PhD position in Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (Theory and Computation) at Imperial College London, United Kingdom

A fully funded PhD position in Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics is available in my group at Imperial College London. The successful candidate will develop and apply state-of-the-art theoretical and computational methods to investigate how to shape light in 3D to control the ultrafast electronic response of chiral molecules. This project aims to develop efficient approaches for chiral sensing and manipulation by advancing an emerging direction in fundamental science with strong potential for technological and industrial applications.

This PhD opportunity is offered within the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network TRILOGY: Ultrafast Chirality for Life and Technology. TRILOGY brings together leading academic institutions and industrial partners across Europe to train 16 PhD students at the forefront of theory and experiment in ultrafast science. At Imperial, the successful applicant will contribute to the work package titled “Enantiosensitive imaging and manipulation with locally chiral evanescent waves”. More information is available at https://trilogy-dn.eu/

Additional information:
– Salary: £44k–£49k per annum
– Application deadline: 23 August 2026
– Start date: 1 October 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter
– Duration: 36 months (full-time, fixed term)

Full details available here:
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-jobs/description/index.php?jobId=28639
https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/447611

Relevant publications:
– Ayuso et al, Nat. Photonics 13, 866 (2019), https://www.nature.com/articles/s41566-019-0531-2
– Ayuso et al, Nat. Commun. 12, 3951 (2021), https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-24118-4
– Ayuso et al, Optica 8, 1243 (2021), https://opg.optica.org/optica/fulltext.cfm?uri=optica-8-10-1243
– Ayuso et al, PCCP 24 (44), 26962 (2022), https://pubs.rsc.org/cp/article/24/44/26962/760946
– Vogwell et al, Sci. Adv. 9, eadj1429 (2023), https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adj1429
– Ordóñez et al, accepted for publication in Nat. Commun. (2026), https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8172304/v1_covered_94c1453e-0ae2-44e5-ad8e-c40d79748351.pdf