PhD Positions Available University of Zürich, Switzerland Group of Peter Hamm
Two PhD positions are available at the Department of Chemistry, University of Zürich, Switzerland.
The general topic of the group is the structure and dynamics of complex molecular systems investigated by ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy such as pump-probe spectroscopy and/or 2D IR spectroscopy. More specifically, the PhD project could be in one of the following fields: – Photoswitchable Allosteric Proteins: In a continuation of preceding work [1,2], we wish to add specific labels at various positions of either a photoswitchable allosteric protein or a ligand binding to it, and thereby study the response of the protein after a perturbation in a spatially resolved manner. That project requires a strong biochemistry background in addition to the spectroscopic work which is planned. – Photocatalytic Surfaces: We have recently combined 2D-IR and ATR spectroscopy [3,4], introducing surface selectivity into the method, which will now be applied to study the dynamics of photocatalytic surfaces. Besides a solid background in Physical Chemistry, some knowledge in electrochemistry would be desirable for that project. The PhD positions are available immediately.
Besides exceptional living conditions in Switzerland and an above-average salary, the positions offer the possibility to work in a fascinating interdisciplinary research field between (bio)physics and chemistry.
A flavour of the projects can be found in the following publications:
[1] B. Buchli, S. A. Waldauer, R. Walser, M. Donten, R. Pfister, N. Blöchliger, S. Steiner, A. Caflisch, O. Zerbe and P. Hamm, Kinetic response of a photo-perturbed allosteric protein, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 110 (2013) 11725-11730
[2] S. A. Waldauer, B. Stucki-Buchli, L. Frey and P. Hamm, Effect of viscogens on the kinetic response of a photoperturbed allosteric protein, J. Chem. Phys., 141 (2014) 22D514
[3] J. P. Kraack, D. Lotti and P. Hamm, Ultrafast multi-dimensional attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy of adsorbates at metal surfaces, J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 5 (2014) 2325–2329
[4] J. P. Kraack, D. Lotti and P. Hamm, 2D Attenuated Total Reflectance Infrared Spectroscopy Reveals Ultrafast Vibrational Dynamics of Organic Monolayers at Metal-Liquid Interfaces, J. Chem. Phys. 2015, in press
For questions and applications, please contact:
Prof. Dr. Peter Hamm
Tel.: ++41 44 635 44 31
University of Zurich
email: peter.hamm@chem.uzh.ch
Department of Chemistry
http://www.chem.uzh.ch/research/hamm.html
Winterthurerstr. 190 8057
Zürich, Switzerland
Please submit your application in a single PDF file
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