Postdoc position in Materials Physics

• Are you interested in working with neutron scattering methods, with the support of competent and friendly colleagues in an international environment? Are you looking for an employer that invests in sustainable employeeship and offers safe, favourable working conditions? We welcome you to apply for a Postdoctoral position at Uppsala University jointly with the ISIS Neutron and Muon source as well as the European Spallation Source (ESS).
• Uppsala University is a comprehensive research-intensive university with a strong international standing. Our ultimate goal is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to make a long-term difference in society. Our most important assets are all the individuals whose curiosity and dedication make Uppsala University one of Sweden’s most exciting workplaces. Uppsala University has over 45,000 students, more than 7,000 employees and a turnover of around SEK 7 billion.
• The research conducted at the Department of Physics and Astronomy encompasses a wide range of physics topics, distributed over nine divisions. The department is located in the Ångström Laboratory and employs nearly 400 people, 100 of whom are doctoral students. It offers a broad physics curriculum to undergraduate and graduate students, participation in nationally and internationally leading projects for researchers, and opportunities for partnership with industry and various outreach activities.
• The research within the division of Materials Physics, at Uppsala University, is centred around understanding the physical properties of materials by analysing their structure and composition across multiple length scales, from the atomic to the macroscopic, and linking them to functional properties. Core areas are magnetism, hydrogen, energy materials, soft matter and ion-solid interactions. Read more about the department here: uu.se/physics .
• The work conducted in the recruiting group within the Materials Physics division is done in collaboration with the two large-scale facilities ISIS and ESS. The ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Facility, in the UK, is a world-leading centre for research in the physical and life sciences. The suite of over 30 neutron and muon instruments gives unique insights into the properties of materials on the atomic scale. A national and international community of more than 3000 scientists is supported for research into subjects ranging from clean energy and the environment, pharmaceuticals and health care, through to nanotechnology and materials engineering, catalysis and polymers, as well as fundamental studies of materials. https://www.isis.stfc.ac.uk/. ESS (European Spallation Source) is a partnership organization of 13 European countries, and is located in the city of Lund, Sweden. The project includes the most powerful linear accelerator ever built, 15 state-of-the-art neutron instruments, and a supercomputing data management and software centre. It has around 600 employees, and will have first neutrons in 2025, with a start of user operations scheduled for 2027. https://www.ess.eu/

  Duties

• The Postdoctoral researcher will be affiliated with the Division of Material Physics and be part of a group working with neutron scattering methods. Employment will be in Uppsala with extended stays at the ISIS Neutron and Muon source near Oxford (UK) and the European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund (Sweden). ISIS and ESS together represent the forefront of neutron science, combining decades of operational excellence with next-generation source and instrument development. ISIS is a globally leading multi-disciplinary facility where curiosity-driven research meets application-led science and engineering, while ESS—currently preparing for operation and instrument finalisation—will be the world’s most powerful neutron source, built as a partnership of 13 European member countries. The position offers a unique opportunity to work in highly collaborative, international environments alongside world-leading scientists, engineers, and technicians, contributing from an early stage to cutting-edge instrumentation and scientific discovery with broad societal, technological, and scientific impact.
• The Postdoctoral researcher will utilize Spin–Echo Modulated Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SEMSANS) to extend accessible length scales beyond that of the conventional SANS and to obtain spatially resolved scattering signals by dark-field imaging. SEMSANS uses polarised neutrons to encode small scattering angles without the need for a highly collimated neutron beam and measures the autocorrelation function over mesoscopic length scales, probing structural features from the micrometer range down to the nanometer regime. The method relies on spatial modulation of the neutron beam’s polarisation using a pair of magnetic Wollaston prisms - superconducting triangular field regions - placed upstream of the sample. The Postdoctoral researcher will work on the design and implementation of the Wollaston prisms and a spin exchange optically pumped (SEOP) neutron spin analyser, both will be developed on a test beamline at ISIS. Once implemented, the new capabilities will be exploited on the already operating instruments Larmor and IMAT at ISIS. When ESS becomes operational with its novel long neutron pulse, the setup will be integrated and used on the dedicated imaging instrument ODIN and the SANS instrument SKADI. This will enable unique studies on mapping flux lattices in intermediate mixed-state superconductors, characterizing vesicles in model cell systems, and resolving hierarchical cellulose microstructures in collaboration with the project partners.