Postdoctoral researcher (MAGNIFIC project) at ICN2

The Theory and Simulation Group at the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology - ICN2 (Barcelona area) is seeking to appoint a postdoctoral researcher to work for two years in the EU-funded MAGNIFIC [Materials for a next-generation (nano-)opto-electro-mechanical systems] project.

The group has broad experience in development and applications of electronic structure tools, including advanced workflows for atomistic modelling in nanoscience. The group is core developer of the SIESTA ab initio method, a flagship code of the MaX European Centre of Excellence for exascale computing in Materials Science.

Within MAGNIFIC we will theoretically explore the interplay between electron, phonons and photons in nanocrystalline silicon for nano-opto-electro-mechanical devices. Interatomic potentials based on ML will be used to build realistic atomistic structures of the grain boundaries in nc-Si, and to study their vibrational (thermal) properties. DFT calculations will be used to characterize the electronic properties and build Effective Hamiltonian models. Methods to incorporate the reciprocal interactions between electrons and phonons at simple grain boundaries from first principles will be explored and developed.

The successful candidate, amongst others, will (a) implement reliable ML interatomic potentials (MLP) based on DFT calculations for nanocrystalline silicon (grain boundaries and AlN interfaces); (b) build effective Hamiltonian models for the electronic properties of the materials; (c) extract electronic and thermal transport properties from dynamical simulations; and (d) participate in the collaboration with the experimental partners in the project.

For further details, including the application form, please visit https://jobs.icn2.cat/job-openings/447/postdoctoral-researcher-magnific-project-theory-and-simulation-group.

In order to guarantee full consideration of your application please submit it by the 20th November 2022. After that date, applications will be accepted until the position is filled. The project will start in January 2023, and the start date of the postdocs shall be as soon as practicable from that date onwards.

Please direct any informal inquiries to the line manager of the post, Dr. Miguel Pruneda (miguel.pruneda@icn2.cat), and use [MAGNIFIC postdoc] as the subject line. Note, however, that the link above must be used for formal applications.