Dear colleague:

At the Department of Physics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, we
are seeking candidates for the position of a PhD student to be funded
by the Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions Innovative Training Network
entitled Quantum and Classical Ultrasoft Matter (QLUSTER) launched
January 1 2023. The network will explore clustering and mesophase
organization across widely different length scales from subatomic
to macromolecular (more details in the abstract below).

The project to be investigated at the University of Ljubljana is in the field
of many-body contact interactions between deformable particles such
as polymeric nanocolloids, primarily within the so-called liquid-drop
model. It will involve theoretical and computational work revolving
around classical elasticity and related approaches.

The student will participate in a number of activities to be organized
within the network including a dedicated summer school. Also envisaged
is a secondment at a partner node of the network. The salary and benefits
will be as stipulated by the Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions program.

The student is welcome to join the network as early as January 1 2023 but
can only enrol in the PhD program at the University of Ljubljana in
Fall 2023.

I will appreciate very much your sharing this information with anyone
who may be interested in the position.

Yours, Primoz Ziherl.

QLUSTER is constituted as a collaborative network for advancing research in fundamentals and applications, training ESRs with broad skills and high adaptability to the increasingly knowledge-based economy of the EU, and with a strong commitment to communicating science to society. Despite similarities in phenomena, language and methods employed to study clustering and mesophase organization across widely different length scales — from subatomic to macromolecular — a coherent effort to bring distinct communities in classical and quantum soft matter together has not been yet undertaken. Our objective is to advance the fundamentals in such fields far beyond the state of the art, cross-fertilizing and creating permanent ties between communities that have evolved separately so far, and fostering the transfer of knowledge essential for a broad range of applications. The ambitious research and training programme will address the properties of classical and quantum soft matter systems under a common framework based on the underlying ultrasoft interactions of the constituents. Ultrasoftness is the key factor leading to the observed complexity in the dynamics, structure, and response to external drives of these different entities (complex polymers, soft colloids, Rydberg atoms in optical lattices, vortex matter in superconductors, etc). QLUSTER comprises a unique theory/experiment balanced team of specialists in quantum optics, polymer physics and macromolecular chemistry among others, providing a valuable platform for communication between the different communities of research in ultrasoft matter. The impact in the academic and private sector of the EU will be broad. There are no previous examples of similar initiatives in the world and QLUSTER will put the EU in a privileged position, through fostering transfer of fundamentals and methods, to innovate in large-scale sectors as e.g., tyre manufacturing, and to find innovative applications of quantum science.