PhD Position in Interfacial Imaging of Membrane Water, EPFL
Job Description
EPFL’s Laboratory for fundamental BioPhotonics is taking applications for a PhD position imaging water at membrane interfaces with nonlinear optical techniques. The call is open until filled.
At a glance
- Post: PhD Position in Interfacial Imaging of Membrane Water
- Where: Laboratory for fundamental BioPhotonics (LBP), EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Pay: on the EPFL scale for this grade; the advert gives no figure
- Closing date: none given. EPFL reviews applications as they arrive, so the post is open until filled. We re-check these listings about every 30 days
Read the official EPFL advertisement before you apply.
The project
The laboratory develops nonlinear imaging techniques to study, characterise and image water in different configurations. This project looks at water at the membrane interface.
Water is the liquid of life and is tied directly to our wellbeing. Without water, cell membranes cannot function. Charges and charged groups at a membrane surface organise the water around them, and that organised layer is part of how the membrane works. Seeing it directly is difficult, which is what the laboratory’s nonlinear optical methods are for.
A doctorate in this laboratory means learning an optical technique properly and then pointing it at a question nobody has answered. Expect to spend the early part of it on the bench, aligning and characterising, before the biology questions open up.
What you need
- A master’s degree in physics, chemistry, bioengineering or a related field
- Interest in nonlinear optics, microscopy and soft matter or membrane biophysics
- Read the official advertisement for the full requirements
Pay and conditions
EPFL pays doctoral assistants and postdoctoral researchers on published Swiss federal scales, which are among the higher ones in Europe. This advertisement states no figure, so check the scale for your grade and the cost of living in Lausanne before you decide.
How to apply
Apply through the EPFL careers page for this post. The advertisement gives no closing date. EPFL reviews applications as they come in, so apply early.
Browse more research jobs on ResearchJobs.in, or search our Find a supervisor page.
Hiring institution: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Official advertisement: careers.epfl.ch
How to prepare for this application
- Second harmonic and sum frequency generation are the likely methods. Read about them before you write.
- This is a physics post with biology attached. Optical alignment skills count for a lot.
- EPFL works in English. Research and teaching at this level run in English, so French is useful but rarely required.
- Doctoral candidates apply twice. A lab offer at EPFL is normally followed by admission to a doctoral programme, so check the programme's own requirements too.
About EPFL
The École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne is one of Switzerland's two federal institutes of technology. It has more than 6,500 staff and over 18,500 people on campus, including more than 14,000 students and 4,000 researchers from over 120 countries, with sites at Lausanne, Neuchâtel, Fribourg, Sion, Geneva and Villigen.
