Research assistant professor (adiunkt badawczy)

Group of employees

Research staff

JU organisational unit (place of work performance)

Faculty of Chemistry

Inorganic Chemistry Department

Field of science

Natural sciences

Discipline

Chemical sciences

Number of posts (in the case of more than 1 post)

1

Type of employment

Employment contract

Working time

Full-time (1/1).

Planned duration of employment

12 months

Expected date of employment commencement

1st April 2024

 Remuneration

according to the Rules for Remunerating Jagiellonian University Employees

Requirements

The selection procedure is open for all individuals, who meet the requirements set out in Articles 113 and 116.2.3) of the Act of 20 July 2018 – Law on Higher Education and Science, and who meet the following eligibility criteria according to § 165 of the Statute of the Jagiellonian University:

• holding at least a doctoral degree
• having relevant scientific achievements
• taking active part in scientific life

Additional requirements

and expectations (as required)

• holding at least a doctoral degree in the field of chemistry or physics awarded up to 4 years before applying for this position;
• co-authorship of min. 2 published scientific papers in international scientific journals included in the JCR (first or corresponing authorship weight 100%, co-authorship weight 50%)
• active participation of scientific conferences – particpation certificates are required along with the type and title of the presentation
• very good English language skills (min. B2 level)
• documented skills in the organic and/or inorganic synthesis and physico-chemical characterization of chemical compounds
• Strong motivation to achieve project goals

Project Title

(in the case of project selection procedures/ IDUJ)

Chiral molecular magnets – control of the UV-vis light adsorpition using magnetic field

Project description

(in the case of project selectionprocedures / IDUJ)

The project is focused on the design and preparation of new chiral molecular magnets (CMMs) showing magneto-chiral dichroism (MChD) - a rare second order cross-effect arising from the coupling between natural optical activity (Cotton effect) and magnetic optical activity (Faraday effect). The main excitement about the CMMs and the MChD effect is the possibility of controlling the absorption of light by external magnetic field. In other words, magnetic field direction and strength controls the color of a chiral magnet. Moreover, the MChD effect is opposite for a pair of enantiomers under the same conditions which leads to a hypothesis that it might be responsible for the homochirality of life. MChD can also be used in asymmetric catalysis to improve the stereo-selectivity of organic syntheses.

Chiral molecular magnets can be "tailored to needs" via the general molecular building block approach using methods developed within the framework of supramolecular and coordination chemistry as well as organometallic chemistry. The general design strategy for any molecular material relies on a careful selection of compatible molecules: metal complexes and ligands bearing specific functionalities, and assembling them into complex molecular architectures. In the case of CMMs the building blocks need to be paramagnetic and chiral, and need to form "strongly" magnetic chiral structures upon assembly in order to show significant MChD. The project will be focused on two main groups of chiral molecular magnets: CMMs with long range magnetic ordering with the highest possible critical temperature and CMMs with very slow magnetic relaxation (hours, days, weeks) typical for single molecule magnets (SMMs). Both groups will be targeted by using known and newly designed enantiopure organic molecules as ligands starting from the smallest ones such as 1,2-diaminopropane and ending with helicene-derivatives. The magnetically ordered CMMs will be assembled using short molecular bridges as linkers between the paramagnetic metal centers ensuring medium-to-strong magnetic interactions within the constructed coordination framework while the SMM-type CMMs will be mostly based on low-coordinate chiral lanthanide complexes ensuring good-to-excellent SMM performance. An alternative synthetic approach targeting bidentate radical ligands coordinated to diamagnetic metal ions in an octahedral fashion will also by pursued resulting in the preparation of Δ and Λ stereoisomers showing antiferromagnetic triangle spin frustration. All compounds developed within the proposed research will be fully characterized using a range of physical techniques including structure determination and magnetic properties analysis. Selected candidates will be tested for the presence of the natural circular dichroism, magnetic circular dichroism and MChD effect.

The successful implementation of the project will have a three-fold impact on the scientific community involved in magneto-optical  and molecular materials research: (i) it will vastly expand the limited library of enantiopure chiral magnets enabling an in-depth understanding of their design principles, (ii) it will provide a molecular playground for the exhaustive study of the MChD phenomenon including its influence on the homochirality of life or significance in asymmetric catalysis and finally (iii) it will provide a unique opportunity to discover the reverse phenomenon – control of the magnetic domains in the magnetically ordered state by unpolarized light (depending on its direction) as well as control of the magnetization by electric field (most CMMs show multiferroicity – a combination of ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity enabling magnetization switching with electric field and electric polarization switching using magnetic field).

The additional key goal of the project will be the construction of MChD spectrophotometer – a unique commercially unavailable magneto-optical instrument capable of recording the MChD effect in the UV-vis part of the electromagnetic spectrum in a wide range of temperature (5-300 K) and magnetic field (±1 T). Currently there are only a few MChD instruments of this type in the world (France, Japan and China) and none in Poland.

Scope of duties

(to be completed with the appropriate description of duties resulting from the project / IDUJ)

according to the Work Regulations of the Jagiellonian University Annex 1 to the Work Regulations of the Jagiellonian University – Model scopes of responsibilities and duties of academic teachers

We offer

• stable employment based on an employment contract at the  renowned university,
• cooperation with the interdisciplinary academic community represented by well-known scientists,
• scientific support as well as the possibility of qualifications improvement and professional development,
• access to research infrastructure: scXRD and PXRD instruments, SQUID magnetometer, DynaCool PPMS system, MChD, MCD and CD spectrometers, state-of-the-art gloveboxes and synthetic equipment, and many others
• benefits in the form of i.a. Multisport card, sports activities, medical packages, group insurance,
• additional social benefits.

Required application documents

Declaration forms (no. 5-7) and personal questionnaire template (no. 2) can be obtained at:

https://cso.uj.edu.pl/en_GB/konkursy

Additional application documents (as required for a given position)

The course of selection procedure

The first stage of the selection procedure is the formal assessment of the submitted documents. Applications which meet all formal requirements are the subject of substantive assessment, during which an interview with the Candidate may be conducted (directly or via electronic communication channels), upon settling the date of the interview with the Candidate. The Candidate has the right to appeal against the negative assessment by the selection board within 7 days from receiving the information about the results of the assessment.

The selection procedure is conducted in accordance with The Policy of Open, Transparent and Merit-Based Recruitment Process at the Jagiellonian University

Form of submission

by e-mail to the address: [email protected] , title: Competition for post-doc position in OPUS 19 – prof. Dawid Pinkowicz

or by mail to: Secretariat of the chemistry department, Wydział Chemii, ul. Gronostajowa 2, 30-387 Kraków
with the note: Competition for post-doc position in OPUS 19 – prof. Pinkowicz

Deadline for submission of applications

15th February 2024

Expected date of the selection procedure settlement

11th March 2024

Method of communicating of the results of the selection procedure

by e-mail

Questions 

For further information please contact to Prof. Dawid Pinkowicz, e-mail address: [email protected]