Oferta para hacer el doctorado en ICIQ, Tarragona (Física, Química física/teórica, Ingeniería Química, Materiales)

One PhD position is available, ERC-Starting Grant, Prof. N. Lopez at the ICIQ – Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (Tarragona, Spain)

The project deals with the simulation of new catalytic materials to transform biomass-derived molecules into useful building blocks for a sustainable Chemical Industry.

We are looking for a highly motivated, hard-working student with a finished master (60 credits minimum) in Physics, Materials Science, Chemistry (Physical or Theoretical/Computational) or Chemical Engineering.

Requirements:
Experience in: 1) computational chemistry, 2) working with Unix computing environments, and 3) using high-performance supercomputing facilities is required.
Good level of English is a must (Cambridge FCE, IELTS 6-6.5, CEF B2, TOEFL 87-109 or equivalent)
The successful candidate has to be able to join the group ASAP (non EU applicants, please bear in mind how long a visa may take before applying). The evaluation of candidates will start IMMEDIATELY.

Details:
The position is for three years or until completion of the PhD thesis at the URV university (http://www.urv.cat).
Approximate gross salary: starting 13.200€ / year with an annual increase. Contract and Social Security from day one. Free Spanish/ Catalan / English classes at ICIQ.

Application process:
(1) Application deadline: February 28th 2014
(4) The starting date will be as soon as the candidate can join the group and conditional upon previous admittance into the URV’s PhD programme.
(3) Applicants must submit submit to computationalgroups en iciq.es (ref. PhD-ERC) the following documents as a single PDF file:
(a) Copy of the BSc and Master academic records (subjects, credits, marks).
(b) Curriculum Vitae including a short description of previous research and research-related positions, grants etc.
(c) A cover letter highlighting the interest in the position, the reasons for applying to our group and particular strengths and weaknesses. Additional comments on their future career plans, self-motivation and ability to work on a team are particularly welcome.
(d) Names and contact addresses of at least two referees that might be willing to write a recommendation letter.

Prof. Nuria Lopez’ group, ICIQ’s "Theoretical Heterogeneous Catalysis Group”, focuses on the use of atomistic simulations to understand the mechanisms that govern chemical processes in heterogeneous catalysis. The analysis of reaction networks, activity and selectivity issues and the final tests on the stability of the potential materials are fundamental to establish a solid background to determine when they can be considered as a catalyst candidate for a given chemical transformation.

The group collaborates both with several experimental groups and with industry, and uses massive computational resources, as those provided by the RES-BSC as well as the group’s own computing resources at ICIQ.

Highlight papers:

Catal. Sci. Technol. (2012), 2, 2405- 2417
Nature Chem. (2012), 4, 739-745
Nano Letters (2014) DOI: 10.1021/nl404661u

More info on the group: http://www.iciq.es/portal/350/default.aspx
More info on Tarragona: http://www.tarragonaturisme.cat/