Research Fellow - School of Physics and Astronomy Grade 7

Position Details

School of Physics and Astronomy

Location:

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to 24 months

Closing date: 5th March 2026

UK and International travel may be required for this role

To create and contribute to the creation of knowledge by undertaking a specified range of activities within an established research programme and/or specific research project. Specifically:

Experimental low-temperature physics involving nanofabrication, high pressure measurements, extreme magnetic field and milli

Kelvin temperature tuning of exotic low dimensional materials with hands-on experiments & development of capabilities, and opportunities for travel to international facilities.

This project is to identify, synthesise and explore new 2D materials, searching for exotic quantum functionalities to form new sustainable electronics and new types of computing. Tuning nanostructures of these materials with extreme pressure will unlock entirely new physics and new applications.

The (Transition Metal)
P(S,Se)3 materials, many of which have yet to be studied, form the focus of this research project. These ‘magnetic graphene’ materials bring magnetism and strong quantum mechanical effects to the domain of 2D materials and comprise exciting new building blocks for exotic new quantum engineering. We seek to control their properties and discover new phases of matter beyond the as-grown crystal properties by controlling the role of dimensionality (2D vs 3D vs..

2.5D?) in electronic and magnetic states. We do this via ultra-high pressure measurements using opposed diamonds, and you will be a key part of adding in the capability to measure monolayers, bilayers and trilayers of single atomic thickness – and then applying pressure to these nanoscale delicate devices to control their behaviour yet further. This is an ambitious new direction just getting off the ground in the field and we aim to be at the forefront of the exciting new physics this will unlock.

The group carries out crystal synthesis, transport measurements, structural determination through x-ray and neutron scattering, magnetic measurements and nanofabrication. We target a deliberately broad selection of properties to measure, usually under extreme high pressure conditions, to gain a full picture of the physics in a material’s phase diagram and to understand newly-discovered phases as much as possible.

You will be responsible for the day-to-day supervision of the group’s PhD students in all the above and running, maintaining and upgrading our in-house cryostats. You will also lead the commissioning of new glove boxes and drytransfer setup for exfoliation and assembly of 2D materials nanostructures and developing fabrication practices in our cleanroom utilising photolithography.

The following skills are highly desirable, but on-the-job training in any yet missing is possible:

• Experience in high-pressure techniques, particularly setting up diamond anvil cells for magneto transport
• Experience in low-temperature measurements, particularly hands-on cryogenics engineering
• Experience in cleanroom & nanofabrication techniques
• Familiarity with crystal growth (chemical vapour transport) and handling chemicals

The ability to manage projects, keep organised notes and work in a research team environment is essential, as is a solid background in condensed-matter physics and the ability to communicate through writing and oral presentations.

This post is listed for 2 years in the first instance, but there is scope for extension and additionally promotion to senior PDRA when in role if appropriate. Funds are allocated for international conference travel and a research visit to S.Korea collaborators to bring more nanofabrication techniques expertise in-house.

In the first instance you are encouraged to email Dr Matt Coak at  to arrange a discussion.

• Work within specified research grants and projects and contribute to writing bids
• Designing and developing the experimental apparatus
• Operate…