PhD fellowship in condensed matter physics

The Niels Bohr Institute invites applicants for a PhD fellowship. The project is part of a coming international research and development project.

Start date is (expected to be) 1 June 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The project
The project will accelerate the green transition through development and tests of new neutron and synchrotron x-ray instrumentation for optimisation of Power-to-X processes and materials. The main contributions to the project from the fellow will be:

• Designing digital twins of the proposed instrumentation in the open-source simulation environments McStas and McXtrace.
• Use the developed models to train machine learning algorithms to make fast predictions of experimental performance and background behaviour.
• Test the predictions against actual measurement of the new instrumentation and use these findings to finetune the algorithms.

The goal is that the developed software will enable faster and more reliable experiment design, and help with data-analysis, thereby improving the impact the designed instrumentation will have on design of new Power-to-X components.

Who are we looking for?
We are looking for candidates within the field(s) of neutron scattering and instrumentation. Applicants can have a background from condensed matter physics, chemistry, or materials science.

Our group and research- and what do we offer?
The group consists of the principal supervisor, an adjunct professor, one post doc, three other PhD students, as well as 10-15 masters and bachelor students.

The group is a part of the Condensed Matter Physics section, Niels Bohr Institute, Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. We are located in Copenhagen.

We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include modern laboratories and access to world leading sources of neutrons and synchrotron X-rays, e.g. in nearby Lund (S).

Principal supervisor is Professor Kim Lefmann, Niels Bohr Institute, E-mail lefmann@nbi.ku.dk, Direct Phone: +45 29250476.

The PhD programme
Depending of your level of education, you can undertake the PhD programme as either:

Option A: A three year full-time study within the framework of the regular PhD programme (5+3 scheme), if you already have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree.

Option B: An up to five year full-time study programme within the framework of the integrated MSc and PhD programme (the 3+5 scheme), if you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master´s degree – but you have an education equivalent to a Danish bachelors´s degree.

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Option A: Getting into a position on the regular PhD programme
Qualifications needed for the regular programme
To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project, e.g. Physics. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database

Terms of employment in the regular programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years.

Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.

Terms of appointment and payment accord to the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

Option B: Getting into a position on the integrated MSc and PhD programme
Qualifications needed for the integrated MSc and PhD programme

If you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master´s degree, you might be qualified for the integrated MSc and PhD programme, if you have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish bachelor´s degree. Here you can find out, if that is relevant for you: General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database. 

Terms of the integrated programme
To be eligible for the integrated scholarship, you are (or are eligible to be) enrolled at one of the faculty’s master programmes in Physics.

Students on the integrated programme will enroll as PhD students simultaneously with completing their enrollment in this MSc degree programme.

The duration of the integrated programme is up to five years, and depends on the amount of credits that you have passed on your MSc programme. For further information about the study programme, please see: www.science.ku.dk/phd “Study Structures”.

Until the MSc degree is obtained, (when exactly two years of the full 3+5 programme remains), the grant will be paid partly in the form of 48 state education grant portions (in Danish: “SU-klip”) plus salary for work (teaching, supervision etc.) totalling a workload of 150 working hours per year.
A PhD grant portion is currently (2024) DKK 6.820 before tax.

When you have obtained the MSc degree, you will transfer to the salary-earning part of the scholarship for a period of two years. At that point, the terms of employment and payment will be according to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

Responsibilities and tasks in both PhD programmes

• Complete and pass the MSc education in accordance with the curriculum of the MSc programme (ONLY when you are attending the integrated MSc and PhD programme)
• Carry through an independent research project under supervision
• Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / ½ FTE
• Participate in active research environments, including a stay at another research institution, possibly one of our collaborators ILL, ESRF, PSI or ESS.
• Teaching and knowledge dissemination activities
• Write scientific papers aimed at high-impact journals
• Write and defend a PhD thesis on the basis of your project

We are looking for the following qualifications:

• Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
• Relevant publications
• Relevant work experience
• Other relevant professional activities
• Curious mind-set with a strong interest in Materials Physics, instrumentation, computer simulation, and AI.
• Good language skills
• Experience with instrument simulations and machine learning is a plus.

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Application and Assessment Procedure
Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Please include: 

1. Motivated letter of application (max. one page)
2. Your motivation for applying for the specific PhD project
3. Curriculum vitae including information about your education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
4. Original diplomas for Bachelor of Science or Master of Science and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in another language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted.
5. Publication list (if possible)
6. Reference letters (if available)

Application deadline:
The deadline for applications is 6 January 2025, 23:59 GMT +1.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified, whether you will be passed for assessment.

The assessor will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above mentioned research area, techniques, skills and other requirements. The assessor will conclude whether each applicant is qualified and, if so, for which of the two models. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

Interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held online in the week starting 10 February 2024. Potentially, there may be a physical interview in the week starting 17 February 2024.

Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor.

General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: www.science.ku.dk/phd/

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.