Industrial PhD in Polymer Physics/Chemistry in EU Training Network HORATES

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. Hot Disk AB offers one fellowship on “Characterization of Polymers for Organic Thermoelectrics”. The ESR will be placed primarily at Hot disk AB and also in the research group of Prof. Christian Müller at  Chalmers, and collaborate with other groups in the HORATES consortium. The ESR will develop an expertise in: new and improved measurements methods and routines for analysing thermal transport properties of thermoelectric polymers in bulk or as thin films; development of accurate specific heat measurements of device-sized thermoelectric polymer components; characterization of the thermoelectric properties.

Qualifications
- MSc degree in Physics, Chemistry or Materials Science, and preferably with experience in characterization of thermal properties, heat transport as well as polymer science and technology
-Programming experience is a particular merit.
- 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.

Our offer to you
-Full time employment at Hot Disk AB, a leading manufacturer of instruments for analysing thermal transport properties. 
-The ESR will be enrolled as a PhD student at Chalmers granting access to courses and facilities at the close-by Chalmers campus.
-Joining Hot Disk staff at conferences, customer trainings and trade shows.
- Throughout the programme, scientific writing, industry and entrepreneurship, patenting and intellectual property rights workshops will be offered. 

Application procedure
The application should be marked with Ref 20200614 and written in English. The application should be sent electronically and be attached as pdf-files, as below:

CV: (Please name the document: CV, Family name)
• CV
• Other, for example previous employments or leadership qualifications and positions of trust.
• Two references that we can contact.

Personal letter: (Please name the document as: Personal letter, Family name)
1-3 pages where you:
• Introduce yourself
• Describe your previous experience of relevance for the position (e.g. education, thesis work and, if applicable, any other research activities)
• Describe your future goals and future research focus

Other documents:
• Copies of bachelor and/or master’s thesis.
• Attested copies and transcripts of completed education, grades and other certificates, eg. TOEFL test results.

The files may be compressed (zipped).

Application deadline: 18 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:
Dr. Besira Mekonnen Mihiretie, Hot disk AB at  besira.mihiretie@hotdisk.se 
Prof. Christian Müller, Chalmers University of Technology at Christian.muller@chalmers.se