A position of postdoctoral researcher in the Computational Materials Group at the University of Virginia is available as a result of a new collaborative project aimed at the development of advanced methods of carbon fibers fabrication from organic precursors. The postdoctoral researcher will join a multi-disciplinary research team working on optimization of atomic structure of carbon fibers through targeted experiments and multiscale modeling of chemical reactions and structural rearrangements occurring at different stages of the carbon fiber fabrication. Large-scale atomistic and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of the mechanical properties of the carbon fibers are of particular interest in this project.

The postdoctoral researcher is expected to

(1)Conduct cutting edge fundamental research in the area of computational materials science, with initial focus on modeling the structure and properties of carbon fibers. The project involves the development of new computational models and their implementation in massively parallel computer codes.

(2)Present research findings at national and international research conferences; publish in high impact journals.

(3)Contribute to the day-to-day operations of the Computational Materials Group at the Materials Science and Engineering Department of the University of Virginia, assist members of the Group in accessing national supercomputing resources, and provide mentoring to undergraduate and graduate students.

(4)Interact with external collaborators to strengthen existing research projects in the Computational Materials Group. Contribute to the preparation of new funding proposals for sponsored research.

The requirements of the position include a PhD degree in Materials Science, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, or related discipline, established expertise in atomistic modeling and parallel programming.

Interested applicants should send their CVs and brief informal enquiries to Prof. Leonid Zhigilei at lz2n@virginia.edu

Research assistantships are available for students interested in pursuing Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering. The graduate students will join the Computational Materials Group and work on the development and application of various computational techniques (atomistic, continuum, mesoscopic) to research problems in general areas of laser – materials interactions, acoustic activation of surface processes, and investigation of properties of nanostructured materials. Members of the Computational Materials Group develop and run computer codes on local and national supercomputers, participate in schools, workshops, and research conferences, and are actively involved in collaborations with experimental and computational research groups worldwide.

Students with strong motivation to perform creative scientific research and holding bachelor's or master's degrees in physics, materials science, mechanical engineering, chemistry, computational sciences, or related disciplines are encouraged to apply. Experience with any computational methods and/or high-performance computing is highly desirable.

In addition to applying to the MSE graduate program, interested applicants should send their CV and a brief motivation letter/e-mail to Prof. Leonid Zhigilei at lz2n@virginia.edu