PhD and Postdoc position in Soft Matter, University of Amsterdam

This scholarship has been extracted from the BEST GRANTS WEB: Grant 2012 - Find all the information about how to get a grant 2012 in this website. =)

PhD and Postdoc position in Soft Matter

‘Dynamic arrest in glasses, biological cells and traffic: A universal description’

The aim of this project is to investigate universality in the dynamic arrest of glasses, biological tissue, and transport. The project will involve a collaboration between the Soft Matter Group and the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the UvA, and the Biological Soft Matter group at Amolf, Amsterdam. Our Soft Matter Group is working on a broad range of topics in soft matter physics including soft matter mechanics, soft glassy materials, phases and interfaces, and drops and emulsions. The group organizes bi-annual Soft Matter Meetings in the Netherlands (see www.softmatter.nl) and annual New York-Amsterdam Meetings on Soft Matter. The successful candidate will join our group and take part in our ongoing national and international collaborations.

Project description: Dynamic arrest is a central phenomenon in complex systems across biology, geology, material science, transport, traffic, etc. It is an essential observation that with increasing density or interaction of the system’s constituent units, their motion slows down dramatically, and the system finally comes to a stand-still. While for many systems in nature, the dynamic arrest is beneficial as it gives rise to stability and memory (as e.g. in genetics), in other cases such as traffic and transport, this effect is rather detrimental. Exciting scale-bridging concepts have been suggested recently – inspired by tools of equilibrium phase transition to be applied to dynamic arrest phenomena. By focussing not on instantaneous configurations but on integrated particle trajectories quantities can be defined that play the same role as an order parameter in equilibrium phase transitions.

In this project, we will apply these recent concepts to a range of systems from soft condensed matter, biology, and traffic to investigate a universal description of complex dynamic arrest. Using an efficient combination of experiments, simulations, and databases, we will address a broad range of systems, and we will explore the definition of dynamic critical exponents and dynamic universality classes, in analogy to equilibrium phase transitions.

The PhD student will focus on experiments: we will directly observe dynamic slow-down in soft glasses (colloidal suspensions), biological cells, and we will use these direct observations to investigate dynamic correlations at arrest. The postdoc will focus on modelling and theoretical calculations for colloidal glasses and traffic flow. The intention is to develop the theory in close contact with experiments (colloidal glasses) and real life data (measurements of traffic flow). The work will involve both analysis and numerical work. Both researchers will be members of the newly initiated Institute of Physics of the Faculty of Science of the UvA. The experiments on biological cells will be done in collaboration with the laboratory of AMOLF.

Requirements
PhD position:

Master’s degree in Physics
Experience with experimental techniques in Soft Matter would be helpful
The ability to work independently as well as in a cross-disciplinary team

Postdoc position:

PhD in Theoretical Physics (or equivalent)
Experience with models for traffic or other non-equilibtium models is an advantage
Affinity with Statistical Physics
The ability to work in a team and also independently

Further information

PhD position: Dr Peter Schall, Science Park 904, P.O.Box 94485, 1090 GL Amsterdam, Netherlands, pschall@science.uva.nl, http://staff.science.uva.nl/~pschall/.

Postdoc position: Prof. Bernard Nienhuis, Science Park 904, P.O.Box 94485, 1090 GL Amsterdam, Netherlands, B.Nienhuis@uva.nl, http://staff.science.uva.nl/~nienhuis/.

Appointment
PhD position: The full-time appointment will be on a temporary basis for a maximum period of four years (18 months plus a further 30 months after a positive evaluation) and should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). An educational plan will be drafted that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. The PhD student is also expected to assist in teaching of undergraduates. Based on a full-time appointment (38 hours per week) the gross monthly salary will range from €2042 in the first year to €2612 in the final year, according to the Dutch salary scales for PhD students. The collective employment agreement (CAO) of Dutch universities is applicable.

Postdoc position: The appointment will be on a temporary basis for a period of two years. Based on a full-time appointment (38 hours per week) the gross monthly salary will range from €2379 to €3195 in the first year, depending on experience. The collective employment agreement (CAO) of Dutch universities is applicable.

Job application
Applications, quoting the vacancy number (PhD 10-1091; Postdoc 10-1092) and marked strictly confidential (in the upper left-hand corner of the envelope) should include a curriculum vitae and can be sent to:

Dienst Personeelszaken
UvA/FNWI
Postbus 94216
1090 GE Amsterdam
The Netherlands

Applications can also be emailed to application-science@uva.nl, bearing the vacancy number in the subject line and relevant documents as attachments.

The closing date is 15 February 2011.

Related terms: