Short Description: The aim of the PhD project is to build theories to model the consequences
of nano-confinement on crystal growth and dissolution. Our strategy is to study how
nonlinear pattern formation and non-equilibrium fluctuations are influenced by confinement.
We will focus on the dynamics of atomic-scale defects such as atomic steps on crystal
surfaces, and their possible interaction with other defects and molecules.
Skills : The tools for this study will be both numerical simulations and analytical calculations.
Numerical simulations with be based on Kinetic Monte Carlo Models, and/or on continuum
multi-phase models. Therefore a good background in programming languages (such as e.g.
C, Fortran, Matlab) is necessary. The analytical part will involve the understanding of non-
equilibrium fluctuations and nonlinear effects. These analytical studies require a good
knowledge of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics and nonlinear phenomena, and a high
level in mathematics and calculus.
The candidate will work in UCBL in Lyon, France, under the supervision of Dr Olivier Pierre-Louis
(http://ilm-perso.univ-lyon1.fr/~opl/). The work willl be carried out in close collaboration
with experimentalists in Lyon, and will also have strong interactions with other groups of the
Nanoheal European Training Network.