Postdoctoral Research Associate

The School of Chemistry is looking for an exceptional researcher to develop a new method to measure X-ray diffraction during rapid cooling to liquid helium temperatures, and use this to discover new metastable materials with negative thermal expansion. You will work in collaboration with Diamond Light Source, applying expertise across chemistry, physics and engineering.

The Opportunity:

We are seeking a postdoctoral research associate (PDRA) with expertise in instrument development, diffraction and materials synthesis. The postholder will combine instrument development, sample environment manufacture and solid-state synthetic chemistry to discover new materials with low thermal expansion. More broadly, the research will enable a new approach to discovering metastable materials.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing and inter-disciplinary team (www.cumby.chem.ed.ac.uk) and work collaboratively with Diamond Light Source. In addition to offering the chance to develop new skills in cross-disciplinary techniques and pursue cutting-edge research, there will be opportunities to develop skills managing a collaborative research project. 

Informal enquiries should be directed to Dr James Cumby, james.cumby@ed.ac.uk. 

Your skills and attributes for success:

• Expertise in instrument development.
• Experience in cryogenic techniques.
• Expertise in synthetic solid-state materials chemistry.
• Ability to characterise atomic structure using X-ray and/or neutron scattering.
• Interest and enthusiasm to work across multiple disciplines.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.

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