Marie Curie PhD fellowship – Reactivity Exploration for Quantum Dot Surfaces

Update: Applications for this position are now closed. Thank you for all your interest. 

We are looking for a PhD student to develop advance thermodynamic methods for accurately calculating solubility and solution free energy, with a particular emphasis on electrolyte systems. The focus is on improving and expanding SCM’s existing methodologies, including COSMO-RS, Pitzer-Debye-Hückel, and machine learning (ML)-based approaches. The primary goal is to develop robust methodologies and software tools that facilitate more accurate calculations for electrolyte systems.

The position involves addressing key challenges such as refining general parameters that are relevant to both short-range interactions, as modeled by COSMO-RS, and long-range interactions, as described by Pitzer-Debye-Hückel models. Furthermore, the project seeks to integrate data-driven approaches to enhance ML-based models, thereby improving solubility predictions and estimating key physical properties that required in the calculation framework.

The position is part of the European Commission-funded Doctoral Network PREDICTOR, a collaboration between several universities and companies. Salary conditions, travel/mobility allowances, and benefits will follow the attractive EU amounts for Researchers in the HORIZON-MSCA-2023-DN-01 call.

The position is open to theoretical chemistry/physics MSc graduates with an interest in thermodynamic models.

PREDICTOR Network, supervision & training

The PREDICTOR network project contains a mix of 17 experimental and theoretical research-oriented PhD projects. The candidate will be hosted at SCM but enrolled in a PhD program at the RWTH Aachen University.

• PhD supervisor: Prof. Kai Leonhard, RWTH Aachen University
• Co-supervisor: Dr. Wei-Lin Chen, Software for Chemistry & Materials B.V.
• Planned secondment for 3 months: Prof. Dr. Kai Leonhard, training on COSMO-RS model, RWTH Aachen University
• Throughout the project there will be local and network-wide training, including academic and industrial specialist courses, transferable skills training, (international) workshops and training-through-research.

Requirements

• Knowledge of thermodynamic models, with a preference for candidates who have experience in COSMO-RS, COSMO-SAC and/or electrolyte modeling.
• Ability to comprehend the underlying physics of models presented in scientific literature, enhance these models, and efficiently translate them into source code.
• MSc in Physics, Chemistry, or a related science field.
• Not being in possession of a PhD degree.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in the English language.
• EU mobility rules apply: Recruited researchers can be of any nationality and must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in The Netherlands for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the recruitment date.
• The start date should be between 1 September 2024 and 31 August 2025.

Desirable additional knowledge & experience

• Some experience with programming in a team, in a large-scale software package (>100,000 lines of code).
• Working knowledge of Fortran(90) and Python. General programming skills (UNIX, debugging, etc.).
• Team player, with good two-way communication skills, highly self-motivated and able to work independently with excellent time management skills.

What we offer

SCM offers an informal working atmosphere in a small team of approx. 30 PhD-level researchers and scientific software developers from various nationalities and backgrounds. We offer our employees 34 paid holidays per year and flexible working hours, as well as occasional remote work options. All employees are enrolled in the ABP pension fund.

The PhD fellowships will consist of an initial 3-year full-time position, with a possible extension. Salary conditions, travel/mobility allowances and benefits will follow the attractive EU amounts for Researchers in the HORIZON-MSCA-2023-DN-01 call.

• Gross monthly living allowance: € 3.426,- which includes the 9.6% extra due to the country correction coefficient of 109.6% for The Netherlands for the entire period.
• Additional monthly mobility allowance of € 600,-.
• Additional monthly family allowance of € 660,- for researchers who have a family (regardless of whether the family will move with the researcher or not).

In addition, the EU provides funding for training and transfer of knowledge expenses to the institutes. Tax benefits (significant parts of salary and/or allowances paid tax-free) may be applicable in The Netherlands (depending on circumstances) for a successful candidate from abroad.

Eligibility

SCM is an equal opportunity employer; we encourage interested candidates to apply even if you think you don’t ‘tick all the boxes’. SCM will recruit & hire without regard of nationality, age, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.

Applying
Applications for this position are now closed. Thank you for all your interest.