Doctoral student position in Natural Sciences, specialising in Chemistry

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The Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology conducts high-quality research and education in Chemical sciences and Molecular life sciences. Our research and education focus on a deep understanding of chemical and biological processes in cells and in the environment. We are responsible for postgraduate education in the subject area Natural Sciences with a focus on chemistry, biophysics, biology and educational science. In addition, the department hosts educational programs in molecular biology, genomics and systems biology, chemistry, organic chemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry, as well as prescription education. The department is an international environment with interdisciplinary collaborations in both research and education and contributes strongly to the University of Gothenburg's top ranking in life science. We are located in central premises at Natrium, Medicinareberget, Gothenburg.

Doctoral student position in Natural Sciences, specialising in Chemistry

Information about the research group and description of the doctoral student project

In the research group of Prof. Börjesson, the fundamentals of photophysical systems are studied. Furthermore, are new concepts within photophysical chemistry derived, and physical-organic chemistry methodologies are used to build materials for tomorrow. The competence of the group involves both the synthesis of complex organic molecules and the photophysical/electrical characterization of the molecular based systems. Most often we are working with organic molecules and even though each molecule is able to perform a task on its own, our aim is not to use the single molecules but ensembles of molecules to create materials for the future. In the project, which are financed by the ERC, excitons and photons will be coupled together. This will create hybrid states, and your task will be to increase our understanding of formation and properties of such hybrid states.

We seek a talented and dedicated doctoral student eager to pursue a career in physical or physical-organic chemistry. You should be open-minded, keen to learn and have a genuine interest in science. The ideal candidate has broad knowledge within chemistry and physics with courses in physical chemistry, optical spectroscopy and materials chemistry in the curriculum. We especially welcome applicants with documented practical experience within optical spectroscopy and scripting using MatLab or python. You should be able to work independently and within a group, and communicate well in English. A large portion of the assessment will be based upon excellence, which will be based upon your grades, your scientific presentation at the interview, and your answer on questions on the interview

For more information on the group see: Karl Börjesson | University of Gothenburg (gu.se)

For more information on strong light-matter coupling see: The Rise and Current Status of Polaritonic Photochemistry and Photophysics | Chemical Reviews (acs.org)

To see the latest group articles, click on the following link: ‪Karl Börjesson - ‪Google Scholar

General information about being a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg can be found on the university's doctoral student pages. <https://www.gu.se/en/doctoral-studies>

Duties as a doctoral student

A fundamental physical property of matter is its ability to interact with light. For example, plant leaves are green because they absorb visible light. However, it is less known that this light-matter interaction can be enhanced to the point where it is so strong that the photon and molecule cannot be regarded as separate entities, but as a combined system with unique properties. Nature uses strong chromophore-chromophore interactions to rapidly channel absorbed sunlight to the photosynthetic reaction centre. However, up to now, organic solar cells do not take advantage of such quantum processes to enhance light to electricity conversion. Our over ambition is to channel excitation energy to charge transfer states in an organic heterojunction using the delocalized nature of hybrid light-matter states. This interaction enables transport of excitation energy over distances much longer than being previously considered feasible. Your project aim is to increase the fundamental understanding of the properties and use of hybrid light-matter states, this to facilitate the incorporation of this phenomenon in technology. Such increase of understanding can reached by improvement of used material (dyes), or connecting experimental data (optical spectroscopy) to theory in a new fashion.

During your studies you will become an expert within molecular photophysics using organic dyes. Specifically, you will work at the UV/Vis regime of the electromagnetic spectrum, and you will probe both absorption and emission events at timescales from femtoseconds to microseconds. You will learn how to model the photophysics that is occurring using rate equations and how to link your experimental data to your model. Furthermore, you will learn how to simulate your studied systems from a classical electromagnetism point of view using the transfer matrix model. You will work independently within a research group consisting of about 10 researchers.

Doctoral studies comprises four years of full-time study, and leads to a doctoral degree.

The work during the doctoral student period is to result in a written and defended doctoral thesis that complies with the rules for a thesis at the University of Gothenburg.

As part of your employment as a doctoral student, you may have departmental duties corresponding to up to 20 per cent of full-time employment, distributed throughout your study period, and result in a corresponding extension of the studies. Departmental duties usually consist of teaching at first- and second-cycle levels, but may also include research and administration.

In addition to their scientific work, doctoral students are required to participate in courses, staff activities and group activities and literature seminars

Eligibility

Doctoral studies requires general eligibility and, where appropriate, specific eligibility as set out in the general syllabus for the subject.

The general eligibility requirements for doctoral studies are:

1. having completed a degree at second-cycle level, or
2. the fulfilment of course requirements totalling at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits must be at second-cycle level, or
3. the acquisition of equivalent knowledge in some other way, either in Sweden or abroad.

To meet the specific entry requirements for third-cycle studies, according to the general syllabus, applicants must:

1. have a second-cycle (advanced-level) degree in a for the planned third-cycle education relevant subject area in the natural sciences, or
2. have completed studies for at least 60 higher education credits at a second-cycle level in a for the planned third-cycle education relevant subject areas in the natural sciences, or
3. have completed a corresponding program of relevance to the planned third-cycle program, in Sweden or in another country, or have equivalent qualifications.

For specific eligibility, applicants must also have a good command of spoken and written English. The benchmark is 550 points on the TOEFL test (or 213 points on the TOEFL-CBT, or 79 points on the TOEFL-iBT).

Assessment criteria

Selection among applicants who meet the basic and specific entry requirements is based on their ability to benefit from the doctoral education.

The following assessment criteria shall be applied when selecting applicants:

• merits from basic education
• merits from advanced level education, which are invoked within specific entry requirements
• the relevance of previous education to the planned doctoral education
• assessment of the applicant's ability to benefit from doctoral education
• where applicable, assessment of the applicant's ability to work in a research group

Required knowledge and experience:

• Master in Chemistry or Physics
• Ability to discuss research on a high level
• Ability to express oneself in spoken and written English

Desirable knowledge and experience:

• Knowledge/experience on a master level in Physical chemistry, material science, and/or optical spectroscopy
• Experience in scripting (e.g. in Matlab or Python)

The application documents may be supplemented with interviews and references. The selection must not be made in a way that particularly favours applicants who have previously done project work or held project employment at the supervisor's department.

Admission to doctoral studies

Decisions on admission to doctoral studies are made by the Head of Department and cannot be appealed.

Employment as a doctoral student

Once you have been admitted to doctoral studies, you will be employed as a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg to finance your doctoral studies.

Type of employment: Fixed-term employment in accordance with Regulation SFS 1993:100, four years

Scope of employment: Full time [100 %]

Location: Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, Gothenburg

Start date: By agreement

The University applies a local agreement on salaries for doctoral students.

The provisions for employment as a doctoral student can be found in ordinance SFS 1993:100.

Initial employment as a doctoral student may apply for a maximum of one year, and may be renewed by a maximum of two years at a time. However, at the Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, the general rule is that employment as a doctoral student may be extended for a maximum of one year at a time, provided that progress is being made in the doctoral studies.

A doctoral student may be employed as a doctoral student for a maximum of eight years, but the total period of employment may not be longer than the equivalent of full-time education at doctoral level for four years.

Please note, doctoral studies at the Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology require physical presence to conduct the studies. If the admitted applicant needs a residence permit for higher education to pursue studies in Sweden, the Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology has the right to revoke the admission decision if the applicant cannot present a valid residence permit no later than at the start of the studies.

Contact information

If you have any questions regarding the doctoral student position, please feel free to contact Karl Börjesson. e-mail: karl.borjesson@gu.se phone: +46 0766229099.

Application

You can apply to be admitted to doctoral studies via the University of Gothenburg’s recruitment portal. It is your responsibility to ensure that the application is complete as per this notice, and that the University receives it by the final application deadline.

The application must be written in English and include:

• CV with description of educational background.
• Thesis or equivalent independent work.
• Proof of advanced level degree or completed courses, see eligibility requirements above. Proof must be translated into English if it is in a language other than Swedish or English. In your application, provide a contact (telephone number or email) for the issuing educational institution that can verify your degree.
• Certificate of valid TOEFL or TOEFL-CBT or TOEFL-iBT test.
• Two references (name, email address, telephone number, relationship)

All documents must be in PDF format and named in a way that clearly shows their content.

Applications must be received by: 2026-04-29