Phd Position

The heavy use of pesticides and fertilizers in agriculture is nowadays still crucial for the food supply. However, this practice leads to significant environmental and health issues, including poisoning, environmental degradation, and the development of insecticide resistance. EU policies and the UN Sustainable Development Goals advocate for safer, more sustainable alternatives like biopesticides. The Marie-Sklodowska-Curie doctoral network BIOMAC-BP (Bio-Stabilized Multi-Phase Materials as Carriers for Biopesticides) sets out to address the issue of synthetic pesticide use by developing sustainable biopesticide formulations, bringing together experts from soft-matter physics, physical chemistry, chemical engineering, microbiology, biophysics and agricultural science, and combining industrial and academic perspectives. The project's main objective is to develop and optimize novel bio-sourced materials to incorporate bacteria capable of producing biopesticides, enhancing the benefits and sustainability of the formulations. This effort aims to reduce synthetic pesticide emissions, improve agricultural practices, and support a greener future for the chemical industry. One of the doctoral projects within the BIOMAC-BP programme will be carried out at the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (IET-2) in Erlangen.

**Your Job**:

- Perform large-scale simulations of bijel formation and investigate their rheological properties and stability
- Closely collaborate with experimental and theoretical partners in the consortium
- Analyze and interpret your results and publish them in international peer-reviewed journals and at conferences

**Your Profile**:

- Masters degree, finished within the last three years, in physics, chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, or a related discipline
- Strong interest in soft matter, statistical physics and physical chemistry
- Experience in scientific programming and interest in high-performance computing
- Spoken and written proficiency in English
- Being communicative, enjoying to work in a team and to travel
- Good organizational skills and the ability to work independently
- According to the mobility regulations of Marie-Sklodowska-Curie actions, you must not have resided or carried out your main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Germany for more than 12 months during the last three years

**Our Offer**:
Being part of the Marie-Sklodowska-Curie doctoral network BIOMAC-BP, you will benefit from
- Work in an interdisciplinary and international team of 14 peers and their supervisors
- Interdisciplinary scientific training in all fields relevant to the network’s scope
- Continuous scientific cross-disciplinary supervision by two scientific supervisors
- A broad variety of transferable skills training
- A four to six weeks secondment to an industrial BIOMAC-BP partner
- Excellent scientific networking opportunities
Attendance at national and international conferences and workshops

Additionally, Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg / Forschungszentrum Jülich offers to all its PhD students:

- A vibrant international work environment in the vicinity of the south campus of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and with a lively connection to the research campus of Forschungszentrum Jülich
- Exceptional research infrastructure
- Flexible working hours
- Extensive company health management
- Ideal conditions for balancing work and private life, as well as a family-friendly corporate policy
- Comprehensive training courses and individual opportunities for personal and professional further development
- Extensive company health management
- Targeted services for international employees, e.g. through our International Advisory Service
Further development of your personal strengths, e.g. through an extensive range of training courses

Place of employment: Erlangen