PhD Candidate in materials physics – Nanoscale studies of cold bonded interfaces between Al and Cu

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At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

About the job

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

The PhD position is in the newly granted Collaborative and Knowledge-building Project Collaborative Project ‘Tailoring Metallurgically bonded nanoscale interfaces between Al, Cu and Ni involving Deformation enhanced diffusion (MAD). In this project NTNU and SINTEF, in collaboration with industry partners, will develop, design and extend the application range of cold-welding technology. The basic idea behind the MAD project is to control temperature and tailor plastic deformation at the nanoscale by exploiting the potential of deformation-enhanced diffusion, with the objective of making strong cold-welded joints between Al and Cu (and Ni). By microstructuring the joint geometry, we aim to generate an interface nanostructure that provides optimized strength and conductivity for electrical applications, such as battery systems produced by Corvus Energy. The development will be conducted in situ, within a focused ion beam (FIB) instrument, which serves as a testbed for creating the desired metallurgically bonded nanoscale interfaces. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) will be used for structural and chemical characterization of the joints at the nanoscale, Use of the NORTEM infrastructure at TEM Gemini Center will be important in the PhD study, including data analysis and method development.This is also an exciting time to join the TEM Gemini Centre as we are currently installing a new top instrument that will be operational by August 2025. MAD will lay a foundation for fabrication advanced multi-material components and products in Norway based on cold welding and solid-state additive manufacturing, where a combination of mechanical and electrical properties is crucial for functionality. The industry partners in the project are Hydro ASA, Corvus Energy AS and Professor Grong AS.

Your immediate leader is the Head of Department of Physics (https://www.ntnu.edu/physics) .

Duties of the position

• Perform original research, collaborate closely with other researchers in SFI PhysMet, TEM Gemini Centre and the MAD project group.
• Plan and carry out experiments according to the project goals with the support of industry partners.
• Write and publish journal articles and present results at international scientific conferences.
• Perform advanced TEM studies and microstructure studies of cold-welded joints of Al, Cu and Ni.
• Develop analysis methods and high throughput data analysis of TEM experiments.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in nanotechnology, physics and/or materials technology.
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• Current master's students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented before the start of the position and no later than 15 August 2025.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to https://www.ntnu.edu/nv/phd/admission.
• You must be able to document knowledge and hands-on experience with TEM. Experience with FIB will also be an asset.
• You must have basic computer and programming skills. High level skills here can compensate for a lack of hands-on skills in TEM.
• You must have good oral and written presentation skills in English and preferably also in Norwegian

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Phd candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant 

Personal characteristics

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified for the PhD position, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal suitability. The candidate should:

• Be curious and creative with a general interest in science
• Have the ability to work both independently and in interdisciplinary collaboration
• Have analytical mindset and good problem-solving skills
• Be systematic and organized when it comes to both experiments and analysis
• Have the ability to clearly communicate ideas and knowledge
• Show interest in industrial issues
• Be willing to learn from experiences and feedback from others
• Be motivated to carry out a project that runs over several years

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
employee benefits

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 532 200 per annum before tax. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Physics within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

The position is subject to external funding.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution daily.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must be attached to the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The application must include :

• CV and certificates
• transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the master's thesis. If you recently have submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Name and contact information of three referees
• If you have publications or other relevant research work

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates.

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

General information

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality.

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Randi Holmestad, email randi.holmestad@ntnu.no or Per Erik Vullum, email per.vullum@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Magnus Gautvik, e-mail: magnus.gautvik@ntnu.no

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.