MSc/PhD Position – Magnetic Properties of Molecular Magnets and Photomagnetism

A graduate student position (Master or PhD degree candidate, depending on background) in the field of molecular magnets and photomagnetism is available at the Sino-British Materials Research Institute, Chengdu, China (URL: physics.scu.edu.cn/sbmri/). This project involves the full magnetic characterisation of molecular magnets with our state-of-the-art vibrating sample magnetometer and AC susceptometer. In particular noteworthy is the extended frequency range of the AC susceptometer, which is unique in the world: It is especially designed for this task/project. Our setup also enables the measurement of photo-active magnetic materials which will be part of this graduate project. It is very likely that muon spin relaxation measurements will be also performed at large research facilities in the UK. This work will be conducted in close collaboration with Peking University.

The successful applicant will be co-supervised by Profs Drew (British) and Schulz (German). The Master/PhD position is financed for initially 3 years (PhD for up to 4 years) with a personal salary of about RMB 24’000 plus RMB 12’000 for teaching assistance, in total about RMB 36k per year. The tuition fees, on-campus housing, medical insurance are included. Chinese courses for enrolled foreign students are available for free.

The candidate should have a Bachelor degree (or Master for the PhD programme) in physics, materials science, electrical engineering, microelectronics or another related subject and a workable knowledge of English (reading, writing, speaking and listening), since all meetings, discussions etc. are in English. Chinese is an advantage but not a requirement. A background in organic materials or magnetism is advantageous but not necessary.

Sichuan University and Queen Mary University of London recently founded the Sino-British Materials Research Institute. Owing to a substantial investment, a more than 200 m2 large clean room area is available for versatile research activities. The clean room and other labs are equipped with brand new state-of-the-art facilities, such as a multi-purpose UHV sample growth cluster, a cryomagnetic system for VSM, advanced AC susceptometry and general-purpose sample characterisations, an extended setup for measurements of optical properties, nanolithography etc.