Vacancies

We have the following vacancies:

PhD position The Origin of Homochirality (1.0 FTE) (V25.0285)

We are looking for a motivated PhD candidate for a project carried out under the supervision of Prof. Ben Feringa at the Stratingh Institute for Chemistry. The project is part of the EVOLVE Fellowship Programme (EVOLVE – EVOLVE Fellowship Programme), an initiative by six world-leading research institutes of two universities in The Netherlands (University of Groningen, Leiden University) to study complex systems and their role in the evolution of life.

One of the major questions in biochemical evolution is: “How does one break the symmetry?” Two key aspects will be targeted: i) chiral symmetry breaking; ii) chiral amplification. What is the mechanism that creates symmetry breaking at the molecular level? How can a tiny chiral bias (i.e., preference for one handedness) in prebiotically relevant molecules be created? How can chiral amplification be achieved to result in exclusive homochiral molecules? In this PhD project, we aim to use model reactions to discover prebiotically relevant systems for chiral enrichment.

IMPORTANT NOTE: To comply with EU funding rules for this project, you cannot have resided in the Netherlands for more than 12 months during the 3 years prior to the 9th of June 2025.

More information and the application link can be found here. 
The deadline for application is 9 June 2025, 23:59 CEST

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PhD positions: Artificial Molecular Machines (2 x 1.0 FTE) (V25.0292)

We are looking for two PhD candidates for a project within the Doctoral Network “MonaLisa”, a consortium of 20 partners composed of high-profile universities, research institutions and companies located across 5 European countries. MonaLisa is at the forefront of artificial molecular machine research, setting the stage for breakthroughs in chemical synthesis, nanotechnology, medical treatment and smart materials. Building on the foundational work recognised by the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, MonaLisa aims to make groundbreaking discoveries in the design and functional control of molecular machines that will lead to demonstrations with practical relevance.

Specifically, this project in the group of prof. Feringa aims to address two key challenges: 1) How can we amplify the work of molecular motors to achieve actuating materials? 2) How can we bias Brownian motion through cooperative effects and amplify directed functional mobility in solution?

IMPORTANT NOTE: To comply with EU funding rules for this project, you cannot have resided in the Netherlands for more than 12 months during the 3 years prior to the 16th of June 2025.

More information and the application link can be found here. 
The deadline for application is 16 June 2025, 23:59 CEST

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Postdoc Researcher Biobased Butenolides as Acrylate Replacement for Coatings (1.0 FTE) (V25.0305)

We are looking for PD candidate for a joint project between the groups of Prof. Ben Feringa and AkzoNobel, within the framework of the Advanced Research Center Chemical Building Blocks Consortium (ARC-CBBC - https://arc-cbbc.nl/). As an industrial-academic consortium, the chemical building blocks consortium brings together leading laboratories in chemistry and materials sciences with research-intensive and innovation-oriented industrial partners. As core expertise, the consortium specializes in developing new chemical building blocks that, when applied on industrial scale and with industry-leading technology, have the potential to revolutionize consumer-goods and products. ARC CBBC has a strong focus on sustainability, enabling transitions towards a circular and more balanced economy with regard to energy, feedstock, and materials.

Recently, in the context of the development of sustainable alternatives for acrylates widely used in coating industry, we achieved in our lab the efficient synthesis of hydroxybutenolide through the photooxidation of furfural, a biomass-derived precursor by using continuous flow reactor (DOI: 10.1039/D2RE00310D). We further demonstrated the potential of butenolide derivatives for polymer coatings (DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abe0026, DOI: 10.1039/D2GC03657F). The focus of this project is the study of emulsion polymerization of biobased butenolides to develop coatings with application-targeted properties. This includes development of polymerization methods, formulation of coatings and their testing.

In additional to the academic advisor, the PD candidate will be in close collaboration with the industrial partner to this project, AkzoNobel. The research will take place at the University of Groningen, but if required, the researcher may be able to use AkzoNobel equipment and will be aided by the industrial partners’ specific expertise. As such, this research provides a unique opportunity to get introduced to industrial Research & Development, while working in an academic environment.

More information and the application link can be found here. 
The deadline for application is 16 June 2025, 23:59 CEST