European Ph.D. in Materials Science at the University of Milano Bicocca
Eight Ph.D. positions will be available starting on January 2009 andlasting for three years. The tax free salary will be € 1234 per month.During offsite stages the base salary will be further increased by50%. A few rooms might be available in the University Residence.
Curriculum A (funded by the University):
A1-A3: 3 grants on any research topic developed in the Department of Materials Science;
A4: 1 grant on structural advanced materials (with special emphasis onceramics);
A5: 1 grant on energy saving and distributed power generation.
Curriculum B (funded by Pirelli SpA):
B1: 1 grant on ab initio models of catalysts for anti-particle filters(grant available to non-EC students);
B2: 1 grant on high efficiency Si based photovoltaic cells withsurface treatments (grant available to non-EC students);
B3: 1 grant on photovoltaic organic and hybrid photovoltaic cells
Additional six positions without a supporting grant are also available.
The Ranking ProcedureThe call has just been published. You can download it either inItalian or in English. Deadline for applications is September 15, 2008.
Candidates must hold a master or an equivalent University degree inMaterials Science, Physics, Chemistry or Physical, Chemical andMaterials Engineering at the time of the written test. Applicants willbe evaluated on the basis of their CV, of a written exam on physicsand/or chemistry and of a viva (oral) exam about their past researchactivity.
Exams will be held:
* Written test: October 28, 2008, 2:00 pm, Seminar Room of the Department of Materials Science, Bldg. U5, Via Cozzi, 53 - Milano
* Oral examination: October 30, 2008, 10:00 am, Seminar Room of the Department of Materials Science, Bldg. U5, Via Cozzi, 53 – Milano
Non-EC applicants to positions B2 or B3 will be exempted from the examand will be evaluated on the basis of their CV. They are thereforesuggested to send their resume to Prof. Pacchioni (position B1) and/orto Prof. Narducci (position B2) and to check all details of theapplication procedure as published in the call. For legal informationconcerning the application/ranking procedure for non-EC applicantsplease contact the doctorate secretary Dr. Maria Cristina Fassina.
Candidate ranking will be made available within a week from the oralexamination.
For general information please e-mail the doctorate secretary Dr.Maria Cristina Fassina. For specific information on Pirelli grants, contact Dr. Vincenzo Boffa.
The University
The University of Milano-Bicocca was founded just ten years ago, inJune 1998. It is set on an area, called Bicocca, in the northern partof Milan which was the kernel of its past industrial activity with alot of the largest Italian factories in steel processing, chemicalmanufacturing, and electro-mechanics. Nowadays the production linesare far from town, and part of advanced industrial research andmanaging are still in the borough of Bicocca. For this reason theUniversity of Milano-Bicocca has strong technological vocation. In thefaculty of science non-traditional degrees, from B.Sc. to Ph.D., inmaterials science, biotechnology and environmental science are coupledto the conventional ones in physics, mathematics, biology, chemistry, computation and earth science. Very exciting atmosphere, up-to-datelaboratory training, several research groups of international leveland officially rated among the top in Italy, have attracted a lot ofstudents; at the present the whole University hosts more than 30000 students.
The Doctorate
The scientific activities related to PCAM are developed in theDepartment of Materials Science where the research laboratories andthe teaching staff of the doctorate in Materials Science of theUniversity of Milano-Bicocca are located. The aim of this doctorate isto train graduate students in investigating fundamental, applicativeand industrial topics, either experimentally ortheoretically/computationally. Such a result is accomplished bycourses and research in all areas constituting the modern materialsscience and the technological innovation. The main topics compriseinnovative chemical processes, synthesis and application of organicsemiconductors, electrochemistry, new functional and structuralmaterials, materials for the energy production and storage,nano-structured materials, microelectronics, smart sensor systems,laser optoelectronics, theoretical and computational modelling. Inparticular, perspective Ph D students in materials science couldchoose their research subject among:
o Functional materials for photonics, micro- and optoelectronicsand radiation detection
§ Molecular semiconductors;
§ Semiconductor quantum structures;
§ Organic non-linear optical materials;
§ Glass and ceramic materials.
o Sensing materialso Materials for energetics
§ Hydrogen storage materials;
§ Organic and hybrid photovoltaic materials;
§ High efficiency silicon photovoltaic materials with surface treatments;
§ Fuel cells electrode and electrolyte materials;
§ Rechargeable Li-ions battery materials.
o Advanced NMR techniques for material so Culture heritage and luminescence datingo Surface science
§ Crystal growth;
§ OMB Deposition.
o Theory and materials computation
§ Classical and quantum molecular dynamics: simulations of growthprocesses and of tailoring of microelectronics and photonics materials;
§ Density Function Theory, Many-Body methods and quantum modeling formagnetic nanostructures, magnetic scanning tunneling spectroscopy, andexcited states in surface science;
§ Theoretical chemistry for catalysis;
§ Ab initio models for hydrids.
The Research
A full list of research groups and their interests may be accessed viathe Department of Materials Science website. The Materials Science PhD course is organized in two curricula: the former devoted to basicresearch (A) and the latter to applied one (B). The curriculum B,funded by Pirelli Company, is devoted to provide strong scientific aswell as applied knowledge suitable to the development of new materialsin an industrial environment.
Students are required to follow some courses: among them fundamentalsof finance, economics for research management, and elements ofIntellectual Property, management and protection, can be chosen.Furthermore students have to spend a minimum six month period at aforeign research laboratory, selected together with their own tutors.The stay at one of the Universities belonging to the network PCAM isstrongly encouraged and gives the advantage to obtain the creditsneeded for the European doctorate in Physics and Chemistry of AdvancedMaterials.
For any further information please contact the Doctorate Dean, Prof.G.P. Brivio.
