3 PhD’s in metamaterial design and development in the METRAMAT project

Job description

Are you interested in working in a research consortium with esteemed partners from both academia and industry?
Are you inspired to push the boundaries of design principles in high-end technology applications?
Are you fascinated by the potential of metamaterials to outperform conventional materials?

Join the METRAMAT project, a MSCA European Doctoral Network aimed at training young researchers to become skilled in metamaterial development by researching and creating a combined set of design, simulation, manufacturing, testing, reliability assessment and integration tools that will strengthen the European manufacturing industry and lead to a sustainable society.

Job Description

The European manufacturing industry, crucial for economic competitiveness, faces challenges pushing the limits of traditional materials, particularly in high-tech sectors like lithography and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). Metamaterials, built up from rationally, pre-designed architected substructures, hold the promise to outperform conventional materials and redefine the boundaries of industrial design practices, which can drive the much-needed transformational changes in European manufacturing industry.

METRAMAT aims to train 10 researchers in metamaterial development, of which 3 at the TU/e. The involvement of MEMS, lithography and additive manufacturing industries ensures that the scientific training is tuned to existing industrial challenges requiring new fundamental solutions, such as positioning accuracy, sensor sensitivity or shielding of external vibrational disturbances, with emphasis on design for manufacturability and reliability. Together with the transferable skills training, secondments and networking opportunities, this program will provide a solid foundation for a successful career in either industry or academia.

Position DC1: For this position, you will focus on modelling, design, and optimization of metamaterials with tunable mechanical properties. You will develop modelling techniques for rational design and optimization of new metamaterial unit cells with switchable mechanical properties, using multiphysics modelling and topology or shape optimization tools. The main focus will be on relation between static and dynamic properties, such as effective stiffness and changes in anisotropy, leading to switchable directional band gaps or adjustable directionality in wave propagation and vibration control. You will also spend some time at our partner organizations during planned secondments at NTNU (NO), Politecnico di Milano (IT) and Additive Industries (NL).

Position DC4: For this position, you will focus on design and modelling techniques for metamaterials based on emergent non-linear phenomena. You will investigate non-linear phenomena exploitable for metamaterial design for 3D meta-MEMS, analyze suitability of the amplitude dependent energy exchange between propagating and evanescent waves for potential design of a sensor or actuator and develop efficient modelling and analysis techniques for non-linear metamaterials going beyond the direct fully resolved time domain simulations. You will also spend some time abroad during the planned secondments at Georgia Institute of Technology (USA), Politecnico di Milano (IT) and STMicroelectronics (IT).

Position DC9: For this position, you will focus on simulation methodologies for metamaterial integration at the system level. You will develop efficient computational techniques to enable simulations for metamaterial integration into (existing) components or systems, which imposes constraints on the finite size and shape of metamaterial domain, and requires taking into account the effects of boundaries and interfaces to other system components. You will also spend some time at our partner organizations during planned secondments at KU Leuven (BE) and ASML (NL).

More information on the METRAMAT project and other METRAMAT DC positions, both at TU/e and at partner institutions, can be found on the METRAMAT website: http://metramat.eu/recruitment

Job requirements

• A master’s degree (or an equivalent university degree) in Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Physics or similar.
• A research-oriented attitude, with excellent analytical, numerical, and experimental skills.
• Ability to work in a team and interested in collaborating with other researchers and industrial partners.
• Fluent in spoken and written English.
• A strong interest in computational mechanics and multi-scale material modelling
• Experience with computational and/or experimental multi-physics (electro-magneto-mechanical) analysis (DC1), non-linear dynamics (DC4) or vibro-acoustics (DC9) is preferred

Conditions of employment

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you:

• Full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate evaluation (go/no-go) after nine months. You will spend 10% of your employment on teaching tasks.
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale P (min. €2,770 max. €3,539).
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own learning process.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
• An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) for international candidates.

Eligibility

• Recruited researchers can be of any nationality and must comply with the following mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the Netherlands for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date. 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 considered.
• The recruited researchers must be doctoral candidates, i.e. not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment.
• The recruited researchers must be employed full-time (granting authority may approve a part-time employment for personal or family reasons).
• The recruited researchers must be working exclusively for the project.

Information and application

About us

Eindhoven University of Technology is an internationally top-ranking university in the Netherlands that combines scientific curiosity with a hands-on attitude. Our spirit of collaboration translates into an open culture and a top-five position in collaborating with advanced industries. Fundamental knowledge enables us to design solutions for the highly complex problems of today and tomorrow. 

Curious to hear more about what it’s like as a PhD candidate at TU/e? Please view the video.

Information

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact Varvara Kouznetsova, Associate Professor in Multi-scale Mechanics of Solids, v.g.kouznetsova[at]tue.nl or +31 40 247 5885 for positions DC4 and DC9 or Ondřej Rokoš, Assistant Professor in the Mechanics of Materials , o.rokos[at]tue.nl or +3140 247 2644 for position DC1.

Visit our website for more information about the application process or the conditions of employment. You can also contact

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Application

We invite you to submit a complete application by using the apply button.
The application should include a:

• Curriculum vitae
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If the master's degree is not yet completed, please submit the transcripts and an official confirmation when the master's thesis will be submitted.
• Cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position. Indicate in the first sentence to which position you apply and whether you have an interest in any of the other two available positions. Additionally, include in the motivation letter your plan of action specific for your preferred position.
• Contact details for three referees, along with a letter of recommendation provided by each of them
• Brief description of your MSc thesis.

Please keep in mind you can upload only 5 documents up to 2 MB each. If necessary, please combine files.

A recruitment committee will select suitable candidates for a first round based on academic formation, professional and/or research experience, motivation, and references. If selected, you will be given a short assignment related to the topic of the project to evaluate analytical abilities and level of written English, followed by interviews. Interviews will take place online to provide equal opportunities to all candidates independent of their location (estimated to take place the end of January). Ideally, you will start this position between March and August 2024.

Additional information

The METRAMAT consortium embraces inclusion and diversity as key values. In the recruitment process measures will be taken to ensure that equal opportunities criteria in the selection process are applied, irrespective of gender, disability, marital or parental status, racial, ethnic or social origin, colour, religion, belief, or sexual orientation. In case of disability, a special needs allowance is available from the EU to ensure adequate participation in the action.