Of all known liquids, water is the least understood, and the origin of its anomalous properties is hotly debated. In this research project you will investigate the chemical physics of water in nanoscopic volumes, of supercooled water and of the surface of ice, using a wide range of experimental methods.

What are you going to do?

You will design, set up, and perform experiments on water, aqueous solutions, and ice using methods such as (2D)IR and Raman spectroscopy and microscopy, rheology, and temperature-jump experiments (see the websites Time-Resolved Vibrational Spectroscopy and Soft Matter Group for examples of the type of research you will be doing); you will analyze and interpret the results; you will report your results in peer-reviewed journals and at international conferences; you will be a member of a dynamic and fun-loving research group.

An MSc degree in (preferentially physical) chemistry or physics and good communication skills in oral and written English. Experience with spectroscopy and/or soft matter is an advantage.

A temporary contract for 38 hours per week, preferably starting as soon as possible for the duration of 4 years. The initial appointment will be for a period of 18 months. After a satisfactory evaluation it can be extended for a total duration of 4 years and should result into a PhD dissertation. We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings/conferences.

The salary, depending on relevant experience before the beginning of the employment contract, will be €2,325 to €2,972 (scale P) gross per month, based on full-time employment (38 hours a week), excluding 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus. A favorable tax agreement, the '30% rule', may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Then find out more about working at the Faculty of Science.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Science – Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences and Institute of Physics

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 6,500, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.urope and the world.

The Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences (HIMS) and the Institute of Physics (IoP) are both institutes of the Faculty of Science. HIMS performs internationally recognized chemistry and molecular research, curiosity driven as well as application driven. Research at IoP covers a wide range of topics in physics, both experimental and theoretical. For more information see the websitesof the Soft Matter Group and Time-Resolved Vibrational Spectroscopy.