PhD Candidate in Physics

About the position 

The PhD project explores ways to combine two non-destructive monitoring methods to monitor long fibre reinforced composite with semi-crystalline polymer matrix.  The project focuses on oriented carbon composite with single orientation direction and other materials. The main task is to work on data based modelling to find out whether we can monitor crack formation and crack propagation using specific electrical characterizations (particularly impedance based) first when assisted by direct structural data from X-ray based methods and subsequently without direct structural information. The ultimate goal is to use these ideas to estimate the remaining useful lifetime in composite structures. The exact project details will be refined upon hiring.

The project is funded by Dutch Polymer Institute  and involves interactions with its company partners.

The position is good for a candidate with strong modelling background and motivation to expand his/her professional knowhow to experimental physics and materials science.

The NTNU workplace of the PhD candidate will be in the Soft and Complex Matter Lab . The project is tightly connected to the Bioimpedance and Medical Technology Group of the University of Oslo (UiO)

The candidate is expected to work with the project teams in Trondheim and Oslo and conduct shorter research visits at synchrotron facilities such as European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and at 2-3 company partners in the Netherlands.

The PhD candidate is supervised by Matti Knaapila and Jon Otto Fossum of NTNU and Ørjan G. Martinsen of UiO.

Staring date for employment in the position is January 1 2022 but the exact timing can be negotiated.

You will report to Head of Department of Physics Professor Erik Wahlström.

Duties of the position

• Perform experimental studies to characterize defects in high performance composite materials. These experiments should focus on impedance measurements and X-ray based measurements and should be complemented by mechanical stress studies including fatigue studies and microscopy and image analysis.
• Development of computational methods to correlate measured data to the physical phenomena in materials. In particular, develop and test advanced data based models across experimentally obtained data.
• Active scientific publishing.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in physics, mathematics or informatics. Also relevant background may be in electrical engineering or mechanical engineering or in theoretical chemistry or theoretical polymer science or related discipline. This background must include significant amount of computational and modelling work and at least some experimental work or interest in chemical systems.
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree programme, 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.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants  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  

Preferred selection criteria

• Master's thesis where data based concepts such as concepts of machine learning classification techniques or other advanced modelling methods have been applied in data analysis. These may include commonly used supervised machine learning classification techniques or molecular dynamics simulations, for example.
• Advanced knowledge over scientific programming (Matlab, Python etc.)
• Prior experimental experience over any fields of materials science, electrical engineering or synchrotron radiation is not necessary but considered as an asset.
• Good written and oral English

Personal characteristics

• Ability to work independently and take lead in the everyday work.
• Ability to focus and deliver.
• Motivated by scientific publishing.

We offer

Salary and conditions

PhD candidates are remunerated in code 1017, and are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 491 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years with the possibility of 1 year duty work upon agreement.

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. Certificates and diplomas are accepted also in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above. 

The application must include:

• Letter of motivation detailing why you apply for this particular position
• CV, certificates and diplomas
• 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. If your master's thesis is confidential, please contact Matti Knaapila ([email protected] ).
• Name and address 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 NOKUT, please attach this as well.

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief 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

Working at NTNU

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background. 

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.

In accordance with The Public Information Act (Offentleglova), your name, age, position and municipality may be made public even if you have requested not to have your name entered on the list of applicants

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Matti Knaapila, telephone +47 90 98 21 96, email [email protected] . If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Torunn Elena Myhr, [email protected] .

Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Diploma Supplement is required to attach for European Master Diplomas outside Norway. Chinese applicants are required to provide confirmation of Master Diploma from China Credentials Verification (CHSI) .

If you are invited for interview you must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters. Please refer to the application number NV 124/21 when applying.

Application deadline: 29.11.2021

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Physics

Our research and teaching are both experimental and theoretical, covering a wide range of disciplines. Our activities contribute to development of new medical technology and to finding solutions for the next generation’s communication technology, energy utilization and development of materials. The Department of Physics  is one of eight departments in the Faculty of Natural Sciences .

Deadline 29th November 2021
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service