PhD position on Polymer Synthesis for Organic Thermoelectrics

Information about the programme
The European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network HORATES brings together 8 academic institutions, including universities and research centers, and 5 companies, from 6 EU countries. The network is supported by 5 more partners, including 2 companies. The mission of the HORATES network is to use the large expertise on all aspects of hybrid and organic thermoelectrics that is available in the EU for (a) the strategic training of excellent young researchers in an emerging, interdisciplinary field and (b) the rational development of prototype energy harvesters, inspired by actual market demand.

This will happen by giving 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) exposure to a wide spectrum of expertise. In HORATES, we fuse the synthetic organic expertise with the expertise in processing and characterization to provide stable, high-performance materials and recipes for upscaling and device fabrication. Constant interaction at all stages with theory and multiscale modelling will guide the process. Crucial for the success the Programme is a multidisciplinary and inter-sectorial network, which will allow the ESR to genuinely discover and/or feed her/his attitude while having an impact on a relevant scientific and technological field. HORATES also has the mission of disseminating its scientific and technological achievements to a broad audience (scientific community, stakeholders, general public etc.).
The HORATES network is composed by: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg (DE), Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IT), Chalmers Tekniska Högskola (SE), Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigationes Cientificas (ES), Linköpings Universitet (SE), Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (NL), Technische Universität Chemnitz (DE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Strasbourg (FR), Eurecat Centre Tecnològic (ES), Innovation Lab (DE) and Hot Disk AB (SE).

During the programme, exchange between private sector and academia is promoted by at least one secondment per ESR with the industrial partners and beneficiaries.

We are looking for 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) to be appointed at the host organisations within HORATES. Chalmers offers 1 Fellowship on “Synthesis of Conjugated Polymers for Organic Thermoelectrics”. The ESR will be placed in the research group of Prof. Christian Müller, and collaborate closely with the groups of Prof. Michael Sommer at the University of Chemnitz, and Prof. Renee Kroon at Linköping University. The ESR will (1) develop an expertise in the design, synthesis and characterization of conjugated polymers, including polymers with oligoether side chains, (2) contribute to the characterization of the thermoelectric properties of the developed materials, and (3) upscale the synthesis of the most promising materials.

Information about the research group
The Müller Research Group focuses on the physical chemistry and materials science of organic semiconductors, polymer blends and composites, and develops new plastic materials for use in the fields of wearable electronics and energy technology. All research is conducted in co-operation with other universities/institutes and/or industry. Presently, the group consists of 1 Professor, 1 Research Staff, 4 Postdocs and 7 PhD students.

Major responsibilities
The majority of your working time is devoted to your own research, in collaboration with other postdocs and students at Chalmers, as well as collaborators within the HORATES network. As a PhD student you are expected to develop your own ideas and communicate scientific results orally as well as in writing. In addition, the position will normally include 5-10% departmental work, mostly teaching duties.

Position summary
Full-time temporary employment. The employment is limited to a maximum of 4 years full-time research studies.

Qualifications

- University degree in Organic Chemistry or Materials Chemistry with focus on synthetic chemistry and/or polymer synthesis.
- The applicant cannot hold a PhD degree obtained before the enrolling in the HORATES programme.
- Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the work, the candidate is expected to have excellent collaboration skills.
- A very good capability of communicating scientific results in English, both orally and in writing is required.

Eligibility:
- The applicant shall, at the time of recruitment, be in the first four years of his/her research career and have not been awarded a doctoral degree (this time is measured from the date of award/diploma of the most recent taught degree).
- The applicant must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the host institute for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the recruitment. Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not taken into account.
- The applicant can be of any nationality.

Application procedure
To apply please go to this webpage 

Application deadline: 4 January, 2021
Interviews will be conducted on a continuous basis until the position is filled. Therefore, please submit your application prior to the application deadline.

For questions, please contact:
Prof. Christian Müller, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, christian.muller@chalmers.se
Tel: +46317722790