Assistant Professor In Physics of Functional Materials and Interfaces

Are you interested in understanding how interfaces, confinement, external driving forces, and controlled environments determine the behavior of functional materials? Do you want to build a physics-based understanding of materials under realistic operating conditions and connect this understanding to technologically relevant applications? Are you looking to establish an independent academic research line in this direction?

We offer you the opportunity to establish your own scientific identity within an internationally recognized research environment.

We invite applications for an Assistant Professor position in the broad field of physics of functional materials and interfaces. The research profile should have a strong theoretical or computational basis and may incorporate data-informed approaches. We welcome applicants who want to advance our fundamental understanding of how functional materials behave at interfaces, under confinement, or away from equilibrium, and to connect this understanding to technologically relevant conditions.

The position is embedded within the Materials Simulation and Modelling (MSM) group of the Department of Applied Physics and Science Education (APSE) at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). MSM develops physics-based predictive approaches for functional materials, connecting molecular interactions with emergent material behavior and performance across length and time scales. This position will strengthen the group’s physics profile while complementing its existing expertise in molecular predictive modelling and multiscale integration.

The ideal candidate will complement and strengthen our existing expertise while opening new scientific directions within the broader physics of functional materials. Relevant research directions may include, but are not limited to, interfacial phenomena, non-equilibrium behavior, confinement, transport, thin functional layers, degradation and stability, or material response to external driving forces.

We particularly welcome research that connects fundamental physical mechanisms with experimentally accessible observables and material behavior under realistic conditions. Depending on the candidate’s profile, opportunities exist for collaborations across APSE and TU/e in areas involving materials, interfaces, transport, controlled environments, and advanced manufacturing. These scientific questions are also relevant to technology-driven challenges such as interface control, material stability, contamination sensitivity, and operation in precision-engineered environments, offering opportunities for interaction with the high-tech ecosystem of the Brainport Eindhoven region and its semiconductor industry.

You will establish and lead your own research program while benefiting from being part of MSM and the broader APSE research environment. You will have opportunities to collaborate with experimental, computational, and technological researchers within TU/e and with external academic and industrial partners.

You will also contribute to the development and delivery of the Applied Physics Bachelor’s and Master’s programs and supervise students and researchers at different stages of their academic development.

To support the development of your independent research program, TU/e provides a startup package, access to high-performance computing and research infrastructure, mentoring, and training opportunities for academic leadership and professional development.

In this role, you will contribute to the ambition of the Beethoven program to educate top talent and strengthen research across the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics…