Postdoctoral Fellow in Materials Science

ABOUT GHENT UNIVERSITY

Ghent University is a world of its own. Employing more than 15.000 people, it is actively involved in education and research, management and administration, as well as technical and social service provision on a daily basis. It is one of the largest, most exciting employers in the area and offers great career opportunities.

With its 11 faculties and more than 85 departments offering state-of-the-art study programmes grounded in research in a wide range of academic fields, Ghent University is a logical choice for its staff and students.

ABOUT THE PROJECT AND THE DYNAMAT GROUP

The ERC Consolidator Grant project THERMAGINE explores how thermal fluctuations drive magnetization switching in nanoscale magnetic materials, and how this can be controlled and engineered for real-world applications. The focus is on combining ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic materials into multilayer heterostructures, opening new possibilities for technologies such as magnetic particle imaging (MPI) and cancer treatment via magnetic hyperthermia. The project brings together advanced experimental techniques, including nitrogen-vacancy (NV) microscopy capable of probing the magnetization dynamics of individual nanostructures, with large-scale GPU-accelerated micromagnetic simulations developed within the group.

The research is carried out within the DynaMat group at Ghent University. This group studies magnetization dynamics at the nanoscale and has a strong track record in developing state-of-the-art simulation tools such as mumax. The group performs research in an integrated approach in which experimental and numerical research strengthen each other. It offers an international, interdisciplinary and collaborative environment.

YOUR TASKS

As a PhD researcher within the ERC-funded THERMAGINE project, your primary goal will be to obtain a doctoral degree through original research on the thermally driven dynamics of antiferromagnetic and heteromagnetic nanostructures. You will focus on the numerical and theoretical aspects of the project, using state-of-the-art GPU-accelerated micromagnetic simulations to investigate how magnetic and structural material properties determine the dynamics of nanoscale systems.

• Perform GPU-accelerated micromagnetic simulations of magnetic nanostructures
• Develop and implement numerical workflows for large-scale simulation studies
• Analyze simulation data and compare results with experimental measurements
• Contribute to the development and validation of theoretical and predictive models
• Work closely with experimental researchers within the project to guide sample design and interpretation
• Contribute to the state-of-the-art open-source simulation software mumax, developed within the group
• Present research results at international conferences and workshops
• Publish results in leading scientific journals
• Contribute to the collaborative and interdisciplinary research environment of the DyNaMat group