PhD position: Modeling friction in colloidal suspensions

Organisation/Company ETH Zürich Research Field Engineering » Aerospace engineering Engineering » Civil engineering Engineering » Materials engineering Engineering » Mechanical engineering Engineering » Other Physics » Applied physics Physics » Computational physics Physics » Other Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Final date to receive applications 9 Apr 2026 - 21:59 (UTC) Country Switzerland Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

PhD position:
Modeling friction in colloidal suspensions

At the Professorship of Solid Mechanics (SMEC) in the Institute for Building Materials at ETH Zurich, we aim to understand how materials deform, degrade, break, and ultimately fail. Our research is driven by curiosity about the physical mechanisms that underlie failure and by the ambition to translate this understanding into more reliable and resilient materials and structures. By combining numerical modeling, laboratory experiments, and theoretical analyses, we seek to link microscopic processes with the macroscopic behavior of both engineering and natural systems and develop predictive tools for mechanical failure.

Our team is highly interdisciplinary and international, bringing together researchers with backgrounds in materials science, mechanics, and applied physics. We work across a broad range of topics, including the mechanics of particle systems (colloidal and granular), architected and topologically interlocked materials, the mechanics of fragility in collagen, the mechanics of earthquakes, fracture of soft materials, and modeling failure in multiphysical processes such as corrosion-driven degradation of concrete.

What unites these efforts is a shared curiosity about why complex materials fail and a commitment to developing new concepts, experiments, and models that advance our understanding of failure mechanics.

We are seeking a motivated, innovative PhD student with a background in computational mechanics to work on a project focused on the mechanics of colloidal systems. The PhD candidate will conduct research in a collaborative project with partners from the ETH Department of Materials to uncover the roles of sliding and rolling friction, and their combination, in the rheological properties of colloidal suspensions.

• You will conduct a computational and theoretical investigation of the influence of inter-particle friction on the rheology of concentrated suspensions
• The work will focus on applying physics-based models that connect behavior across scales, from the geometry of single colloidal particles to the macroscopic response of the suspension
• Your responsibilities include implementing coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations and performing rigorous verification and validation using datasets provided by our collaborators
• The candidate will work in close collaboration with experimental researchers within the project, providing modeling insights and helping to interpret experimental observations
• The position provides a stimulating environment for scientific growth and collaboration

• You hold an MSc degree in mechanics, physics, (civil, mechanical, aerospace, or bio-) engineering, material science, or a related discipline
• You have a background in computational sciences with a focus on solid mechanics, applied physics, or a related field
• You have experience implementing scientific code, validating it, and verifying it against experimental data
• You have prior programming experience in Python and have used version control
• You are curious, self-motivated, and enjoy collaborating closely with experimentalists
• You are fluent in English (oral and written).
• You enjoy working in a team, possess the necessary social skills and communication abilities, and contribute proactively to a positive group atmosphere

• You will join a dynamic, international, and supportive research group that values curiosity, rigor, and collaboration.
• Your job with impact:
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