33 Postdoctoral Fellowship at ETH Zurich, Switzerland

You will be responsible for running a basic pulsed laser deposition system and fabricating high-quality thin films, nanocomposites and multilayers. Furthermore, you will carry out research that fits with one or more of the research fields of the Laboratory for Mesoscopic Systems including frustrated spin systems, ultrafast processes, hybrid systems and spintronics. In addition, you will be part of a team ascertaining the properties of the systems with large-scale facilities (synchrotron x-rays and neutrons).  In this postion, you will have the opportunity to create nanostructures with state-of-the-art nanofabrication methods, and study ultrafast processes with lab-based equipment and x-ray-free electron lasers. Finally, you are expected to make measurements and take responsibility for the group instruments such as the x-ray diffractometer, and SQUID-VSM and PPMS measurement systems.

There is an urgent need to create sustainable and resilient value chains to support and speed up the energy transition. However, Switzerland and the EU are highly dependent on imported critical devices and raw materials – especially in strategic sectors, such as renewable energy. The project SPEED2ZERO of the joint initiative of the ETH domain aims to develop toolboxes, action plans, and technology to enable a sustainable transformation to a net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) and biodiversity-positive Switzerland. Solutions will target immediate action conducive to halving GHG emissions by 2030, developing the required infrastructure, ensuring a resilient energy system, and securing biodiversity. In the context of this project, the Reliability and Risk Engineering group will research transition pathways for the Swiss and European energy systems that are compatible with climate targets (i.e., net-zero GHG emissions by 2050) and will analyse factors that can hinder the roll-out of net zero pathways. These include global industry production capacity of renewable devices, policy-driven adoption rates, and propose measures that can accelerate the Swiss energy system transition to 2030.

This Postdoc project is highly interdisciplinary as it links atmospheric sciences, planetary science, and observations of exoplanets. You will focus on the combined characterization of atmospheres & deep interiors of exoplanets using JWST data of transiting exoplanets with RV follow-up observations. This is a pioneering endeavour, as the use of spectroscopic data for the characterization of the deep interior is still very novel. This Postdoc project is a great opportunity to build a unique research profile. You are expected to bring in expertise from atmospheric retrieval and learn about deep interior physics. The exoplanet community is eager to know what we can learn from atmospheres about the deep interior of planets, and with this project, you will achieve key milestones on your way answering this question.

This Postdoc project is highly interdisciplinary as it links planetary science, geodynamics, and observations of exoplanets. You will explore the evolution of Super-Earths and Sub-Neptunes with a new generation of interior models. The focus is the influence of deep magma oceans on the evolution of planet atmospheres and planetary radii. How do volatiles in magma oceans affect the cooling and chemical differentiation of planets? By combining and further developing existing models, you will investigate the evolution of volatile-rich magma oceans that exist on hot rocky super-Earths and deep in the interiors of sub-Neptunes. This will also allow you to link newly discovered young TESS sub-Neptunes to the generally old population of planets. This project will impact our understanding of planet diversity and is important for the interpretation of exoplanet populations and individual planets.

You will be responsible for creating novel microscale robots incorporating nanomagnets that can be actuated in a magnetic field. The microscale robots will be fabricated using cleanroom processes and their behaviour will be tracked with a dedicated optical microscope. Furthermore, you will develop new methods to control the motion of the robots in different environments and demonstrate different applications.

You will focus on the development of predictive mathematical models that integrate literature data and newly generated data from farm animals and patients (3D images, hormone levels, gene expression time series) into a consistent mathematical framework that will allow us to provide data- and model-driven guidance regarding the best IVF treatment schedule. In collaboration with a PHRT-funded PhD student, the mathematical model will be carefully tested in clinical settings and then integrated into software for clinical use.

We are part of the CREMA collaboration at PSI aiming at the measurement of the hyperfine splitting in muonic hydrogen (an atom formed by a muon and a proton) to investigate the proton structure and test fundamental theories such as quantum electrodynamics. The postdoctoral work will be carried out in a team formed by members of our ETH group, the Laboratory for Particle Physics at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), and other partners.

With the historic Kunming-Montreal Agreement of 18 December 2022, more than 200 countries agreed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. But becoming nature-positive is an ambitious goal, also held back by the lack of efficient and accurate tools to capture snapshots of global biodiversity. This is a task where robots, in combination with environmental DNA (eDNA) technologies, can make a difference. Measuring biodiversity with eDNA involves collecting and sequencing the genetic traces shed by local species in the environment. eDNA surveys are revolutionizing biodiversity monitoring because they are non-invasive and multiple species, even the most elusive ones, can be detected from a single environmental sample (e.g., water, soil, air). The collection of the samples is one of the most labour-intensive and costly parts of the workflow. Robots can automate eDNA collection, providing inexpensive, standardized sampling and enabling surveys in normally difficult-to-access environments. See our work recently published in Science Robotics.

You are expected to conduct independent research on relevant topics linked to the group’s research. You will be required to present your research at national and international conferences, contribute to group tasks and activities, and publish research findings in international peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Involvement in existing projects, for instance on explainable AI for medical teams and railway operators, and collaboration with PhD students in those projects is expected, as well as the creation of a personal research portfolio which combines prior own research with the research opportunities provided by this position.

Applicants for the position are expected to have earned a PhD in heterogeneous catalysis with documented expertise in catalyst synthesis and characterization. We are looking for motivated, committed, creative individuals able to work in a team and with excellent communication skills. Working in a top-level research environment with advanced laboratory infrastructure, the candidate will have a unique opportunity to develop further their research abilities. The position is available from May 2023 onwards.

The Bioprocess Laboratory (Prof. Panke), an international (currently 11 different nationalities) and interdisciplinary (microfluidics, enzyme engineering, synthetic biology, bioprocesses, biocatalysis, green chemistry) group located at the Basel campus of ETH Zurich and part of the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D‐BSSE) (www.bsse.ethz.ch/bpl, www.twitter.com/BPL_ethz). We are in direct vicinity to – and constant exchange with – the life-science and the chemical industry and academic research groups of the greater Basel area.

You will perform collaborative research towards the realization of distributed, or measurement-based quantum computing, realize device-independent protocols such as quantum key distribution or randomness amplification, perform error correction on quantum channels, or work on the generation and study of highly entangled states of microwave photons. You will both benefit from the expertise developed at the Quantum Device Laboratory and expand the state of the art in this field of research.

The projects will combine basic and translational research to develop novel synthetic biology-inspired principles. Rational programming the behavior of human cells will shape future biomedical applications. This may include the design of novel biosensors, gene switches and genetic closed-loop circuits, the synthesis of novel chemical structures to interface and actuate cellular activities or to design programmable cellular implantable devices.

The ultimate goal of the project is to quantify important developmental processes from single-cell data that have so far only been qualitatively described. You will quantify the rates of cell division (i.e., replication), cell apoptosis (i.e., death), and cell differentiation (i.e., transition) based on single-cell phylogenies that are estimated from single-cell lineage tracing (e.g., GESTALT, iTracer) and single-cell transcriptomic data. We recently developed and implemented a conceptual framework for such quantification. You are envisioned to contribute your ideas on biological questions as well as computational method extensions such that single-cell lineage and transcriptomic data can deepen our understanding of development.

We are looking for a postdoctoral candidate who will implement a computational design environment that is geared towards coupling advanced computational design techniques with bespoke digital prefabrication processes. The computational design environment will include common design and fabrication libraries, and it will be open to computational customisation and to the application of automated or integrated human-machine collaborative fabrication systems. We expect excellent programming skills (Python, Grasshopper, Rhino), experience in robotic planning  and ideally exposure to sensing and AR technologies. You should feel confident in leading a small team of young researchers, be fluent in English and German, demonstrate a high level of initiative and enjoy working in an interdisciplinary research team. The exploration and development strongly focuses on real-world applications, and builds upon the direct collaboration with on-going research of the Gramazio Kohler Research group as well as with interdisciplinary partners from the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication.

The above examples illustrate opportunities for cutting-edge research in microbial oceanography that you can pursue. While work along these lines of investigation will be favoured, you will have the opportunity to significantly shape your research projects. A broad range of microfluidic and imaging technologies will be available, as will opportunities to conduct field research.

Your main responsibility of you is to take a pivotal role in research collaborations with industrial partners. This includes the design of algorithms for challenging real-world problems, the efficient implementation of such algorithms, and also being the main contact person for some of our industrial research partners. The position provides excellent opportunities to build a strong profile on the interface of academic and industrial research. It strengthens and expands the applied profile of the group, which complements a strong existing theoretical research thrust, and comes with exciting opportunities to contribute and shape existing applied projects and also spawn new ones, typically in collaboration with industrial partners. The Combinatorial Optimization Group is part of the Institute for Operations Research within the Mathematics Department of ETH Zurich. We are a well-connected research group with strong international visibility. We offer a very stimulating work environment with a highly competitive salary and benefits, excellent working conditions and infrastructure in the centre of Zurich, and generous travel support. The position is initially for two years with the possibility of an extension. The starting date is flexible within 2023.

We are looking for a researcher to join our multidisciplinary team of scientists and work on a new collaborative project with Roche focused on the development of viral vectors for gene and cell therapy. You are passionate about science, technology, collaboration, communication, and the development of translation-oriented products with industry partners.

This position is part of a project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, which will support a total of four researchers, and focuses on the development of interfaces with unconventional mechanical properties. This postdoc position will focus on the friction properties of meta-materials. The objective is to study the mechanical properties of interfaces in architected materials with a particular focus on friction. Both numerical and experimental approaches will be developed and applied to test the interfaces. You will be responsible for the development of the experimental testing procedure and the numerical simulation framework. You will apply these methods to analyze the mechanical properties of various meta-material designs. This postdoc position provides opportunities to co-lead a research project, co-supervise graduate students, and establish and lead collaborations with research partners.