The position

The Department of Physics and Technology is pleased to announce a vacant position of a PhD Research Fellow in the optics group in connection with the recently announced ERC starting grant project ‘Label-free 3D morphological nanoscopy for studying sub-cellular dynamics in live cancer cells with high spatio-temporal resolution (3D-nanoMorph)’. The appointment is for a duration of 3 years.

UiT The Arctic University of Norway

UiT – Developing the High North

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is a multi-campus research university and the northernmost university of the world. Our central location in the High North, our broad and diverse research and study portfolio, and our interdisciplinary qualities make us uniquely suited to meet the challenges of the future. At UiT you can explore global issues from a close-up perspective.

Credibility, academic freedom, closeness, creativity and commitment shall be hallmarks of the relationship between our employees, between our employees and our students and between UiT and our partners.

Revolutionizing Nanoscopy

The Department of Physics and Technology houses the optics group at the main campus of UiT. The optics group has experienced a great surge in research, thanks to a constant flow of Horizon2020 funding through ERC and MSCA-IF projects and funding from research council of Norway through diverse projects. This has lead to a thriving multi-national (currently representing 8 nations) and multi-disciplinary research group, currently comprising of 4 principal investigators, 7 post docs, 7 PhD candidates, several master students and a multi-million dollar research infrastructure. There is a constant flow of international visiting experts.

The group members represent various disciplines like optics, photonics, fabrication, biology, mathematics, sensing, microscopy, nanoscopy, chemistry, computer engineering, electronic instrumentation, etc. The group’s core research activity targets development of cutting-edge technologies in nano-photonics, optics-based climate sensing, microscopy, and optical and computational nanoscopy. There is an emphasis on gender equality, cultural integration, conducive work environment excellence through cooperation and co-enabling, and support of growth and ambition of everyone in the group.

The postdoctoral research fellow will be a part of 3d-nanoscopy team, led by Assoc. Prof. Krishna Agarwal, who works on super-resolution microscopy, also referred to as nanoscopy. Please see 3dnanoscopy.com for more information. She is also the principal investigator of the aforementioned ERC project.

We offer an interesting project funded from the prestigious ERC Starting Grant, scientific independence, good remuneration, great potential of growth, and fantastic work environment within the stunning landscape of Tromsø.

The project

The goal of the ERC project is to develop a new label-free nanoscope comprising of a novel innovative instrument and a novel innovative computational solver, which together provide nanoscopic resolution for reconstructing the refractive index of sub-cellular organelles in biological living cell samples.

This project lies at the intersection of applied physics, applied mathematics, engineering, and biology. It requires a highly motivated, enthusiastic, goal-oriented, and diversely talented candidate. In turn, it provides an opportunity for doing a very interesting cutting-edge and heavily multi-disciplinary research in an early stage of the research career.

The fellow will work towards his/her PhD degree with the following goals:

• development and characterization of the novel microscope under the co-supervision of an optical instrumentation expert,
• participation in the development and optimization of the computation solver based on non-linear inverse scattering under the co-supervision of an inverse problems expert
• integration of the instrument and solver to realize 3D label-free nanoscopy under the super-vision of Assoc. Prof. Krishna Agarwal
• benchmarking the reconstruction accuracy and resolution of the nanoscope
• collaboration with biologists to perform live cell experiments and derive nanoscopy images
• dissemination of the work through scientific journal publications and conference participation

Opportunities and collaboration

The nature of the project and the job scope is that it allows an all rounded development of the fellow. The fellow will be encouraged and supported to build his/her resume towards their ambition in academic, technopreneurial, or main stream industrial career. There is an opportunity for the fellow to build his/her research network through inheriting the collaborations of the group.

Major collaborators, beyond UiT and directly relevant to the project, include USoton (UK), NTNU (Norway), UiO (Norway), IIT (Italy), IFOM (Italy), University of Campagnia (Italy), EMBL (Germany), NUS (Singapore), ASTAR (Singapore), BIT (China), Sun Yat Sen University (China), and IIT (India). The fellow will also be encouraged to become a member of Digital Life Norway (DLN), a national platform for multi-discplinary research with life sciences as a focus. DLN offers several PhD courses and career development programs, which the fellow can participate in.

Contact

For further information about the position and UiT contact Associate Professor Krishna Agarwal:

• phone: +47 776 45157
• email: krishna.agarwal@uit.no

Qualifications

The position requires a Norwegian master degree in physics, mathematics, or electrical or computer engineering. The position also requires admission to the PhD programme. Information about requirements and the PhD programme is available here: https://uit.no/nt/phd

The main qualifications and mandatory requirements include:

• Experience in experimental optics or microscope development
• Good programming skills in Matlab, Python, Java or another scientific programming platforms
• Postgraduate coursework or master thesis strongly related to at least 4 of the following topics:
  • Optics, Optical Wave theory, Ray Optics, Experimental Optics, or Optical Instrumentation
  • Microscopy or Nanoscopy
  • Electromagnetic wave theory, Electromagnetic scattering, or Electromagnetism modelling
  • Linear algebra
  • Optimization theory
  • Functional analysis or Operator theory
  • Computational modeling of differential and integral equations
  • Parallel computing or Distributed computing
  • Inverse Problems

It is expected that the candidate demonstrates:

• Good written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Self-motivation, independence, enthusiasm
• Excellent work ethic and commitment to the job

It is desirable that the candidate demonstrates some of the following:

• Creativity, ability to think outside the box, problem solving and go-getter characteristics are extremely desirable
• Publication record (academic or non-academic scientific), if any, including journal articles, patents, conference articles, software or source code releases, news articles, video or text blogs are welcome (order of examples indicates roughly the order of preference).
• Prior experience or skills in designing custom optical assemblies in CAD software(s) for 3D printing or CNC machining
• Prior experience in synchronization of electronic equipment and customized automation of processes
• International experience and cultural awareness

The assessment will emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position. The candidate must be willing to engage in the ongoing development of label-free nanoscopy and the university as a whole.

Application

Your application must include:

• Application letter describing
  • why the candidate considers oneself suitable for the position
  • what motivates the candidate to apply for the position
  • what the candidate expects from this position
• CV - summarizing education, positions and academic work
• Diplomas and transcripts from completed degrees
• Documentation of English proficiency
• At least 2 academic references
• Master thesis, and any other academic works

Having a master degree is required before commencement in the position. If you are in the process of completing your master, you must document that you have submitted your master thesis by the application deadline. You should have dissertated before the preferred start-up date of the position, July 1st, 2019. You should also attach a statement from your supervisor.

Documentation has to be in English or a Scandinavian language. We only accept applications through Jobbnorge.

We offer

• Exciting research possibilities, international exposure, opportunity to shape and pursue career ambition, opportunity to build extensive research network, and great potential of growth
• Exposure of working in highly prestigious EU funded project and cutting edge research
• Fantastic work environment and good renumeration within the stunning landscape of Tromsø
• Good welfare arrangements for employees
• Good arrangements for pension, insurance and loans in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund

Remuneration of PhD positions are in salary code 1017. In addition to taxes, 2% is deducted for the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund. The working hours will be utilised for research, research-related activities and research administration.

More information about moving to Tromsø: uit.no/mobility

General information

The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants.

As many as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background. UiT and will emphasize making the necessary adaptations to the working conditions for employees with reduced functional ability

According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

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