Position

BCAM - Basque Center for Applied Mathematics is a world-class interdisciplinary research center located in Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain). The Modelling and Simulation in Life and Materials Science group (MSLMS) of Prof. Elena Akhmatskaya combines advanced statistical methods and numerical algorithms with parallel computation to investigate complex systems in biology, materials science, and nanotechnology. We are looking for a postdoctoral fellow with expertise in computational solid-state and/or condensed matter physics/chemistry. This is a 2 years position (performance evaluation after the first year).

This work is framed within the Basque government-funded M-KONTAK project, in which several agents of the Basque Science, Technology, and Innovation Network (including BCAM) are involved. The purpose of M-KONTAK is the development of a multi-scale modeling methodology to fundamentally understand the behavior of steels in hydrogen-rich environments. In BCAM, we will be focusing on the atomistic modeling of Hydrogen-induced embrittlement (HE), which can significantly reduce the ductility and load-bearing capacity and cause cracking and catastrophic brittle failure at stresses below the yield stress.

The postdoctoral fellow will combine density functional theory with kinetic Monte Carlo and/or Molecular Dynamics to simulate hydrogen diffusion at steel grain boundaries, with the aim of extracting kinetic and thermodynamic parameters that can be employed by our partners in continuous phase field models to understand the influence of morphology, temperature, and composition on HE at a microscopic scale.

Requirements:

• Young and experienced researchers in computational Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science, and related areas are welcome to apply.

• Applicants must have their Ph.D. completed before the contract starts.

Skills and track-record:

• A proven track record in quality research, as evidenced by research publications in top scientific journals and conferences.

• Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a collaborative research team.

• Ability to present and publish research outcomes in spoken (talks) and written (papers) form.

• Fluency in spoken and written English.

Scientific Profile:

The preferred candidate will have:

• Strong background in atomistic simulation methods such as Molecular Dynamics and kinetic Monte Carlo applied to solid-state materials and/or condensed matter systems.

• Working knowledge of Density Functional Theory.

• Experience in hydrogen diffusion in alloys, embrittlement processes, and/or crack propagation is highly desirable.

• Background in mesoscopic simulation methods and/or finite element analysis is highly desirable.

• Programming skills in Python, C++, or Fortran.

Applications are exclusively received through the online form:

http://www.bcamath.org/en/research/job/ic2022-08-postdoctoral-fellowship-in-atomistic-simulation-of-steels-in-hydrogen-a-rich-environments

If you have any inquiries regarding the application process, please contact [email protected].

Deadline: September 30th, 2022 14:00 CET (UTC+1)

Please refer to the online form to find out more about salary and benefits.