About us
UCL is one of the world's top universities based in the heart of London. It is a modern, outward-looking institution. UCL's staff and former students have included 29 Nobel prizewinners. It is a truly international community: more than one-third of our student body – more than 35,000 strong – come from 150 countries and nearly one-third of staff are from outside the UK.
About the role
A post-doctoral research position is available in the research group of Professor Jochen Blumberger at University College London, Department of Physics and Astronomy. The project is funded by the UKRI Horizon Europe Funding guarantee for the ERC Advanced Grant project "EXCITING: New Horizons for Excited State Dynamics in Organic Electronic Materials: Better, Larger, Faster”.
The aim of EXCITING is to produce a step change in our fundamental understanding of electronically excited processes in molecular materials through the development of novel computational methodologies that are more accurate, predictive and applicable to significantly larger systems than existing approaches. The new knowledge will result in practical design rules guiding the discovery of novel optoelectronic and thermoelectric materials that have the potential to transform emerging energy conversion and quantum technologies.
In the EXCITING project we would like to develop novel methodology and apply it to challenging problems in organic (opto-)electronics research. The work can focus on any of the following topics: -Development of novel quantum-classical non-adiabatic molecular dynamics methods based on coupled or uncoupled trajectories and benchmarking against exact results. -Machine Learning of electronic Hamiltonian matrix elements for quantum-classical non-adiabatic molecular dynamics, in particular site energies and forces as well as electronic and excitonic couplings and their nuclear gradients. -Scalable numerical implementation of these methods on CPUs or GPUs. -At a later stage of the project, application of these methods to obtain a better fundamental understanding of exciton dissociation, thermoelectric transport or electric field control of quasiparticle wavefunctions in truly nanoscale organic (opto-)electronic materials (10-100nm), in collaboration with leading experimentalists in optic al spectroscopy and device measurements. The interested candidate may want to take a look at the following recent group publications pertaining to these topics:
J. Chem. Phys. 159, 234118 (2023)
https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0183589J. Chem. Theory Comput. 19, 4232 (2023)
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jctc.3c00184Nat. Commun. 13, 2755 (2022)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-30308-5The start date is flexible but is expected to be between 1 March 2025 and 1 May 2025.
This position is funded for 1 year in the first instance and can be renewed for a further 2 years pending positive evaluation in year 1. A second renewal of this position is possible for a further 2 years pending positive evaluation in year 3. The maximum duration of this post is 5 years.
Candidates will need to upload a CV (including a list of publications) and a statement of research interests and plans (3 pages maximum). A cover letter can be included using the “Statement in Support of your Application” section of the online form. Applicants should also give contact details for two referees on the application form.
About you
The successful applicant will have a PhD in computational physics or chemistry, or related disciplines. A strong background in computer code development (fortran, C++, or python) and excellent knowledge in molecular quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics and molecular simulation methods are essential. Strong interest in the simulation of exciton and/or charge transport dynamics in organic (opto-)electronic materials is expected. Knowledge of and first-hand experience with non-adiabatic molecular dynamics simulation techniques is very desirable.
The position is ideal for ambitious candidates and independent thinkers who wish to establish a sub-group within the host group of Prof Blumberger to carry out high risk-high gain research along the lines of the EXCITING project. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to supervise PhD students funded by the grant as well as Master and summer students. Moreover, suitable postholders will have the opportunity to apply, jointly with the host, for further research funding for their sub-group.
The appointment will be at Grade 7 (£42,099 - £46,732 per annum, inclusive of London allowance), and is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD; if this is not the case, initial appointment will be a Research Assistant Grade 6B (salary £37,332 - 39,980 per annum, inclusive of London Allowance) with payment at Grade 7 being backdated to the date of final submission of the PhD thesis.
What we offer
At UCL, we offer a competitive benefits package including 27 days annual leave plus six days (bank holidays are in addition), hybrid and flexible working, pension scheme, season ticket loan, cycle to work scheme, enhanced maternity/ paternity/ adoption pay, workplace nursery, employee assistance programme and much more!
For more information on our benefits, please visit our staff benefits webpage here:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/pay-benefits/staff-benefitsOur commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
At London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.
We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people.
You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/Our department holds an Athena SWAN Silver award, in recognition of our commitment and demonstrable impact in advancing gender equality.
