PhD (M/F) Fabrication and characterization of gradient soft solids

Job Description

Thesis Subject

The aim of this project is to fabricate and characterize mechanical gradients in model soft solids, in order to link fabrication processes and resulting properties. As many foresee the usage of soft solids in innovative applications such as anti-fouling, tissue engineering, or soft robotics materials, tailoring how such materials respond to contact is crucial. In that regards, mechanical gradients hold great promises: The near-surface variation of a materials rigidity empowers it with effective interfacial contact properties. A soft upper-layer makes a silicone sticky, and an oxygen-inhibited skin a hydrogel slippery. The exploitation and rational design of gradient soft materials is however limited by a lack of direct gradient characterizations methods. We
thus do not know what gradient results from a given fabrication process, and thus cannot engineer their design.

In this project, the fabrication method will rely on layering, a technique at the basis of 3D printing, and the characterization on micromechanics experiments, which allow for the visualization of materials displacements in the three spatial directions. Beyond opening new ways to design and control soft solids, this project will have far-reaching fundamental implications in the fields of multiphasic materials, 3D printing, and polymer physics.
Candidates to this position must have a Master's Degree in Materials Science, Physics, or Mechanical Engineering. We welcome experience in polymer science, coding, mechanical testing, and microscopy (the sum of all these competences not being expected). We look for a highly motivated candidate, with a good ability to work in a collaborative context with partners of diverse profiles, and willing to work towards autonomy on an ambitious multidisciplinary project

Your Work Environment

The successful candidate will join the Liquids and Interfaces team at the Institut Lumière Matière, a physics institute at the University of Lyon 1 in France, which has over 300 staff members, including approximately 100 doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers. The continuum between fundamental research, addressing major societal challenges, and innovation lies at the heart of this unit's approach. The entire staff is committed to promoting excellence and ethical, responsible research. Its scientists explore six major thematic fields: Materials, Energy and Photonics, Soft Matter, Nanosciences, Optics and Ultrafast Dynamics, Theory and Modeling, and Life, Health, and Environment. The Liquids and Interfaces team (more than 20 faculty members, researchers, or permanent engineers and more than 20 doctoral students or postdoctoral researchers) focuses on soft matter and the properties of liquids and complex systems involving interfaces. Research focuses on the dynamics of these materials at different scales, from the nanoscale to the macroscopic scale, as well as on the coupling mechanisms between these different levels (micro-macro approach). The approach combines experimentation and theory, and we develop both new instruments and model systems.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

2300 € gross monthly

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

The research professions