The ”Monalisa: Motorized Nanomachines: Fundamentals, Innovations, Applications” project is funded by the MARIE SKLODOWSKA CURIE Action - Doctoral Network “MonaLisa”, within the Horizon Europe Programme of the European Commission. The project aims to structure a training network for doctoral students in the field of Artificial Molecular Machines for a period of 48 months. Monalisa is a consortium of 20 partners composed of high-profile universities, research institutions and companies located in 5 European countries, and will train 15 Doctoral Candidates.

This PhD position will be based in Strasbourg (France) at the Institut Charles Sadron, a specific unit of the CNRS recognized worldwide for its expertise in the field of polymer materials and self-assembled systems. The SAMS team, also attached to the University of Strasbourg, is interested in studying and understanding self-assembly processes to lead to the next generation of so-called “intelligent” materials. It has all the human and material resources necessary to carry out the proposed project. For more information on the host team, do not hesitate to consult the website: http://sams.ics-cnrs.unistra.fr/

The position will be located in Strasbourg, France, including international secondments to partner groups in Europe, participations in workshops or conferences abroad (Europe).
The minimum gross salary is of 3038.76 euros per month.

Position Benefits:
- CROUS catering subsidized by the CNRS.
- Easy access to campus by public transportation.
- Partial coverage of public transportation passes.

The Institut Charles Sadron- CNRS is offering a PhD position on the topic “Motorized Hydrogels”

The doctoral candidates (DC, M/F) will show that by integrating light-driven rotary motors into supramolecular hydrogels, the mechanical work generated during the constant rotation of the molecular machine under UV irradiation will be sufficient enough to trigger a gel-to-sol transition at macroscopic scale. For a broader perspective, the DC (M/F) will demonstrate that the continuous and autonomous work produced by a molecular motor can change the apparent stability constant of a supramolecular (co)-self-assembly. It would illustrate the high potential of such molecular motors by exploiting their continuous unidirectional motion and their cumulative production of mechanical work. This kind of approach in materials science, using artificial molecular motors to transduce various kinds of energy sources in mechanical work, and for potentially releasing bioactive molecules, is of particular interest in order to design an entirely new kind of responsive materials capable of working in out-of-equilibrium conditions, such as those encountered in living systems.

The key tasks as a PhD student (M/F) are:
- To manage and carry out research projects
- To attend and participate in research and training activities within the MonaLisa network and local courses
- To write articles for scientific peer reviews
- To write a PhD thesis
- To teach and disseminate research in the scientific community (international conferences) and non-scientific community, by outreach and public engagement
- To be involved in departmental and group activities