Tenure Track Assistant Professor Quantum Materials, set up and develop your own research line and research group
We are looking for an Assistant Professor who can strengthen our position in the field of Quantum Materials. This experimental position will focus on advancing synthesis and/or characterization techniques, while applying them to explore quantum materials, such as complex oxides, and van der Waals materials and their heterostructures. Quantum materials are materials that exhibit uncommon states of matter that present quantum properties and emergent phenomena on a macroscopic scale. Some examples are materials that show new forms of magnetism or superconductivity. Avenues of interest may come from novel material systems where proximity effects change and enrich the properties of the material. Similarly, in-operando studies, where, for example, samples are electrically biased or mechanically strained may be of value. To understand the properties and modifications of quantum materials it is essential to control and study them at the atomic scale, and to improve insight in the relation between the emergent states and the structure and doping of the material, as well as the role of defects. Examples of relevant expertise and techniques are -in addition to material synthesis- various scanning-probe-based techniques (various types of STM, AFM, SNOM), XPS, and various X-ray and electron (and neutron) diffraction techniques (possibly in part at large-scale facilities). Notably, while collaboration is encouraged, too much overlap with existing research activities at the Zernike Institute that mainly use electron microscopy, ARPES and molecular ultrafast spectroscopy is considered undesirable.
As Assistant Professor you will:
- set up and develop your own research line and research group
- supervise PhD students
- acquire external funding
- promote the societal relevance of your research
- teach in and contribute to the development of the degree programs of the School of Science and Engineering, especially courses with Physics and Applied Physics content
- contribute to the organization of the faculty, for example by participating in working groups and committees, in the domains of teaching, research and management.
At the stage of Assistant Professor 60% of your time is for research, 30% for teaching activities and 10% for organizational tasks.
Qualifications
We encourage you to apply if you have:
- a PhD degree in Physics, Applied Physics or a related field
- at least two years of postdoctoral experience outside of the Netherlands, preferably in a different country than where you received your PhD (can be compensated for after the appointment via extended research visits abroad)
- a relevant international network
- excellent research qualities, as shown by a publication record in international peer-reviewed journals and proceedings of renowned conferences
- a good track record in teaching, appropriate to your career stage
- demonstrable organizational competences
- cross-cultural sensitivity
- good command of spoken and written English.
And you are:
- a team player with good communication skills
- able to acquire substantial research grants from external sources
- willing to obtain a University Teaching Qualification (Dutch: BKO) within three years
- able to speak the Dutch language or motivated to speak it within five years.
Organisation
The University of Groningen is a research university with a global outlook, deeply rooted in Groningen, City of Talent. Quality has been our top priority for over four hundred years, and with success: the University is currently in or around the top 100 on several influential ranking lists.
The Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) is the largest faculty within the University. We offer first-rate education and research in a wide range of science and engineering disciplines, from classical disciplines such as mathematics, astronomy and mechanical engineering, to interdisciplinary fields such as artificial intelligence, pharmacy and nanoscience. Our community has an open and informal character with students and staff from around the world.
The position we offer will be embedded in the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials. The Zernike Institute’s strength lies in focused, curiosity-driven, symbiotic studies of functional materials involving researchers from physics, chemistry and biomolecular sciences. The driving force is the desire to understand how things work at the microscopic level, also known as the molecular scale. This is the realm of nanoscience and nanotechnology. In this field, the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials covers the whole chain from synthesizing materials, building devices, characterizing materials and devices, and investigating the theoretical foundation of their properties.
Conditions of employment
We offer you a full-time position as Assistant Professor in our faculty’s tenure track system Career Paths in Science and:
- a salary, depending on qualifications and work experience, from € 3,821 up to a maximum of € 5,943 gross per month (scale 11 or 12 CAO Dutch Universities, depending on your career stage) for a full-time position
- holiday allowance and end-of-year bonus of respectively 8% and 8.3% of your yearly salary
- a pension scheme
- maternity and parental leave
- the possibility to work part-time (0.9 FTE or 0.8 FTE)
- a mentor program and a broad range of opportunities for personal development
- dual career support for partners of new faculty members moving to Groningen.
Consider our website for more information about the working conditions at the University of Groningen: https://www.rug.nl/(…)with-us/that-is-why/
As Assistant Professor you will enter a tenure track that, if followed successfully, will lead to a Full Professorship in approximately 10 years. In case of a full-time contract, you will initially be appointed for 7 years and your performance will be assessed after 5 years. This moment may be extended with at most one year in case of a life event (e.g. prolonged illness or maternity leave). If your assessment is positive, you will get a tenured appointment as an Associate Professor. After another 4 to 7 years you will be assessed for promotion to the position of Full Professor. Please consider Career Paths in Science for a complete description of our tenure track system as well as the criteria for promotion: https://www.rug.nl/(…)ce-edition-4?lang=en.
Profile report in which the position is described in more detail: https://www.rug.nl/(…)/structuurrapporten/
Application
We invite you to submit a complete application including:
• a cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position
• a curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and a list with names of references
• a list of five self-selected ‘best papers’
• a statement of your teaching goals and experience
• a description of your scientific interest and plans.
You may apply for this position until 1 June 11:59pm / before 2 June 2022 Dutch local time (CET) by means of the application form (click on “Apply” below on the advertisement on the university website).
The selection for interviews will be communicated approximately mid-June 2022. At this stage we prepare for both the options for onsite and online interviews to occur 11-13 July 2022. In case of online interviews, the final selection will take place in a two-step procedure: (1) Candidates are invited for online interviews (including a seminar and a short presentation on research and teaching goals), (2) based on the online interview the top candidate(s) are invited to visit the faculty in a custom-made program taking the current traveling and safety restrictions into account.
The University of Groningen strives to be a university in which students and staff are respected and feel at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identities. We believe that working on our core values of inclusion and equality are a joint responsibility and we are constructively working on creating a socially safe environment. Diversity among students and staff members enriches academic debate and contributes to the quality of our teaching and research. We therefore invite applicants from underrepresented groups in particular to apply. For more information, see also our diversity policy webpage: https://www.rug.nl/(…)rsity-and-inclusion/
Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code (NVP): https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/sollicitatiecode/ and European Commission’s European Code of Conduct for recruitment of researchers: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code
We provide career services for partners of new faculty members moving to Groningen.
Unsolicited marketing is not appreciated.
Information
For information you can contact:
- Prof. dr. ir. C.H. van der Wal, Scientific Director of the Zernike Institute, c.h.van.der.wal@rug.nl
Please do not use the e-mail address(es) above for applications.
Additional information
- More information about the research institute
- More information on the Surfaces and Thin Films research group:
- More information about the employment conditions of the University of Groningen