Research Associate in the Department of Physics 

Job ID: 015164

Salary: £38,304 - £40,414 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance

Posted: 09-Feb-2021

Closing date: 09-Mar-2021

Business unit: Natural & Mathematical Sciences

Department: Physics

Contact details: Professor Lev Kantorovich, lev.kantorovitch@kcl.ac.uk

Strand Campus   Research    

Job description
Applications are invited from exceptional candidates for a Postdoctoral Research Associate position in the Department of Physics at King's College London to work on a project entitled “Universal approach to dynamics of finite and extended atomistic systems”.
 
The research will focus on developing a novel computational methodology to simulate the non-equilibrium and non-adiabatic electron-ion dynamics at finite temperatures of molecular and extended condensed matter systems. The approach considers quantum nuclei moving in stochastic fields representing the electrons. This recently proposed methodology [PRB 98, 014307 (2018)] combines ideas from quantum fields and many-body theories (non-equilibrium Green's functions and path-integral methods) and quantum chemistry and electronic structure theory (density functional theory). We will apply this approach to a wide class of processes ranging from molecular fragmentation in strong-field photochemistry to local heating and dissipation in nanoscale conductors.
 
Applicants should have a PhD in physics, chemistry or material science. They will have expertise in non-equilibrium Green function techniques (both use and development) and in code development (for instance, in fortran, c++ or python). In addition, they will have good verbal and written communication skills in English, and an excellent track record of high-quality publications. Expertise in path-integral method is an advantage.
 
Funding is available for 4 years, a performance review will be conducted at the end of the 2nd year.
This is a full-time, fixed term contract for 48 months.

Key responsibilities

• Implement the computational methodology
• Further develop the method whenever necessary
• Test it on a variety of model systems
• Use the methodology in high-impact technological applications
• Disseminate the results of the research at conferences and in publications 

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post. 

Skills, knowledge and experience 
Essential criteria 

• PhD in Physics or Chemistry or materials science
• Expertize in non-equilibrium Green function techniques
• Experience in code development (e.g., fortran, c++ or python)
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills
• Excellent track record of high-impact publications
• Good communication skills

Desirable criteria 

• Expertize in path integral techniques
• Expertize in high-efficiency and user-friendly software development 
• Experience in quantum chemistry and electronic structure theory