Doctoral Student in Physics (MSCA-DN OPVStability) - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Description

The Faculty of Health, Science and Technology invites applications for a doctoral studentship in Physics with specialisation Materials Physics at the Department of Engineering and Physics.

We are looking for a PhD student to participate in a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions doctoral network (MSCA-DN) on “Stability of Organic Photovoltaics (OPVStability)”, which aims to increase the lifetime of organic solar cells by obtaining a better understanding of the solar cell’s degradation mechanisms. OPVStability is an interdisciplinary research training network of 10 universities from 7 countries, funded under the the “Excellent Science” cluster of the Horizon Europe program. OPVStability aims to develop the doctoral candidate's scientific expertise to produce excellent research and interdisciplinary collaboration with scientists from different subject areas such as Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science to Computer Science. 

The research group you will be part of has extensive experience of materials science research with applications in organic and perovskite solar cells. The research group involves materials physicists, computational physicists and physical chemists and is part of the strategic focus area of Materials Science at Karlstad University.

Duties

As a doctoral student, you will primarily dedicate time to your own studies. The doctoral programme, comprising 240 credits for a Degree of Doctor and 120 credits for a Degree of Licentiate, is an opportunity to combine studies with work. You are expected to work independently and be prepared to contribute to the activities and development of the subject and the department. Teaching and administrative duties may also be included upon agreement, but will not constitute more than 20% of full-time. Work as a doctoral student allows for great freedom and flexibility in terms of how you structure your day. It takes commitment, discipline and a structured approach in order to progress with the thesis. Experienced supervisors guide and support you along the way. To contribute to a positive work environment and further the department’s activities, we expect you to be a present and active part of the day-to-day operations and workplace community.

The specific research project that the doctoral student will work on within the OPVStability network is "Post-mortem analysis of devices", where the aim is to investigate changes in material properties after the solar cells have stopped working. For these studies, several complementary microscopy and spectroscopy methods will be used.

The main research tasks of the PhD student are to participate in the above-mentioned research project, which includes experimental work and development of characterization methods, analysis and reporting of results. The doctoral student is expected to participate in the writing of publications and to present their results at international research conferences. The position involves close collaboration with other staff members and partners in the research project.

Research equipment available at Karlstad University includes absorption, fluorescence and infrared spectroscopy, photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, UPS), electron microscopy (SEM, TEM) and scanning probe microscopy (AFM, C-AFM, and AFM-IR). Fabrication and electrical testing of solar cells will be performed in the well-equipped solar cell laboratory. Also solar cells from collaborating groups will be studied.

The main part of your work will be carried out at Karlstad University in Karlstad, Sweden. Short stays (secondments) will take place at CSIC in Barcelona (Spain), the electron microscopy center ZFE/TUG (Austria), and BGU (Israel). Periods of experimental work at synchrotron facilities in Sweden and abroad may occur a few times a year. You will also be required to attend training activities and workshops organized by OPVStability MSCA-DN.

Entry requirements

To be eligible for doctoral studies, the applicant must meet the general and specific entry requirements (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 35).

To meet the general entry requirements, the applicant must have been awarded a second-cycle qualification (a Degree of Master), satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were at master’s level, or acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 39).

To meet the specific entry requirements for third-cycle studies in Physics, the applicant must have a Master’s degree with a Major in physics with a specialisation in a relevant area. Also eligible is a person who has a Master’s degree with a different Major, of which at least 60 ECTS credits are in an area relevant to doctoral studies in Physics.

At the time of recruitment, the applicant must not have resided (or carried out his/her main activity e.g. work, studies, etc.) in Sweden, for more than 12 months in the last 3 years immediately prior to the reference recruitment date (23 October 2020 – 22 October 2023).

Good oral and written proficiency in English is a requirement.

Admission and assessment criteria

To be eligible for doctoral studies, the applicant must be considered to have the ability required to benefit from the programme (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 7, Sect. 35). Admission is based on individual assessment. The assessment will focus on the applicant's performance in from previous studies, the topic of specialisation of the applicant’s studies, the topic and quality of any independent projects completed during these studies, language skills in English, oral and written communication skills, and whether the applicant intends to be a present and an active part of the research environment.

The applicant's readiness to travel to the project's partners and participate in the planned research stays is assessed with considerable weight. Considerable weight will also be given to personal qualities such as the ability to cooperate, sound judgement, taking responsibility, commitment and a positive attitude towards coworkers.

Previous experience with molecular semiconductors and solar cells is a merit. Also experience with materials characterisation techniques such as scanning probe microscopy, electron microscopy, and X-ray based spectroscopy methods is a merit. International experience is also considered an advantage.

Terms

Upon admission to doctoral studies, the person will be offered the appointment of doctoral student (Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 5, Sect. 3). The position comprises four years of full-time studies, or five years of 80% studies and 20% teaching or other departmental duties. The position is fixed-term — one year initially, followed by possible extensions of a maximum of two years at a time. The PhD studentship starts as soon as possible, but preferably before 1st March 2024.

Application

Submit the application via the university’s web-based recruitment tool, Varbi. Applicants are responsible for submitting a complete application in accordance with the advertisement, for providing translations of any documents written in a language other than Swedish, Norwegian, Danish or English, and for ensuring that the documentation allows for objective and qualitative assessments. A complete application should be submitted by the application deadline. An incomplete application may jeopardise a fair assessment of qualifications.

The application should include:

• a cover letter where the applicant details the reasons behind their interest in the position,
• a list of qualifications (CV),
• degree certificate with a complete transcript of the courses included, or a certified list of completed courses with grades and dates,
• copy of the master’s thesis or equivalent,
• where applicable, copies of publications or certificates for other qualifications
• any letters of recommendation.
• two references, such as a teacher, supervisor, or previous or current superior.

Attach all the documents and publications you wish to be considered to the electronic application (do not just provide links). Name each uploaded document to clearly indicate its content.

Documents that cannot be submitted electronically should be sent to the following address:
Karlstads universitet
Hanna Ljungdahl
651 88 KARLSTAD
Sweden

Application deadline: 2023-11-06

State the ref.no: REK 2023/200

Applicants with qualifications from abroad

If you have qualifications from a university outside Sweden or if they have not been recognised by a Swedish authority before, it is important that you attach degree certificates and official transcripts to facilitate the recognition of foreign qualifications. Provide a contact for the degree-awarding institution (phone number or email) who can verify your qualifications.

Contact OPVStability

For further information about OPVStability and the Doctoral Candidate positions, you may contact Project Manager, Dr. Julirose Kourist at opvstability@tugraz.at

We look forward to your application!

 Karlstad University has chosen advertising channels for this recruitment and firmly declines any contact with advertising or recruitment agencies.