PhD Physics and Astronomy - Functional Antiferromagnetic Materials for Energy Efficient Technologies

Applications are invited for a fully funded PhD studentship in the Materials and Condensed Matter Physics (MCMP) group, School of Physics and Astronomy (University of Glasgow), studying functional antiferromagnetic materials under the supervision of Dr David Boldrin. The project sits at the intersection between condensed matter physics and solid state chemistry. It will involve the synthesis of bulk and thin film magnetic materials and advanced characterisation using electron, synchrotron and neutron scattering. These techniques require the use of national (Diamond Light Source and ISIS Neutron and Muon Source) and international facilities (ILL, France; MLZ, Germany; ESS, Sweden), and therefore there is a strong focus on external collaborative and experimental visits with a wide variety of researchers in different disciplines.

Magnetic materials underpin a huge number of modern technologies, such as computer hardware, transport systems and refrigeration devices to name a few. Until recently these technologies have almost exclusively relied on ferromagnets owing to their large magnetisation which is easy to sense and manipulate. Antiferromagnets on the other hand have zero magnetisation, resulting in their discoverer (Louis Néel) describing them as "Interesting, but useless".

However, advances in the last decade have led to a renaissance of antiferromagnetism. Applications of novel antiferromagnetic technologies have recently been discovered that vastly outperform ferromagnets, for example in ultrafast computing, energy conversion, energy harvesting and solid-state refrigeration. Beyond this, the renewed understanding of antiferromagnetism is of fundamental interest as the intrinsic properties that underpin their functionality are analogous to those of elementary particles. Building on these discoveries, this project aims to develop and understand new antiferromagnetic materials with enhanced functional properties, particularly in the areas of caloric refrigeration and spintronics.

Our group is keen to widen participation in Physics and create diverse research teams. You’ll be working within a friendly group of researchers studying related topics across materials and condensed matter physics. As an Athena SWAN Silver Award holder and Project Juno Champion, the School of Physics and Astronomy has equality, diversity and inclusion at its heart, and actively supports applications from all sections of society. More details of the School’s Athena SWAN and Project Juno activities can be found here: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/physics/equality/

Prospective candidates should contact David Boldrin for information by email ([Email Address Removed]) with a CV and cover letter, as soon as possible.

How to Apply: Please refer to the following website for details on how to apply:

http://www.gla.ac.uk/research/opportunities/howtoapplyforaresearchdegree/.