The Milan Lab for Materials Simulations (MLMS) at the University of Milan welcomes expressions of interest from candidates interested in carrying out a PhD in computational design of matters with a focus on 2D materials, metal oxides, nanoassembly, nanofriction, development of machine-learning force fields among the others.

To enrol on a PhD programme in Italy, any candidate must pass an open and public examination organised by the Department. The PhD studentship holds for three years and starts in October. 

The Physics department will open the application submission in May. Candidates who pass the first selection based on their CV and research project will be invited for an interview in June. 

The interested student might visit the dedicated webpage http://phd.fisica.unimi.it/admission/how-to-apply/. 

As the process might be difficult to follow, members of the MLMS are willing to assist promising candidates in preparing their formal applications, enhancing their chances of securing a fellowship. For this, we invite candidates to contact us by the end of April at mlms.candidates@fisica.unimi.it, including their CVs, publications, and reference letter(s). Informal interviews will occur in May to match candidates' interests with the potential supervisor.

Since March 2024 the Milan Lab for Materials Simulations (MLMS) is involved in the TIMES doctoral Network. A consortium of 11 institutions spread across Europe with 11 PhD positions aimed at students willing to spend their PhD abroad, and traveling among the institutions. Two of the PhDs will be enrolled in the PhD program of the university of Milan, with a separate selection procedure, and a very competitive salary (more than twice a standard PhD grant). Mobility rules, however, impose that the candidates must have spent no more than 12 months in Italy in the last 3 years.

The objective of the doctoral network TIMES is the modelling of emergent phenomena arising from excitation, correlation, and coherence of electrons, spin, photons and nuclear motion. TIMES merges different areas of expertise in many-body physics, with the purpose of an innovative training plan to form independent researchers.

The activity at the Milan node focus on the simulation of electronic, optical and excited state properties of defects in 2D materials, exciton-ion coupling and time-and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy  (supervisors: Davide Sangalli, Simona Achilli) 

 PhD candidates can apply by submitting their application through the web pages https://times.uv.es/open-positions
The selection procedure started in February 2024 and will proceed until all the positions have been filled.

Dedicated thematic PhD studentships can be created between a MLMS PI and an SME.

There are three ways to set up a thematic PhD studentship.

For the PhD cycle starting on October 2023, there are three ways to collaborate

- DM 117: A SME is contributing 30K€ (or 10K per each year), the Ministry pay the same amount, and the University tops with 12K (or the PI)

The requirement is to spend at least six months in the SME (and six months abroad)

- DM 352: A SME and a single PI decide on an agreement and split the cost of a PhD studentship. The full-economic cost of a PhD studentship is 72K€ over three years (or 24K€ per year). 

- Executive PhD: The SME hires the candidate (at least for the whole time of the PhD). The SME allows them to attend the PhD duties (i.e. lectures). Special agreements are in place and are unique per each co-funded studentship. The SME is part of the selection process.

Pls contact us at francesca.baletto@unimi.it to further information