Job description: Development of chemical-design principles for glassy polymers with enhanced rate-dependent rheological response using nonaffine lattice dynamics
Applications are invited for a Research Associate position available for a period of 1 year in the first instance. The project is funded by US Army Research Laboratory and will be supervised by Dr Alessio Zaccone. The successful applicant will be a member of the Statistical Physics Group at University of Cambridge. The objective of the project is to combine atomistic numerical simulation techniques, in close collaboration with US Research Army Laboratory, with the analytical theory framework of nonaffine lattice dynamics. The final goal is to develop quantitative analytical correlations between microscopic physical parameters and the T- and rate-dependent mechanical response of a selected number of polymeric glasses of interest for applications. An interface between particle-based simulations and analytical theory will be built by the successful applicant. The final goal is to provide general laws which relate coarse-grained molecular-level parameters with technologically relevant features of the rheological and viscoelastic response, in terms of viscoelastic moduli G’ and G’’ and their dependence on T and deformation rate.
Applicants must have proven experience of working with theoretical and computational tools to describe the rheological and thermal properties of amorphous solids. They must have a deep understanding and working knowledge of lattice dynamics and its nonaffine ramifications. They should also have excellent theoretical physics, physical intuition and problem-solving skills in general.
More information about the group can be found here: http://www.ceb.cam.ac.uk/research/groups/statistical-physics
More information about the Department can be found here: http://www.ceb.cam.ac.uk/
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 1 year in the first instance.
For more information or to apply, please send a CV and cover letter to Timothy Sirk, timothy.w.sirk.civ@…6165…