ICMAB-CSIC offerw two Doctoral Fellowships to carry out research in "Hybrid and Organic Thermoelectric Systems" within the HORATES Innovative Training Network (MSCA-ITN). One of the fellowship wil explore experimental tools to characterize thermoelectric properties of organic systems, and the other will explore theoretical tools to determine the thermal conductivity of doped polymer films. Deadline for application is 4 January 2021. 

Information about the programme

The European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network HORATES brings together 8 academic institutions, including universities and research centres, and 5 companies, from 6 EU countries. The network is supported by 5 more partners, including 2 companies. The mission of the HORATES network is to use the large expertise on all aspects of hybrid and organic thermoelectrics that is available in the EU for (a) the strategic training of excellent young researchers in an emerging, interdisciplinary field and (b) the rational development of prototype energy harvesters, inspired by actual market demand.

This will happen by giving 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) exposure to a wide spectrum of expertise. In HORATES, we fuse the synthetic organic expertise with the expertise in processing and characterization to provide stable, high-performance materials and recipes for upscaling and device fabrication. Constant interaction at all stages with theory and multiscale modelling will guide the process. Crucial for the success of the Programme is a multidisciplinary and inter-sectorial network, which will allow the ESR to genuinely discover and/or feed her/his attitude while having an impact on a relevant scientific and technological field. HORATES also has the mission of disseminating its scientific and technological achievements to a broad audience (scientific community, stakeholders, general public etc.).

The HORATES network is composed by: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg (DE), Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IT), Chalmers Tekniska Högskola AB (SE), ICMAB-CSIC (ES), Linköpings Universitet (SE), Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (NL), Technische Universität Chemnitz (DE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Strasbourg (FR), Eurecat Centre Tecnològic (ES), Innovation Lab (DE) and Hot Disk AB (SE).

During the programme, exchange between private sector and academia is promoted by at least one secondment per ESR with the industrial partners and beneficiaries.

The MSCA-ITN HORATES is looking for 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) to be appointed at the host organisations within HORATES. ICMAB offers two positions.

Open positions at ICMAB

The Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB) is a research institute of the CSIC, which is the largest research organisation in Spain and the third in Europe focusing on basic and applied research. The mission of ICMAB is to generate cutting-edge knowledge in materials science and transfer it to society to implement new technologies in the industry within the European Research Area. ICMAB is one of the top-ranking research centres in Spain, is the only materials science institute awarded with the prestigious Severo Ochoa excellence distinction. We offer: 

• 1 Fellowship on “Advanced characterization of the thermoelectric properties of organic systems”. The enrolled ESR will investigate experimentally the complex structural, electronic and thermal properties of organic and hybrid TE materials, with an emphasis on the role of interphases, anisotropy and nanostructuration. The ESR will be working at the Nanostructured Materials for Optoelectronics and Energy Harvesting group, under the supervision of Dr. Sebastian Reparaz and Dr. Mariano Campoy-Quiles, and will strongly collaborate with other partners, including planed secondment at the University of Heidelberg and one spin-off in the thermoelectric field. Information about the NANOPTO group can be found here.
• 1 Fellowship on “Theoretical studies of the thermal conductivity of doped polymeric films”. The enrolled ESR will use state-of-the-art theoretical tools to study the thermal conductivity of polymeric films of different morphologies and microstructures and the impact of doping. The ESR will be working at the Theory and Simulation of Materials group, under the supervision of Dr. Riccardo Rurali. Planned secondments include research stages at Linköping University and one industrial partner.

Start date: between 1 March and 1 September 2021
Duration of contract: 36 months
Salary: The Marie Skłodowska-Curie programme offers highly competitive and attractive salaries. Gross and net amounts are subject to country-specific deductions as well as individual factors such as family allowance.

Requirements and Eligibility

• The applicant must hold a University degree in Physics, Chemistry or Material Science or related Engineering disciplines;
• The applicant cannot hold a PhD degree obtained before the enrolling in the HORATES programme;
• Fluency in spoken and written English is required.

Additionally

• The applicant shall, at the time of recruitment, be in the first four years of his/her research career and have not been awarded a doctoral degree (this time is measured from the date of award/diploma of the most recent taught degree);
• The applicant must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the host institute (Spain) for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the recruitment. 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 taken into account;
• The applicant can be of any nationality.

Application Procedure

The application should be written in English, be attached as pdf-files, and sent electronically as below:

• CV: (Please name the document: CV, Family name, Ref. number)
  •  CV
  •  Other, for example previous employments or leadership qualifications and positions of trust.
  •  Two references that we can contact.
• Personal letter: (Please name the document as: Personal letter, Family name, Ref. number)  Composed of 1-2 pages where you:
  • Introduce yourself
  • Describe your previous experience of relevance for the position (e.g. education, thesis work and, if applicable, any other research activities)
  • Describe your future goals and future research focus
• Other documents:
  • Copies of bachelor and/or master’s thesis.
  • Attested copies and transcripts of completed education, grades and other certificates, eg. TOEFL test results.

Please submit your application using the online form in EURAXESS or by contacting the supervisors first. Deadline for application: January 4, 2021

Contact for further information:

- “Advanced characterization of the thermoelectric properties of organic systems”: Dr. Mariano Campoy, mcampoy@icmab.es, Dr. Sebastián Reperaz, jsreparaz@icmab.es

- “Theoretical studies of the thermal conductivity of doped polymeric films”: Dr. Riccardo Rurali, rrurali@icmab.es

- Visit the HORATES website

- Read the news about the project "New MSCA-ITN International Doctoral Programme on Thermoelectrics with the participation of the ICMAB"