PhD studies

Department of Molecular Simulations of Polymers at the Polymer Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava (Slovak Republic) is offering positions for PhD students interested in working in the science and research of polymers using computer simulations. The day-to-day duties of the PhD student involve collecting credits for successful passing of Dissertation Exam after 24 months from the day of beginning of the studies. The credits are awarded for passing exams in subjects that the student can chose and also for completing student research projects every year. The PhD studies are concluded by defending the Thesis after four years. The topic of the Thesis is encouraged to be communicated with a chosen supervisor from our Department, but it should involve polymers and fall into the scope of computer simulations, such as molecular dynamics or Monte Carlo. Currently the research in the Department encompasses three main directions: polymers in confinement, polymer modified surfaces and knotted polymers and we invite applicants to communicate them with us. For the successful completion of the PhD studies, along with the Thesis elaborated on a chosen problem, the student has to deliver three scientific papers in Q1/Q2 journals as a co-author, or the first author; the student has to have presented her/his scientific work on a conference. A high quality and successful student is also expected to actively engage in the scientific activities at the Institute, interact with the colleagues, attend seminars, participate on scientific projects, as well as popularization activities and the social life at the Institute. The positions usually start from the 1st of September, but conveniently the details about the student’s future job in our group are communicated and arranged with the applicant well in advance before the job starts.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the student involve duties towards successful completion of the PhD studies that involves gaining enough credits for completing student’s projects and exams and passing the Dissertation Exam where the student provides in a written form details about the problem s/he identified during the past two years to elaborate on in her/his Thesis within 24 months from the start of the PhD studies. Furthermore, the student is expected to defend the Thesis within 4 years from the start of the PhD studies. The student’s own responsibility is to care about timing and milestones of the progress of her/his PhD studies and ensure in cooperation with the supervisor that everything is delivered on time.

Qualifications

The position is suitable for a graduate with a university degree in Chemical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Macromolecular Chemistry, Software Engineering and Programming

The position poses requirements on possessing the following skills:

experience with Linux/ Windows OS
even basic programming skills but strong understanding of the programming concepts
there is no requirement on a specific programming language mastered, the student has to be flexible to acquire experience on the go, preferred programming languages currently involve C++, Python, FORTRAN, Tcl/Tk
there is no requirement on a specific software skills, but a previous experience with molecular simulations software is welcomed. The molecular simulations software in preference is ESPResSo, Gromacs, DL_POLY, LAMMPS, NAMD, HooMD, Materials Studio, Amber
the student is expected to be able to read literature and communicate in English
personal qualities posed on the applicant that require ideally someone who is determined and self-driven with excitement for science and research
the position also requires the applicant to have basic understanding for statistical physics, understanding concepts of polymer chemistry and physics, mastering engineering mathematics, quick adaptability to new problems and abstract thinking

Please, contact us here:

Dusan Racko, Head of the Department dusan.racko@savba.sk

Zuzana Benkova, Deputy Head of PI SAS, zuzana.benova@savba.sk