Open PostDoc Position

Open PostDoc position in Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Lorraine, Nancy, France. A PostDoc position (initially one year, renewable for one additional year) is available starting January 2013 in the Theoretical Chemistry and Biochemistry group at the University of Lorraine in Nancy, France. The successful candidate will work on the development of a polarizable force-field for water, starting from some already existing parameters developed from high level quantum chemistry calculations on water clusters. The new potential will be tested and improved, with particular attention to the description of electrostatic interactions and molecular polarizability effects. Molecular Dynamics simulations with the final potential will be carried out to analyze the vibrational properties of liquid water with a high level of accuracy. The position is sponsored by the French funding agency ANR. The successful candidate will have a PhD in Theoretical Chemistry/Physics and a robust computational background in code development, as well as a proven experience in Quantum Chemistry and Statistical Mechanics. Applicants must show ability to efficiently work in a team and good communication skills. To be considered for the project, applicants should send a CV, a publication list and three recommendation letters to the contacts indicated below.

Research project

The project results from a collaboration that was established among three French leading groups in theoretical modeling: Prof. Claude Leforestier (University of Montpellier), Dr. Daniel Borgis and Prof. Rodolphe Vuilleumier (Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris), Prof. Claude Millot, Dr. Francesca Ingrosso and Dr. Manuel Ruiz-Lopez (Nancy). The combination of the expertise of each group (ranging from quantum chemistry, to water cluster spectroscopy, to quantum/classical MD simulations) will allow to reach the ambitious goal of developing a "first principles" liquid water potential, designed to be free of any experimental input and to work for water in all its physical states, including quantum effects.

Living in Nancy

Nancy is a pleasant city in Lorraine, north-eastern France, within an hour and a half by train from Paris, Strasbourg, Germany and Luxembourg. The city center hosts a few UNESCO's World Heritage sites, and it is world-wide known for buildings and masterpieces in the Art Nouveau style. Easy access to hiking, biking, skiing, climbing and other outdoor sports is a great advantage of leaving in Nancy, a city surrounded by forests and by the countryside and only 80 km away from the Vosges mountains (http://www.tourism-lorraine.com).

Contacts:

Claude.Millot@univ-lorraine.fr
Francesca.Ingrosso@univ-lorraine.fr
Manuel.Ruiz@univ-lorraine.fr