Aalto University is a community of bold thinkers where science and art meet technology and business. We are committed to identifying and solving grand societal challenges and building an innovative future. Aalto has six schools with nearly 11 000 students and a staff of more than 4000, of which 400 are professors. Our main campus is located in Espoo, Finland. Diversity is part of who we are, and we actively work to ensure our community’s diversity and inclusiveness in the future as well. This is why we warmly encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds to join our community.
The Active Matter group at the Department of Applied Physics is now looking for an outstanding
Doctoral candidate
to carry out experimental research within the ERC Starting Grant “Interacting with Active Particles” related to developing novel magnetic trapping and tweezing techniques for active matter systems.
Your role and goals
The role of the doctoral student is to develop novel magnetic techniques for controlling and studying active materials, focusing especially on different types of bacteria. You will work closely with an experienced postdoctoral researcher advising you. You will carry out experiments in the facilities of the hosting research group that include state-of-the-art optical microscopy capabilities, a chemistry laboratory and cell culturing facilities. You will learn to cultivate bacteria, to design and build novel experimental setups, and to analyze and model the experimental data you will collect.
Your experience and ambitions
We are looking for a talented student with a Master’s degree in physics, preferentially in the field of soft matter physics, active matter physics or biophysics. We value excellent communication skills (fluency in written and spoken English); ability to work independently; excellent problem-solving skills; attention to detail; ability to use the language of physics (models, equations, reasoning) to describe, analyze and model the experimental data; and excellent self-management skills.
What we offer
We offer an exciting research topic for a talented student who wants to work at the frontier of soft and active matter physics. You will work within the multidisciplinary Active Matter research group consisting of ca. 6 postdoctoral researchers and 4 doctoral candidates (physicists, chemists and biologists). The group is led by Prof. Jaakko V. I. Timonen with a strong track-record in magnetic soft matter and non-equilibrium systems (see. e.g.
Science 341, 253-257 (2013),
Nature 559, 77-82 (2018),
Science Advances 7, eabi8990 (2021) and
Science Advances 7, eabh1642 (2021)).
The position is initially filled for 2 years. Following a successful midterm progress review, the contract is continued for another 2 years after which the PhD dissertation is expected to be completed. Aalto University follows the salary system of Finnish universities. The starting salary is approx. 2560€/month, and it will increase with responsibilities and performance over time. The contract includes Aalto University occupational healthcare.
Ready to apply?
To apply for the position, please submit your application including the attachments mentioned below as one single PDF document through the link ’Apply now’ link at the bottom of the web page.
- Letter of motivation
- CV including a list of publications
- Degree certificates and academic transcripts
- Contact details of at least two referees (or letters of recommendation, if already available)
Please note: Aalto University’s employees and visitors should apply for the position via our internal system Workday -> find jobs (not external aalto.fi webpage on open positions) by using their existing Workday user account.
The application deadline is
April 26, 2022. For additional information, contact
Prof. Jaakko Timonen. Aalto University reserves the right for justified reasons to leave the position open, to extend the application period, reopen the application process, and to consider candidates who have not submitted applications during the application period.
Want to know more about us and your future colleagues
? You can watch these videos:
Aalto University - Towards a better world,
Aalto People , and Shaping a Sustainable Future.
About Finland
Finland is a great place for living with or without family - it is a safe, politically stable and well-organized Nordic society. Finland is consistently ranked high in quality of life and was just listed again as the happiest country in the world:
https://worldhappiness.report/news/its-a-three-peat-finland-keeps-top-spot-as-happiest-country-in-world/. For more information about living in Finland:
https://www.aalto.fi/services/about-finland
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