Predicting the electronic and optical properties of materials using advanced electronic structure methods

Profs Cora and Dr Zwijnenburg have received funding from EPSRC for a prestigious Programme Grant, led by Profs Rosseinsky and Cooper at the University of Liverpool. The project aims to develop and apply integrated computational and experimental methodologies to identify new organic, inorganic and hybrid materials for applications in energy, information processing and catalysis. The project will feature strong engagement with external partners, including companies such as Unilever, Johnson Matthey and Ceres Power.

We seek to appoint a PhD student who will start in September 2017, and join the Programme Grant collaborative team comprising 9 academics, 14 experimental and computational Post Doctoral Research Assistants, and several other PhD students based at the University of Liverpool or at UCL. The UCL effort in particular will focus on the property prediction activities of the Grant.

PhD Position
The PhD position will focus on the use of advanced electronic structure methods (advanced density functionals, Green’s function based methods) to predict the electronic and optical properties of materials, with a strong focus on molecular and polymeric materials. The student will become proficient with a range of state of the art electronic structure methods and apply them to systems of relevance to our work in the Programme grant on materials for photocatalytic water splitting. Part of the project will involve close collaboration with experimental colleagues in Liverpool, as well as computational collaborators abroad. The student appointed will gain the unique opportunity to work in a world-leading multidisciplinary team, and will have the opportunity to contribute to other sub-projects focusing on advanced functional materials such as organic (photo) conductors, ionic conductors and thermoelectrics.
Only UK/EU students are eligible for this studentship due to funding restrictions. The candidates should have, or expect to gain, a first or at least upper second class degree in chemistry,…..

Please email a motivation letter, a copy of degree transcript and an up-to-date CV to:
Dr. Martijn Zwijnenburg [Email Address Removed]
Prof. Furio Cora: [Email Address Removed]
The deadline for applications is 16th February 2017, but the position will be filled as soon as an appropriate candidate is found. Suitable candidates will be required to complete an electronic application form at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/apply