Postdoctoral position in developing high-temperature materials

The department of Materials and Manufacturing Technology consists of six research groups. The research activities span from basic research on nanostructural materials to product- and process related issues within materials and manufacturing technology.

The research is carried out in close collaboration with national and international industries and universities. Our graduate as well as undergraduate education is organized in a wide range of courses, we are involved in four masters’ programmes and three graduate schools.Information about the research/the project/the division
Thermoelectric (TE) materials provide a key solution to energy problems through the conversion of waste heat into reusable electricity. The concept of phonon glass, electron crystal (PGEC) was raised to help to understand how to optimize the figure of merit (zT) of TE materials: a high degree of phonon scattering, lowering the thermal conductivity, as in a glass, while maintaining little scattering for electrons and hence high electrical conductivity, as in a crystal. Much of the recent excitement in the field of TE materials is the successful demonstration of various methods to achieve PGEC materials, and particularly, on getting closer to a phonon glass while maintaining the electron crystal. Despite the rapid progress in the development of TE materials, suitable materials for high-temperature (> 900K) thermoelectric power generation are still limited. The goal of this postdoctoral researcher project is to develop high-entropy alloys (HEAs) as potential high-temperature thermoelectric materials (HTTMs). This postdoc position will be placed at the Department of Materials and Manufacturing Technology (Dr. Sheng Guo), and shared with the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (Prof. Anders Palmqvist). Theoretical support to the project comes from the Department of Applied Physics (Dr. Paul Erhart). 

Major responsibilities
The successful candidate will work on: 
i) Alloy development, from perspectives on both high-entropy alloys and thermoelectric materials;
ii) Material preparation, mainly using the arc melting furnace;
iii) Material characterization, including metallography, XRD, SEM and possibly TEM. 
iv) Thermoelectric properties measurement; 

Your major responsibility as postdoc is to perform research. However, the position may also include some supervision of master's and/or PhD students. The position is meritorious for future research duties within academia as well as industry/the public sector.

Position summary
The position is a postdoctoral researcher position (full-time employment) for one year, with the possibility of extension for one year, depending on the progress of the project.

Qualifications
We are looking for a self-motivated, independent and creative excellent young researcher. The successful candidate should preferably have a PhD degree in Materials Science, Physics, or relevant subjects, with proven research experience in Physical Metallurgy, and particularly in the field of alloy development for multicomponent alloys. Experiences in high-entropy alloys, thermoelectric materials and semiconductor physics, structural analysys (particularly advanced diffraction techniques) are considered as advantages. The position requires excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.

To qualify for the position of postdoc, you must have a doctoral degree in a relevant field; the degree should generally not be older than three years. You are expected to be somewhat accustomed to teaching, and to demonstrate good potential within research and education.

Application deadline: 2014-02-14

For questions, please contact:
Dr.Sheng Guo
Materials and Manufacturing Technology
E-mail: sheng.guo@chalmers.se
Phone: +46 31 772 1254 

Professor Anders Palmqvist
Chemical and Biological Engineering
E-mail: anders.palmqvist@chalmers.se
Phone: +46 31 772 2961

Dr. Paul Erhart
Applied Physics
E-mail: erhart@chalmers.se
Phone: +46 31 772 8426




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