Postdoc position at King's College London
Ab initio design of eco-friendly and cost-efficient energy materials
One fixed-term (3 years) postdoctoral position at King’s College London
The Theory and Simulation of Condensed Matter (TSCM) group in the Physics Department of King's College London invites applications for a 3-year senior research associate post-doctoral position on ab initio design of new efficient materials for thermoelectric energy conversion.
This is part of an EPSRC-funded collaboration between King’s College London and Queen’s Mary University London, “DEFCOM: Designing Eco-Friendly and COst-efficient energy Materials”.
The research associate will develop and use advanced electronic structure methods (based on density functional theory and its quantum many-body extension, DMFT or GW) to compute electronic and lattice dynamical properties, as well as state-of-the-art methodologies to simulate transport phenomena at a quantum mechanical level.
These methodologies will be applied to novel sulphide compounds, a family of ecofriendly semiconductors that displays a rich structural variety and promising electrical and thermal transport properties. Many fundamental questions for this class of materials are still open, and the goal of the project will be to guide the synthesis of efficient and stable compounds to be used in thermoelectric modules.
The project will be carried out as part of a joint theoretical and experimental collaboration involving Dr Bonini and Dr Weber at KCL, and Prof Reece and Dr Yan at Queen Mary University, who are expert in synthesis and characterisation of thermoelectric materials.
The project will also benefit from close interactions with our industrial partners Kennametal, European Thermodynamics Ltd, Johnson & Matthey and BIOVIA. The successful candidate will be expected to closely liaise with the project partners.
We will give special attention to candidates whose research interests show links to advanced electronic structure methods and transport properties. The candidate must show an exceptional ability for computational physics.
The post will be offered for three years, with a salary in the range 30’000-40’000£ and will be based in London, where the College is situated in a beautiful and central campus.
For an informal discussion about the post, please contact Dr Nicola Bonini or Dr Cedric Weber:nicola.bonini@kcl.ac.uk, cedric.weber@kcl.ac.uk .
Closing Date: Midnight, 15 May 2016.
Interview Date: 19 or 26 May 2016