Postdoctoral Researcher – SupraChem

The “Responsive Soft Materials and Interfaces” lab at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam, Germany invites applications from outstanding young scientists for the position of

Postdoctoral Researcher (salary grade E13)

We are looking for a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher with a background in supramolecular chemistry, systems chemistry or related fields who is interested in joining our multinational and interdisciplinary research team to work in the field of active and responsive soft materials.

For the advertised position, we are looking for a candidate interested in applying her/his synthetic skills to the development of active surfactants that change shape, allow for bioconjugation, or undergo triggered assembly/disassembly. These will allow to create artificial soft robots based on responsive polymers and emulsions that exhibit chemo-intelligence in that they are capable to autonomously interact with their environment and operate in response to (bio‑)chemical cues. The research outcomes will help to unravel fundamental mechanisms of inter-colloidal communication in nature and we plan to leverage the discoveries to create new and improved transformative application concepts, e.g. in biomimicry, solar energy conversion and catalysis, environmental remediation and monitoring, as well as in chemo- and biosensing platforms.

Candidates should hold a PhD degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Polymer Science or closely related fields, should be a motivated team player, and confident in spoken and written English. Independence, creativity, passion, and good communication skills are essential. Moreover, background and interests in one or more of the following areas: colloid and interface science, active soft matter, macromolecular and polymer science, physical/analytical chemistry, biosensing, and/or super resolution microscopy are welcomed.

The position is funded as part of the framework of the Emmy Noether project “Dynamic Liquid Colloids”. The accepted candidate will join the Department of Colloid Chemistry (Director: Prof. Dr. Dr. Markus Antonietti) at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in the Emmy Noether research group led by Dr. Lukas Zeininger (https://www.mpikg.mpg.de/6207047/responsive-soft-materials-interfaces).

Interested candidates should send their application including a short statement of motivation, a CV (including scientific publications, posters and talks), and BSc and MSc certificates/transcripts to lukas.zeininger@mpikg.mpg.de. The position is available starting in fall/winter 2023 and the application deadline is October 5^th, 2023. All applications will be evaluated internally according to the project and selected candidates will be invited for an online interview. After the online interviews the interviewed candidates will receive an email with the final decision.

The Max-Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals. Furthermore, the Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.

For further information about the institute see https://www.mpikg.mpg.de/.