Computer Simulation of Interfaces

The researcher will be hosted in the active research group of "Computer Simulations of Interfaces", which is part of the formally established group of "Supramolecular chemistry and nanochemistry", at the Department of Chemical Physics of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. This is a multidisciplinary group with research lines on colloidal experimental science, lead by Prof. Andrés Guerrero-Martínez, and computer simulation of interfaces, lead by Prof. Luis G. MacDowell. This blend of experimental colloidal science and computer simulations provides great opportunities for multidisciplinary collaboration as shown from the publication of two articles in Science in the last few years. Currently the group features among the top groups in the Universidad Complutense, with Excellent qualification". This provides priority allocation of resources in university internal calls. <br /><br />The research leader of the team, Prof. Luis G. MacDowell, has over 20 years experience in the study of interfacial phenomena. He has published about 100 papers on the field, and has an h=37 factor. The team usually consists of a few students, as well as a large network of international collaborators. This allows for a dedicated supervision of research work. For example, the last PhD student, Pablo Llombart accomplished his thesis with two publications in Science, and others in Science Advances, Nature Communications and Physical Review Letters. <br />

The properties of the ice surface determine crystal growth and melt rates, and dictate the fate of large ice masses in the poles as well as the shape of tiny ice crystals in the atmosphere. The quasi liquid layer on the ice surface serves as a substrate for the adsorption of many relevant trace gases, where it acts as a small chemical reactor. It can also accomodate ions, and display significant surface charge with a role in thunderstorms.<br /><br />In the near future, we will pursue the investigation of surface structure and dynamics of the ice surface, using both computer simulation methods and theoretical tools in statistical mechanics. Our recent work, published last year in Science Advances, Nature Communications and Physical Review Letters provided great insight into the structure of the ice interface. In the following, we plan to extend our study in order to explore the low temperature behavior, below 200 K, and to explore the frequency dependent spectrum of surface fluctuations.<br /><br />Other research lines, such as the self assembly of surfactants on colloidal nanoparticles, which we have published in two Science papers are also envisageable.<br />

Candidates should have a physics or chemistry phD, with a strong background on computer simulation techniques and statistical mechanics. Some background in surface phenomena is also desirable but not required. It is also desirable that candidates have experience on computer programing, shell scripting and parallelisation, as well as some experience with classical molecular dynamics programs.