Each PhD student will work directly with a Post-doctoral researcher and international visitors expert in his/her chosen thesis topic as well as with Prof. Ciccotti. He or she will be expected to attend advanced specialised courses and research workshops in Ireland and Europe, and on occasion North America through the Atlantic Centre for Atomistic Modelling - ACAM and the European Centre for Atomistic and Molecular Computations - CECAM network of which ACAM is a node.
Each thesis topic comes out of collaborations with Italian, French, German and US laboratories (e.g. MIT; U. Texax at Austin; Courant Institue, NY; Free Univ. of Berlin; etc). The research topics may also include growing collaborations with experimentalists based in Ireland and elsewhere.
The research-thesis topics for each position are:
Bio-Physics: Molecular Dynamics study of the allosteric transition in Hemoglobin, and Ligand Binding on Myoglobin;
ICT & Nano-Materials: Soft Matter & Rheology - Nano-imprinting;
Energy and the Environment: Long-term storage of CO2 in natural gas hydrates, and Hydrogen storage in solid state materials;
Energy and the Environment: Mixed quantum-classical simulations of hydrogen in ethanol and methanol-fed fuel cells.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities:
Your primary duty will be to work efficiently and full time on your chossen research topic, so as to complete your PhD thesis within four years.
You will work collaboratively with the rest of the group and its research visitors.
In the event that for unforseen scientific reasons a research topic has to be changed significantly, you will engage constructively with GC on the neccessery changes.
On occasion you may be requested to perform additional very light duties, such as helping a member of the group on a different research topic or piece of computer code, or organization of an international research meeting.
Selection Criteria:
Mandatory:
A high level of personal drive, stamina and curiosity required to complete a PhD degree Equivalent of a first class or upper second honours undergraduate degree or a Masters degree in theoretical physics/chemistry/biophysics/applied mathematics/engineering.
A good knowledge of statistical mechanics or classical mechanics.
A good knowledge of a scientific programming language such as C/C++/Fortran and the willingness to combine algorithm development and statistical mechanics in your research.
A knowledge of spoken and written English adequate to work in an English Speaking Environment.
The Inter-personal skills required to work productively as part of a research team
Desirable:
Working knowledge/experience of molecular simulation.
Good knowledge of electronic structure/solid state physics.
APPLICATIONS:
Interested candidates should send by email to Donal.MacKernan@ucd.ie a brief cover letter indicating their motivation to apply for one of these positions and their curriculum vitae". The subject line of the email should include "PhD-positions "
All positions will remain open until filled
Please quote 10 Academic Resources Daily in your application to this opportunity!
