Postdoctoral Research Associate in Computational Chemistry at the University of Sheffield: Modelling Graphene Sensor Materials

We seek to recruit a motivated and skilled researcher with proven expertise in computational modelling of materials, to study graphene materials to design a graphene-based sensor for phosphate in soils. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of an interdisciplinary project “Real-time and Continuous Monitoring of Phosphates in the Soil with Graphene-Based Printed Sensor Arrays”, where a team of materials scientists, spectroscopists, computational chemists and soil scientists in the UK and US will work together to address a key environmental problem of monitoring phosphate, an essential plant nutrient in soil.

In this project you will use density-functional theory to model graphene and related carbon-based materials, their interaction with phosphate ions, and charge transfer rates to predict the electrochemical behaviour of phosphate at graphene-based electrodes. The aim is to identify the best electrode materials to use in phosphate sensors.

This position is full-time for 24 months and is available immediately.

Please contact Dr Natalia Martsinovich [email protected] for any queries. 

You can read more about research in the group and see recent publications at: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/chemistry/staff/profiles/natalia_martsinovich

Qualifications and skills

* You will have, or be about to obtain, a PhD in Computational or Theoretical Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science or related discipline. 

* Experience in density-functional theory calculations of solid surfaces or interfaces using DFT codes such as SIESTA, VASP or CP2K is required. 

* Experience of molecular dynamics calculations, charge transfer theory or programming skills would be beneficial. 

How to apply

Please apply online here.

The closing date for applications is 5 January 2020.

It is anticipated that interviews will be held on Monday 13 January 2020. The position will be available to start immediately thereafter.

About the University

The University of Sheffield is a world top 100 university. The Department of Chemistry at Sheffield is one of the leading Chemistry departments in the UK, ranked among the top five Chemistry departments in REF 2014 for the quality of our research outputs. We are proud of being an international department with over 100 international students and staff. The department holds an Athena SWAN Silver Award, as evidence of our commitment to gender equality. The university is located very close to the Sheffield city centre. Sheffield has direct train connections to London (2.5h) and Manchester (1h) and is only 6 km away from the Peak District national park. Further details about the department can be found at: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/chemistry

We build teams of people from different heritages and lifestyles from across the world, whose talent and contributions complement each other to greatest effect. We believe diversity in all its forms delivers greater impact through research, teaching and student experience.

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