Location: Guildford

Salary: £29,837 to £36,661 per annum

Fixed Term

Post Type: Full Time

Closing Date: Thursday 24 April 2014

Interview Date: Tuesday 06 May 2014

Reference: 018814

We are seeking high-quality applicants for a six-month research fellowship within the Soft Matter Physics Group. The project, which is being funded by a major international chemicals company, offers an opportunity for fundamental research that has important relevance to industrial products, such as coatings and adhesives.

The project aims to gain a better understanding of the properties of polymer films that are deposited from colloidal dispersions (in the form of synthetic latex). There is particular interest in the mechanisms by which water diffuses through the polymer films and the local environment in which water is contained. The physical and chemical factors that affect the transport and dynamics of water in the films will be determined.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) profiling, using a specially-designed GARField magnet, will be used to determine the distribution of water during drying processes and after water exposure. The dynamics of water when confined in polymer films will be studied by NMR techniques, such as CPMG. Complementary studies will use atomic force microscopy to determine structure.

The Soft Matter Group consists of about 30 PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, technicians and academic staff, working in recently refurbished labs and undertaking computations on a shared server. We regularly publish our results in leading international journals, and our research has been recognised with numerous prizes and fellowships.

We require an ambitious and energetic scientist with previous experience in physical characterisation techniques, especially NMR methods (ideally diffusometry, T2 analysis, and imaging) and various microscopies. A knowledge of, and demonstrated interest in, polymer and colloid science is expected. The successful applicant shall have a PhD degree in physics, materials science or related discipline or expect such a degree soon. Applicants should possess good communication skills and be able to write high quality technical reports and journal publications. Part-time work over a longer period of time is possible.