PhD Research Fellow in Accelerator Physics

About the position

Position as PhD Research Fellow in development of new techniques for particle accelerator final focusing for medicine and research, is available at the Department of Physics. 

The fellowship period is 3 years. A fourth year may be considered with a workload of 25 % that normally consists of teaching. This is dependent upon the qualification of the applicant and the current needs of the department.

Starting date no later than October 1, 2025. 

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo. 

Job description

In order to improve the performance of future particle accelerator facilities for radiotherapy and irradiation, precise control of where the dose is delivered is crucial. This is the focus of the FRIPRO project SHARP: "Particle accelerator final focus systems for improving precision of dose delivery for medical applications and irradiation test stands". In this project, funded by the Norwegian Research Council, a combination of active plasma lenses and quadrupole magnets will be used to create a compact system for creating precisely controlled particle beams converging towards a target, which can be selected in 3D space. The goal is to design, build, and test a proof-of-concept system for this, demonstrate that it can work also with high intensity beams, and to try to exploit non-linear plasma effects to tailor the beam profiles at the target.

The PhD research fellow’s work will involve both experimental- and numerical simulation work. The experimental work will be mostly carried out at the plasma lens experiment at the CLEAR beamline at CERN in Geneva. The fellow will have the opportunity to travel to CERN for experiment building and beam tests for several weeks each year. The numerical simulation work will include modeling and optimization of beam optics, radiation transport simulation for predicting dose distributions using Geant4, and plasma wakefield simulations on high-performance compute clusters using e.g. HIPACE++. 

Towards the end of the project, the adaptation of this technique as a transportable setup for preclinical experiments at the Oslo Proton Therapy Center is of interest. The lab- and research work will be carried out in collaboration with and supervised by the project leader. As part of the PhD program, 30 ECTS credits of coursework (nominally ~½ year of study) in Oslo are expected. 

The work in Oslo will be taking place at the accelerator group in the high energy physics section at the physics department. This research group is working on multiple aspects of particle accelerator design, application, and technology, and is a world-leading team in the field of advanced accelerator research. Led by Prof. Erik Adli, we are currently 5 researchers/post docs and 6 PhD/MSc students, and we are looking for an excellent and motivated PhD student to join this team.

Qualification requirements

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

Required:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in physics or engineering 
• Foreign completed degree (M.Sc.-level) corresponding to a minimum of four years in the Norwegian educational system
• Able and willing to travel to CERN/Geneva for experimental work at CLEAR for several weeks per year.

Desired:

• Experience with accelerator test beam experiments, operation of particle accelerators, or interacting with accelerator control systems
• Experience with programming for modeling of physical systems and/or analysis of experimental data, ideally using at least one of Python / MATLAB / C++
• Experience with simulation tools for plasma wakefield, radiation transport, and/or accelerator beam optics 
• General experience with experimental physics or electronics
• Good knowledge of several of the following topics: plasma physics, electrodynamics, mathematical modeling, computational physics, high performance computing, accelerator beam physics, high energy physics, biophysics, radiation dosimetry, and collaborative software development
• Documented presentation and communication skills 
• For candidates who would like to apply for a fourth year including teaching, good knowledge of Norwegian or another Scandinavian language is strongly preferred.

Candidates without a Master’s degree have until 30 June, 2025 to complete the final exam.

Grade requirements:
The norm is as follows:

• The average grade point for courses included in the Bachelor’s degree must be C or better in the Norwegian educational system
• The average grade point for courses included in the Master’s degree must be B or better in the Norwegian educational system
• The Master’s thesis must have the grade B or better in the Norwegian educational system

Language requirements:

• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English
• English requirements for applicants from outside of EU/EEA/EFTA countries and exemptions from the requirements:
  https://www.mn.uio.no/english/research/phd/regulations/regulations.html#toc8

The purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree. For more information see:

http://www.mn.uio.no/english/research/phd/
 

We offer

• Salary NOK Salary NOK 536 200 – 575 400 per annum depending on qualifications and seniority as PhD Research Fellow (position code 1017)
• Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement 
• Vibrant international academic environment
• Career development programmes
• Oslo’s family-friendly surroundings with their rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

How to apply

The application must include:

• Cover letter – statement of motivation and research interests
• CV (summarizing education, previous positions and academic work)
• Copies of the original Bachelor’s and Master’s degree diplomas and transcripts of records 
• Documentation of English proficiency
• List of any publications and academic work that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
• Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)
• Applicants who are interested in teaching need to add to this application a description of their motivation for and (if any) experience with teaching.

When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your original transcripts or grades. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language. Foreign applicants should attach an official explanation of their University's grading system.

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system (please follow the link “Apply for this job”). 

Interviews with the best qualified candidates will be arranged.

All candidates and projects will have to undergo a check versus national export, sanctions and security regulations. Candidates may be excluded based on these checks. Primary checkpoints are the Export Control regulation, the Sanctions regulation, and the national security regulation.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships at the University of Oslo.

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.

UiO has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results a.o.

Inclusion and diversity are a strength. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.

Contact information

For further information please contact: 
Dr. K. Sjobak (project leader), email k.n.sjobak@fys.uio.no.

Prof. E. Adli (group leader), email erik.adli@fys.uio.no

For questions regarding Jobbnorge, please contact HR Adviser Elin Thoresen, 
e-mail: elin.thoresen@mn.uio.no