Open PhD positions
Overview of PhD projects at the ILL
The Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble (France) is an international research laboratory that operates the world's most intense neutron source.
We are offering fully funded 3-year PhD projects for doctoral students in a variety of scientific fields (condensed matter physics, chemistry, materials science, particle & nuclear physics, biology & health, soft condensed matter, Instrumentation) using different techniques in neutron scattering (neutron diffraction, neutron spectroscopy, triple-axis, time-of-flight, backscattering, spin-echo, small angle neutron scattering, neutron reflectivity).
The successful PhD candidate will work mostly at the ILL in Grenoble but be enrolled in a university from one of the ILL's member countries: France, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Sweden, Belgium, Slovakia, Denmark, Poland, Slovenia. However, the PhD student does not need to have any particular nationality.
Scientific domains of the ILL's PhD projects
MAG Magnetism & Superconductivity
MAT Materials Science
SCM Soft Condensed Matter
B&H Biology & Health
NPP Nuclear & Particle Physics
IME Instruments, Methods & Engineering
PhD projects offered in 2025
The following PhD projects have been made available in 2024/2025, and are looking for suitable student candidates.
If you are interested in applying for one of the open PhD positions, please click on the project title for information on how to apply, or contact directly the academic and ILL supervisors by clicking on their names.
| PhD Number | Domain | Title of PhD project (click for description and application instructions) | University | Academic/External Supervisor | ILL/Local Supervisor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024_12 | MAG | University of Kassel, DE | Arno Ehresmann | Thomas Saerbeck | STUDENT APPOINTED | |
| IRGA_1_2024_ProteSurface | SCM | Conformation and function of proteins at homogeneous and nanostructured interfaces (pdf - 73 Ki) | Université Grenoble Alpes, FR | Marco Maccarini | Ben Humphries | STUDENT APPOINTED |
| SE-1-2024 | SCM | Investigating how the mechanical properties and dynamics of lipid nanoparticles impact performance by combining neutron spin echo and MD simulations | KTH Stockholm, SE | Hanna Barriga, Felix Roosen-Runge | Ingo Hoffmann, Frank Gabel | OPEN |
| SE-2-2024 | IME | Multi-energy, dual modality imaging of frost damage mechanisms in cement-based materials | LTH Lund, SE | Jonas Engqvist, Stephen Hall | Alessandro Tengattini | OPEN |
| SE-3-2024 | MAG | Beyond Magnetic Skyrmions: Designing Novel Topological States | KTH Stockholm, SE | Yasmine Sassa, Björgvin Hjörvarsson | Alexei Vorobiev | STUDENT APPOINTED |
| SE-4-2024 | MAT | The Anomalous Thermal Hall Effect (pdf - 669 Ki) | Lund University, SE | Elizabeth Blackburn | Arno Hiess, Ursula Bengaard Hansen | OPEN |
| DK-1-2024 | BH | University of Copenhagen. DK | Vito Foderà, Federica Sebastiani | Lionel Porcar | STUDENT APPOINTED | |
| DK-2-2024 | MAG | Magnon-phonon coupling in FePS3 (pdf - 129 Ki) | Technical University of Denmark (DTU), DK | Thomas Olsen | Andrew Wildes | STUDENT APPOINTED
|
| 2025_04 | BH | Structural dynamics of LOV photoreceptor proteins during their signalling cycle | RWTH Aachen, DE | Andreas Stadler | Tilo Seydel | STUDENT APPOINTED |
| 2025_05 | MAG | Evolution of Landau quantisation of topological magnons in chiral magnets (pdf - 144 Ki) | TU München, DE | Christian Pfleiderer | Tobias Weber | OPEN |
| 2025_08 | SCM | Impact of diffusion, disorder and polydispersity on simplified models of living cells from a colloid and polymer physics perspective | Universität Tübingen, DE | Frank Schreiber | Tilo Seydel | OPEN |
| 2025_11 | MAT | Lithium- and manganese-rich oxides and oxy-fluorides: new insights into the local of disordered rocksalt materials for battery applications (pdf - 668 Ki) | Université Bordeaux, FR | Marie Guignard | Gabriel Cuello | OPEN |
| 2025_12 | SCM | Magneto-rheological one single component nanocomposites (pdf - 58 Ki) | RWTH Aachen, DE | Margarita Kruteva | Ingo Hoffmann | OPEN |
| 2025_19 | MAG | Non-collinear van der Waals magnets for energy efficient computing applications (pdf - 120 Ki) | University of Edinburgh, UK | Elton Santos | Nina-Juliane Steinke | OPEN |
| 2025_22 | NPP | Polarized UCN from SuperSUN, for PanEDM and beyond | Universität Heidelberg, DE | Skyler Degenkolb | STUDENT APPOINTED | |
| SPEC-2-2025 | MAG | Vortex Fluid Dynamics: Advanced Vortex Matter Transport (pdf - 464 Ki) | TU München, DE | Robert Cubitt | OPEN | |
| SPEC-3-2025 | BH | Complex biomembranes from micro-organisms (pdf - 111 Ki) | Università Politéchnica delle Marche, IT | Giovanna Fragneto | Krishna Batchu | STUDENT APPOINTED |
| NS25-ILL05 | MAT | In-situ synthesis of battery materials: solid state and beyond | Universität Bayreuth, DE | Matteo Bianchini | Emmanuelle Suard, Thomas Hansen | CLOSED |
| NS25-ILL06 | BH | Development of a combined SAXS/SANS/PCS analysis method for studies on the mesoscopic structure of LNP based mRNA delivery systems | FAU Erlangen Nürnberg, DE | Tobias Unruh | Miguel Gonzalez, Lionel Porcar | CLOSED |
| NS25-ILL07 | MAG | Search for magnetic hopfions | U Luxembourg, LU | Adreas Michels | Nina-Juliane Steinke | CLOSED |
| NS25-ILL12 | BH | Structural basis of DHX9s autoregulation of its RNA helicase activity | Universität Bayreuth, DE | Janosch Hennig | Frank Gabel, Martine Moulin | CLOSED |
| NS25-ILL17 | IME | Cryogenic in-situ material testing for ultra-low-temperature applications | TU München, DE | Wolfram Volk, Joana Rebelo-Kornmeier | Sandra Cabeza | CLOSED |
| NS25-ILL25 | SCM | Diffusive dynamics of crystallization processes of organic molecules | University of Strathclyde, UK | Katharina Edkins | Thilo Seydel, Lucile Mangin-Thro | CLOSED |
| NS25-ILL28 | MAT | Understanding the microcopic mechanism allowing boil-off H2 mitigation when using activated carbons | Université Lorraine, FR | Vanessa Fierro | Monica Jimenez Ruiz | CLOSED |
| NS25-ILL34 | BH | Lipid-based Nanoparticles for Delivery of Antimicrobial Peptides | University of Oslo, NO | Reidar Lund | Sylvain Prevost, Lionel Porcar | CLOSED |
| NS25-ILL36 | MAT | Direct synthesis of functional ordered mesoporous materials investigated by SAS techniques for applications in CO2 capture | Université Montpellier, FR | Corine Gerardin | Ralf Schweins | CLOSED |
| GATES_1_2025_Honey-Co-mb | MAG | Unconventional magnetism in honeycomb cobaltates (pdf - 334 Ki) | Université Grenoble Alpes, FR | Manila Songvilay, Virginie Simonet | Lucile Mangin-Thro | OPEN |
| GATES_2_2025_SANSLipidTransport | BH | Understanding the molecular mechanisms of lipid transporters regulating lipid homeostasis in cells using time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering (pdf - 361 Ki) | Université Grenoble Alpes, FR | Morgane Michaud | Lionel Porcar, Krishna Batchu | OPEN |
| GATES_3_2025_Alix | BH | Biophysical Changes in Lipid Bilayers Induced by Alix and CHMP Proteins: Insights into Membrane Deformation during Endocytosis (pdf - 808 Ki) | Université Grenoble Alpes, FR | Marco Maccarini | Orsolya Czakkel | OPEN |
| GATES_4_2025_U-MIND | MAT | Understanding mineral nucleation under confinement (pdf - 118 Ki) | Université Grenoble Alpes, FR | Alejandro Fernandez-Martinez | Gabriel Cuello | OPEN |