Job openings
Currently, we have 3 PhD positions available. Below we provide a bird’s-eye view of them. Also, we are often looking for Post-Doc researchers. Are you curious? Drop us a line!
Deadline: January 18th, 2026
The breakdown of a Classical Law
As undergraduates, we are taught that heat diffuses like a fluid of particles, obeying Fourier’s Law: the steeper the temperature gradient, the stronger the heat flux. Although Fermi predicted the breakdown of this law decades ago, the idea remained a theoretical curiosity until now. This has changed. Recent breakthroughs have shown that heat carriers (phonons) can retain coherence even at room temperature. This year, our group reported phonon-interference phenomena at ambient conditions for the first time. This discovery marks a paradigm shift: heat is not merely a particle-like diffusive process, it can behave as a coherent wave.
This shift radically changes our ability to control thermal energy. We are no longer limited to simply dissipating heat. We can exploit interference to suppress energy flow, diffraction to steer thermal currents around obstacles, and focusing to concentrate heat. This unlocks a fundamentally new degree of control over thermal transport and non-equilibrium thermodynamics.
The opportunity
We are looking for three exceptional physicists for fully funded PhD positions in our group. You will work at the interface of theory, simulation, and experiment, helping to build the foundations of a new wave-based picture of heat transport.
Your work will combine quantum-derived atomic-interactions, non-equilibrium molecular dynamics, and close collaboration with experimental teams. As simulation and experiment converge, you will help develop the general theoretical framework that explains these phenomena, shaping the future of non-equilibrium physics.
Foundations of coherent heat transport
Molecules represent the ultimate limit of miniaturizatio, as they represent the smallest functional units we can design at will. Adopting a “molecular Lego” approach, you will chemically engineer these junctions to realize thermal logic. You will investigate how molecular branching induces destructive interference, how isotope patterning triggers Anderson Localization and how photo-active groups enable light-driven switching. Your work will provide the theoretical blueprints for phononic circuits (transistors, rectifiers, capacitors), which will be directly validated by our world-leading collaborators at the University of Colorado Boulder (USA).
Image from Science.
Coherent Transport in 2D Materials
Translate these coherence-driven control mechanisms into atomically thin materials, as part of a European Excellence Project (Heat2Defect). Working hand-in-hand with the experimental group of Prof. Pablo Ares, you will help create realizable platforms for coherent heat transport in graphene and other 2D materials, and push thermal imaging techniques toward the atomic scale (yes… we know the conceptual tension there).
Image from Adv. Electron Mater.
Functional Thermal Control in Mxenes
Develop thermal switching in MXenes through ion-controlled modulation of phonon pathways, in collaboration with Prof. Miguel Muñoz as part of a European Excellence Project (Thermo2Deal). Your work will uncover how electrically driven ions modulate heat transport laying the ground for the next-generation thermoelectric and waste-heat recovery technologies.
Image from Science.
How to apply?
We seek candidates with a Degree in Physics (score higher than 8.0/10) who will finish their Master’s no later than July 2026. A first selection will be made on January 18th. Please send your CV and academic grades to Dr. Guilherme Vilhena at guilherme.vilhena@csic.es.
