Are you interested in developing cutting-edge machine learning methods to design new molecules, materials and chemical processes that help to solve the global warming crisis? We are looking for a PhD candidate to investigate how to combine data from quantum chemical calculations, molecular simulations, and experimental catalysis to 'inverse design' optimal catalyst materials for CO2 conversion.

Using CO2 as a feedstock for the industrial production of chemicals is an appealing approach to prevent greenhouse gas emissions. However, conversion of CO2 into useful chemicals and fuels requires efficient catalysts. Design of catalytic materials and processes is challenging due to the large number of design parameters. The aim of this project is to develop a deep probabilistic programming framework to train models from computational and experimental data and to infer optimal catalyst materials and process conditions, given a set of desired properties such as reaction rates, selectivity, stability, and so forth.

This position is on a collaborative project by computational chemist Dr. Bernd Ensing (HIMS/AI4Science Lab), machine learning experts Prof. dr Max Welling and Prof. dr Jan-Willem van de Meent (IvI, AMLAB), experimental chemist/chemical engineer Dr. Shiju Raveendran (HIMS, Catalysis Engineering), and the UvA Data Science Center.

What are you going to do

You will carry out research in the areas of geometric deep learning, probabilistic programming, and molecular modeling, with applications in heterogeneous catalysis. Through this research you will develop new methods for discovering chemical structure-property relationships, learning features for chemical transformations, generating molecular structures, and meta-learning for sampling chemical space given sparse data.

You will:

• be part of an exciting multidisciplinary community of people interested in developing and applying data-driven solutions for scientific discovery;
• develop deep probabilistic methods to generate optimal molecular structures given desired properties and specifications;
• use quantum chemistry calculations and molecular simulations of catalytic materials and chemical reactions for analysis and data generation;
• become active in the research community and collaborate with other institutes and/or companies that are part of the project;
• publish and present work regularly at international conferences, workshops, and journals;
• assist in teaching activities and in supervising Bachelor and Master students.

What do we require of you

• A recent Master's degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, (Computational) Chemistry, (Molecular) Physics, or closely related field;
• good programming skills preferably in Python, and proficiency with one or more deep learning frameworks;
• strong analytical and technical skills;
• willingness to work and collaborate in an open, inclusive, team-spirited manner in the laboratories of CompChem, AI4Science, AMLAB, and/or DSC;
• willingness to perform a secondment in the catalyst engineering group and learn relevant aspects of heterogeneous catalysis, catalyst materials, experimental data acquisition;
• fluency in oral and written English and good presentation skills.

Our offer

A temporary contract for 38 hours per week for the duration of four years (the initial contract will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it will be extended for a total duration of four years). This should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. We also expect you to assist in teaching undergraduates and master students.

The gross monthly salary based on full-time employment (38 hours per week) ranges from €2,434 to €3,111 (scale P). This is exclusive 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% end-of-year bonus. The starting salary will be based on qualifications, expertise and relevant experience. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

The UvA offers excellent possibilities for further professional development and education.

University of Amsterdam

With over 6,000 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

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 7,000, 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.

The Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences (HIMS) is one of eight institutes of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) Faculty of Science. HIMS performs internationally recognized chemistry and molecular research, curiosity driven as well as application driven. This is done in close cooperation with the chemical, flavor & food, medical and high-tech industries. Research is organized into four themes: Synthesis & Catalysis, Analytical Chemistry, Computational Chemistry and Molecular Photonics.