PHD STUDENTSHIP IN COMPUTATIONAL MODELLING OF PHOTONIC NANOMATERIALS AND DEVICES

Applications are invited for a UCL Impact Scholarship, a fully-funded, three-year PhD studentship at the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at University College London (UCL), in Computational Nanophotonics. The project has significant theoretical and computational components, which consist in theoretical analysis, computer modelling and validation of developed computer codes used to investigate and model a broad class of optical metamaterials and their applications to photonic nanodevices. The computational work will be supported by substantial access to UCL's Legion, a 90 TeraFlops, 5680 cores high-performance computing platform.

The main aim of the project is research into advanced computational algorithms and techniques, such as finite-element and finite-difference methods, modal decomposition, and beam propagation methods, as well as their applications to computer modelling of photonic nanomaterials and devices. In particular, the computer codes will be used to study a broad spectrum of optical effects at nanoscale, including photonic band structures of non-linear plasmonic and photonic crystals, effective properties of photonic metamaterials, solar cells and other photovoltaic devices, and ultra-fast pulse propagation in silicon-based photonic nano-wires (optical interconnects for Peta-scale supercomputing systems) and other basic components of chip-scale optical networks. Importantly, the world-class research activities on silicon photonics at UCL, as well as our ongoing collaboration with two groups at Columbia University (USA), will provide ample opportunities for code validation.

We are seeking a talented graduate with at least a 2.1 (or equivalent) degree in Physics, Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, Applied Mathematics or a related field. The ideal candidate should be familiar with the electromagnetic theory and has strong mathematical skills, has programming experience, and affinity with computer modelling. The stipend for the studentship will be (a minimum of) £15,590, which is paid tax-free in line with usual eligibility rules. PhD studentship fees will also be covered at the UK/EU rate. Only those students who are considered to be UK or EU students therefore need apply. Candidates should send a detailed CV including qualifications, experience and the names of two referees to be potentially contacted, to Dr. N. Panoiu (n.panoiu@ee.ucl.ac.uk), who will also be happy to answer any questions about the research project and studentship. Selected applicants will be instructed to apply formally through UCL's Admissions.

This position is open until a suitable candidate is found.

Dr. Nicolae C. Panoiu
Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering
University College London
Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE
E-mail: n.panoiu@ee.ucl.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 2819; internal
Fax: +44 (0)20 7388 9325
Web: http://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/staff/academic/npanoiu