code of Conduct is applicable to all Aalto community members and it clarifies the values that guide us.