Applications are invited for a postdoctoral position within the group of Dr Feliciano Giustino in the Materials Department of the University of Oxford. The aim of this project is to investigate the photovoltaic energy conversion in excitonic solar cells using first-principles electronic-structure methods. This position is available for two years and should start between October 2010 and January 2011. We are especially interested in dye-sensitized solar cells and hybrid nanocrystal/polymer solar cells, although there is significant flexibility to explore other innovative research directions in the atomistic modelling of solar energy materials. This position will be funded through the ERC Starting Grant project ALIGN - Ab-inition computational modelling of photovoltaic interfaces.
This project will be carried out within the group of Dr Feliciano Giustino in the Materials Modelling Laboratory. The laboratory provides a thriving research environment and is undergoing a rapid expansion. The lab currently includes five faculty members (Dr F. Giustino, Prof. P. Madden, Prof. D. Pettifor, Dr J. Yates, and Prof. N. Marzari as the new director), three senior research fellows, five postdoctoral researchers, and ten doctoral students. The research projects in the lab span a broad spectrum of topics in computational materials science, including magnetic resonance and photoemission spectroscopy, superconductivity, nanoscale electron transport, electrochemistry, solar energy, hydrogen storage, prediction of crystal structures, multiscale modelling, and software development. The laboratory benefits from an excellent computational infrastructure and from access to the facilities of the Oxford Supercomputing Centre.
Prospective candidates should have a strong background in first-principles electronic structure methods, and should be familiar with at least one technique for the study of electronic excitations (GW/BSE/TDDFT).
Interested candidates are encouraged to contact Dr Feliciano Giustino (feliciano.giustino@materials.ox.ac.uk) in order to discuss details of the project and the post, as well as the application procedure.