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Two PhD Positions: Research on Self-Assembly in San Sebastian

Summary

Description

CIC NanoGUNE Consolider in San Sebastian/Basque Country is a brand new research center that is specialized in Nanoscale Science. It offers excellent resources and equipment in an international, highly motivating and interdisciplinary environment.

Alexander Bittner’s group focuses on self-assembly of biomolecules and functional materials, and looks for a PhD candidate who would closely interact with the University of the Basque Country in San Sebastian (EHU/UPS). Written and spoken English should be excellent. Our new colleague should be self-motivated, a team player, and willing to learn new experimental techniques from biochemistry to nanoscale physics.

Characterization methods will comprise SEM, TEM, AFM, and Raman spectromicroscopy. Our new cleanroom facility will be at our disposal. Note: Multiple cooperations in Spain, France and Germany require excellent communication skills.

First, we are searching for a chemist or biologist (a physicist could qualify, too) interested in our project on assembling magnetic materials (such as extremely thin wires) and semiconductors in the Tobacco Mosaic Virus, a nanoscale tube (noninfective for humans). The research will also encompass to elucidate the nanofluidic behaviour of the tube. The aim is to access the “true” nanoscale below 10 nm feature size where physical properties of matter can be very different from those of bulk materials.

Papers: For example S. Balci et al., Angew. Chemie Int. Ed. 46 (2007) 3149, „ Self-Assembly of Metal-Virus Nanodumbbells”, or M. Knez, et al., Nano Lett. 3 (2003) 1079, “Biotemplate Synthesis of 3 nm Nickel and Cobalt Nanowires”
Review: A.M. Bittner, Naturwissenschaften 92 (2005) 51, “Biomolecular Rods and Tubes in Nanotechnology”

Second, we are searching for a physicist or biologist (a chemist could qualify, too) interested in combining self-assembly of peptides and proteins with electrospinning to produce nanowires and nanotubes. The physics of the spinning process, the chemical properties of the molecular species, and biological aspects of structure formation meet in a challenging and fresh project, aiming at insight into the physics of fiber and tube assembly in living beings (e.g. microtubuli or peptides that line nuceopores and control transport to cell nuclei). Reference: G. Singh et al., Adv. Mater. 20 (2008) 2332.

Please include detailed marks, and apply with specific reference to one of the two offers, else your application will be ignored.

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