07 Postdoctoral Fellowship at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

The Post Doctoral Research Associate (PDRA) will work on developing and demonstrating ultra-short pulse laser welding of glass, specifically laser sub-assemblies entirely manufactured from fused silica and other high performance glasses.  

This is an integrated aspect of the “Making Challenge” of the “Smart Products Made Smarter” Prosperity Partnership between Heriot-Watt University, University of Edinburgh, and Leonardo UK. https://spms.site.hw.ac.uk/ 

This major project of the partnership is focused on the design, manufacture, and test of a future industrial laser chassis, utilising powder-bed laser fusion metal additive manufacturing (AM) and advanced laser-based manufacturing. The project is split into four areas: 1. Optical, mechanical, and thermal design of a compact and robust laser, exploiting the existing capabilities of additive manufacturing; 2. Testing and analysing new concepts on metal 3D printed parts; 3. Developing and demonstrating laser-based processing of additively manufactured parts, specifically laser-based polishing of AM parts and ultra-fast-laser-welding of optical laser components to AM parts; 4. Glass-Glass ultrashort pulse laser bonding as a technique to manufacture all-glass optical assemblies. This last aspect is the core responsibility of the new PDRA post.  

The Dalgarno Group in the Institute of Chemical Sciences at Heriot-Watt University are seeking a postdoctoral research associate (PDRA) with expertise in synthetic supramolecular / macrocyclic and coordination chemistries, and ideally some experience of molecular magnetism. The postholder will combine in/organic synthesis, single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction to assemble and structurally characterise new, highly symmetric molecular magnets, working with collaborators to develop magneto-structural correlations to discover and understand novel magnetic phenomena. This is an exciting opportunity to join a successful, inter-disciplinary team (https://researchportal.hw.ac.uk/en/persons/scott-j-dalgarno) with access to a wide range of world class facilities for synthesising and characterising new coordination clusters supported by novel building blocks. The work will be undertaken in collaboration with Prof. Euan Brechin (https://edwebprofiles.ed.ac.uk/profile/professor-euan-k-brechin) and Prof. Chris Stock (https://www.ph.ed.ac.uk/people/christopher-stock), and in addition to offering the chance to develop new skills in cross-disciplinary techniques and pursue cutting-edge research, there will be opportunities to develop creativity and management skills. Candidates will be required to work meticulously to develop robust and reliable syntheses for both ligands and novel coordination clusters under a range of conditions. Candidates must also be able to work well independently but also as part of a large team, regularly reporting on progress to collaborators as well as broader audiences through e.g. conference presentations.  

Candidates must hold a PhD degree in supramolecular chemistry, and will have experience in the synthesis, modification, analysis and structural characterisation of calixarenes (or other relevant macrocyclic platforms). With roles in research, practical application and knowledge sharing, the candidate will be required to have significant practical / analytical experience, and integrated knowledge of supramolecular / calixarene / macrocycle chemistry.  

The post is fixed term (up to 36 months) and salary is based on the standard academic and related pay scale but will start at Grade 7, spine point 30. The postdoctoral minimum is at spine point 28. An enhanced professional development package will be provided to the selected candidate. 

The Post Doctoral Research Associate (PDRA) will work on developing and demonstrating laser-based processing of additively manufactured parts, specifically laser-based polishing of AM parts and ultra-fast-laser-welding of optical laser components to AM parts. 

This is an integral aspect of the project “Complete Additive Manufacturing of a Laser Chassis” which is part of the “Making Challenge” of the “Smart Products Made Smarter” Prosperity Partnership between Heriot-Watt University, University of Edinburgh, and Leonardo UK. https://spms.site.hw.ac.uk/

The Biomedical and Astronomical Signal Processing (BASP) laboratory at Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh (HWU), headed by Professor Yves Wiaux, is recruiting a postdoctoral researcher in computational imaging.

The BASP laboratory is developing cutting-edge research on all aspects of computational imaging, from theory and algorithms, to applications in astronomy and medicine. Dr Wiaux is a Professor in the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences at HWU. He is also Honorary fellow at the (UoE) School of Informatics, and Academic Guest at the (EPFL) Signal Processing Laboratories.

The position is open in the context of a large research project aiming to develop a new generation of computational imaging algorithms intended to deliver simultaneously precision, robustness, efficiency, and scalability of the image formation process. Algorithms will in the first instance be designed for radio astronomy and validated at extreme scales, leveraging dedicated high-performance computing implementations. Technology transfer to magnetic resonance imaging in medicine is a secondary target.

Led by Prof. Wiaux, the project is supported by a unique team of  international partners: Prof. Pesquet from the Digital Vision Centre at Université Paris-Saclay (https://cvn.centralesupelec.fr/), Prof. Pock from the Institute of Computer Graphics and Vision at Graz University of Technology (ICG), Prof. Thiran from the EPFL Signal Processing Laboratories (LTS5), Mr Jackson at the UoE Parallel Computing Centre (EPCC), Prof. Smirnov from the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), Dr Akiyama from MIT Haystack Observatory (Haystack), Dr van Heeswijk from the Radiology Department of Lausanne University hospital (CHUV).

Twisted two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures provide unparalleled opportunities to engineer and tune light-matter interactions. The ability to stack various atomically thin crystals, each with unique optoelectronic properties, opens a new avenue for designing heterostructures with tailored nonlinear optical properties. Furthermore, the twist angle between the layers in the heterostructure can be precisely controlled during fabrication, introducing a novel degree of freedom to control the symmetry of the heterostructures, which can be leveraged in developing synthetic materials with reduced footprints and tailored nonlinear optical properties.

The Quantum Photonics Laboratory seeks a talented scientist to undertake research on quantum, linear, and nonlinear optical spectroscopy of twisted 2D van der Waals crystals. The projects will be conducted within the framework of a University Research Fellowship from the Royal Society which aims to drive forward programmable moiré quantum materials.