Postdoctoral Research Associate

As the Post-Doctoral Research Associate, you will be an active member of the ISIS Crystallography Group and be expected to work in a close collaboration with the key partners-from Diamond and PSI. You will play a leading role in lab-based materials characterisation, beam time applications and participation in experiments at ISIS, Diamond, PSI and other international facilities using neutron, muon and x-ray techniques with subsequent data analysis.

• Degree or equivalent qualification in a physical science


• PhD, or about to receive a PhD, in a relevant science area, or equivalent experience


• Solid background in physical crystallography and experience in powder and/or single crystal diffraction and associated analysis techniques (publication record)


• Ability to write and produce scientific papers and present results at conferences


• Experience in carrying out low temperature transport, magnetic and heat capacity measurements


• Experience in performing neutron scattering or X-ray diffraction, at large-scale facilities.
  
  The ISIS Neutron & Muon Source is a world-leading centre for research in the physical and life sciences at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. Our suite of neutron and muon instruments gives unique insights into the properties of materials at the atomic scale. We support a national and international community of more than 3000 scientists for research into subjects ranging from clean energy and the environment, pharmaceuticals and health care, through to nanotechnology and materials engineering, catalysis and polymers and on to fundamental studies of materials.


The ISIS Crystallography Group operates seven powder and single-crystal diffraction instruments. These are used to characterise the local and average nuclear and magnetic structures of a wide range of materials, many supported by collaborations with UK and international partners. Among them, Diamond Light Source - https://www.diamond.ac.uk, and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) https://www.psi.ch/en.

Scientific Aim of the Project

Coupling between structural distortions lies at the heart of many applicable material functionalities such as piezoelectricity and piezomagnetism, linear and nonlinear magneto-electric effects, multiferroic properties, hybrid ferroelectricity, and optical effects associated with a lack of spatial inversion. In all such cases, physical properties can be anticipated by phenomenological symmetry analysis, making this technique a powerful tool for advancing our understanding and discovery of material functionality.

In complex systems, many different distortions can be present and their interplay and thus their impact on physical properties is not always obvious. The method based on decomposition of structural distortions into symmetry adapted distortion modes and calculation of appropriate free-energy coupling invariants brings an understanding of structure-properties relationship to a qualitatively new level. The relevant free-energy terms carry explicit information about the coupled degrees of freedom, revealing crucial ingredients stabilising exotic magnetic structures. A combination of this method with DFT calculations can be particularly beneficial, where effects of "virtual switching off and on" of some structural distortions on the magnetic Hamiltonian can be thoroughly explored.

The research project "Magneto-structural coupling in topological polar and chiral magnets" implies experimental characterisation of complex magnetic ground state and theoretical analysis of coupling phenomena in various materials with exotic magnetic orderings - from anharmonic spin density waves to topological chiral textures.

UK Research and Innovation recognises and values employees as individuals and provides a rewards and benefit package including:

· a flexible working scheme

· an excellent Defined Benefit pension scheme

· 30 days annual leave allowance plus 10.5 public and privilege days

· Free parking