PhD opportunities at the University of Patras, Department of Chemical Engineering: Marie Curie PhotoCaM project

MSCA Doctoral Network: Photosynthetic Antennas in a Computational Microscope

• Ten European partnering institutions and companies created a network to offer an interdisciplinary training program focused on a combination of cutting-edge computational methods
• Doctoral Candidates will conduct research in academic and non-academic environments
• Research focus in line with the EU missions and partnerships on Food, Agriculture, and Adaptation to Climate Change.

Ten European partnering institutions and companies participate in the EC’s Horizon Europe Marie
Skłodowska-Curie Action Doctoral Network entitled Photosynthetic Antennas in a Computational
Microscope: Training a new generation of computational scientists (PhotoCaM), which has recently
been received the highest possible evaluation from the review committee. With a total budget of
about 2,6 Million Euro, this Doctoral Network aims to implement a joint doctoral program with 10
Doctoral Candidates (DCs), each in a different partner organisation from different sectors across
Europe, to train highly skilled PhD students, stimulate their creativity, enhance their innovation
capacities and boost their employability in the long-term. PhotoCaM will be coordinated by
Constructor University in Bremen, Germany, with vice-coordination by the University of Patras.

PhotoCaM aims to train a new generation of computational scientists which can treat complex and
interdisciplinary problems in light harvesting at a molecular level using theoretical and computational
tools. The interdisciplinary nature of the problems requires knowledge from biology, chemistry,
physics and computer science in order to combine state-of-the-art approaches like structural biology
(structure predictions), molecular dynamics simulations, quantum chemistry, theoretical
spectroscopy and machine learning into multi-scale schemes.

The main objectives of PhotoCaM will be achieved within ten related individual projects, with an
equilvalent number of DCs to be hosted by the partnering institutions who represent a diverse area
of expertise (classical molecular dynamics, quantum dynamics, and spectroscopic applications):

Universities and Research Centres:

– Constructor University, Bremen, Germany
– University of Patras, Greece
– University of Pisa, Italy
– University of Groningen, Netherlands
– Vilnius University, Lithuania
– ICFO – The Institute of Photonic Sciences, Castelldefels, Spain
– Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria
– Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany.

The candidate will apply computer simulation techniques (Molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo), polymer physics principles, and statistical mechanics to model the behavior of such materials.

We are looking for a highly motivated Ph.D. candidate with a Master’s degree in Physics or Chemical engineering, with experience or a strong interest on simulations.

For more information, contact Prof. Daskalakis:vdaskalakis@upatras.gr