PhD position in Complex dynamical systems

Join us!
In complex dynamical systems, we study complicated phenomena that arise when iterating seemingly simple functions over the complex numbers. Examples of such functions include polynomials, rational functions, trigonometric functions, and many others. Core results in the field typically rely on techniques from complex analysis and dynamical systems, but the field is broad and is related to many other areas of mathematics, including measure theory, number theory and algebraic and complex geometry.

As a PhD student in this project, you will start working in this area of research under the supervision of Prof. Han Peters. A possible first research question concerns the existence of invariant measures that capture all the chaotic behavior of transcendental dynamical systems. Such measures are known to exist for any rational function, but for entire functions in the complex plane the question is wide open.

You will be embedded in the analysis group of the Korteweg-de Vries Institute for Mathematics, allowing you the opportunity to benefit from many other mathematicians in the institute. This includes Prof. Ale Jan Homburg and Dr. Maximilian Engel, both experts on dynamical systems and ergodic theory, postdoctoral researchers Josias Reppekus and Misha Hlushchanka, both active in different areas of complex dynamical systems. PhD students and postdoctoral reseachers in the KdV Institute are represented by their council, who strive for a socially active and supportive environment.

This is what you will do
You will work in the active and exciting research area called complex dynamical systems. Under the supervision of Prof. Han Peters your goal is to find a measure theoretic description of the chaotic behaviour arising in these dynamical systems. While the wider research area is more than a century old, this particular project one of many examples of new research directions that are wide open. While working in this area of research, you will interact with likeminded colleagues, both locally and internationally, and you will use your creativity and mathematical talents to obtain new results that may inspire others.

As a PhD student you will at times work individually, but as a modern scientist you will also brainstorm and work together with others. During your PhD trajectory you will further develop your collaborative skills. You will meet regularly with your supervisor, and attend and lectures in local seminars and colloquia, where occasionally you will also lecture on your ongoing project.

With the PhD position there are funds available to travel to national and international conferences on complex dynamical systems and related areas of mathematics.

Besides your main research activities, you will teach one course per semester for most semesters while you are employed at the KdVI. There will also be the expectation and opportunity to supervise Bachelor and Master students in their final project, under the responsibility of your supervisor.

What we ask of you
As a PhD student You are highly motivated to dive further into mathematical research. You are both able to work individually and to collaborate in a team.

Your experience and profile:

• MSc in Mathematics, or comparable;
• Flexible, readiness to interact and/or collaborate with other researchers;
• An open mind regarding mathematical projects;
• Professional command of English and the willingness to learn Dutch;

A willingness and some experience with programming and/or scientific computer software is considered a plus.

This is what we offer you
A temporary contract for 38 hours per week for the duration of 4 years (the initial contract will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it will be extended for a total duration of 4 years). The preferred starting date is to be discussed, November 1st 2026 is an indicative date. This should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. We also expect you to assist in teaching undergraduates and master students.

The gross monthly salary, based on 38 hours per week and dependent on relevant experience, ranges between € 3,204 to € 4,051 (scale P). This does not include 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% year-end allowance. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants.The Collective Labour Agreement of Universities of the Netherlands is applicable.

Curious about our extensive secondary benefits package? You can read more about it here.

You will work in this team
The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 8,000, as well as 1,800 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The Korteweg-de Vries Institute for Mathematics (KdVI) is the mathematics research institute of the Faculty of Science at the University of Amsterdam. KdVI provides a stimulating scientific environment, with research focusing on Algebra, Geometry and Mathematical Physics; Analysis; Stochastics; and Discrete Mathematics and Quantum Information. The institute also contributes to mathematics education within the Faculty of Science. KdVI participates in the national mathematics research clusters GQT, STAR, NDNS+, and DIAMANT, as well as the Quantum Software Consortium. It maintains formal and informal collaborations with the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and partners in the financial sector. In addition, KdVI organises outreach activities such as Leve de Wiskunde, masterclasses, and online web classes. The institute comprises approximately 30 faculty members and 40 postdoctoral researchers and PhD candidates.

You will be working in the research group of Prof. Han Peters.

Want to know more about our organisation? Read more about working at the University of Amsterdam.

PhD student: Neurotoxicity of herbal supplements

At the Toxicology Division we aim to improve the scientific basis of chemical risk assessment through fundamental and applied innovative research, teaching and training in mechanistic and predictive toxicology. We are looking for an enthusiastic and creative PhD student to achieve these goals and strengthen our Toxicology Division, which is made up of four research groups: Endocrine-, Immune- and Neuro-toxicology and Exposure Assessment. This project will be performed within the Neurotoxicology Research Group, which investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms of action of potentially toxic substances on the nervous system.

You will work on the PhD project “Towards a tiered risk assessment strategy to evaluate the safety of herbal supplements”, which is commissioned by The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). This project is part of a collaborative effort with Maastricht University to investigate and evaluate the potential toxicity of herbal supplements using a range of in vitro approaches.

While many people use herbal supplements, the safety of such supplements is often poorly evaluated. However, it is well-documented that some herbal extracts can have adverse health effects. For example, the use of aristolochia extract is associated with kidney damage, kava extract with liver toxicity, and ephedra extract with cardiovascular insults. These examples highlight the need for a robust and structured strategy to better evaluate the safety of herbal supplements to reduce human health risk. Within this collaborative project you will investigate the potential neurotoxicity of diverse herbal extracts using in vitro screening assays, such as microelectrode array recordings and (cellular) imaging. In addition, you will investigate if herbal extracts can affect the function and integrity of the protective blood-brain-barrier. Given the similarity in excitability with cardiomyocytes, you will also assess the cardiotoxic potential of herbal extracts. Other potential adverse health effects (including hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, and genotoxicity) will be investigated in a collaborative PhD-project at Maastricht University.

In addition to your research, you will:

• present your findings at national and international conferences;
• publish your results in peer-reviewed scientific journals, which will form the foundation of your PhD thesis;
• supervise MSc students during their internships;
• participate in relevant training courses that are relevant for your research.

Interne communicatieadviseur studenten & onderwijs

Als interne communicatieadviseur kom je te werken in het team ‘Communications, Internationalisation, Marketing & Alumni (CIMA). Je begint met het uitvoeren van een grondige analyse van de huidige status van de interne communicatie richting studenten. Dit doe je door in gesprek te gaan met de studenten. Waar ligt hun behoefte, hoe bereiken we hen het beste? Je spreekt ook met collega's die verantwoordelijk zijn voor de interne communicatiekanalen en degenen die regelmatig communicatieverzoeken doen. Verder onderzoek je best practices bij andere faculteiten.

Op basis van deze analyse schrijf je een advies en ontwikkel en implementeer je een interne communicatiestrategie voor studenten, inclusief de juiste middelen en kanalen. Je zorgt ervoor dat de procedures voor interne communicatie richting studenten worden uitgewerkt en bekend zijn binnen de organisatie. Je bent een adviseur voor interne belanghebbenden, waarbij je hen ondersteunt bij het opstellen en beoordelen van hun interne communicatie richting studenten om ervoor te zorgen dat de inhoud geschikt is voor het beoogde doel en doelgroep. Uiteraard klim je ook regelmatig zelf in de pen om actief naar studenten te communiceren.

Aangaande de curriculumherziening zullen je taken voor een dag per week gericht zijn op:

• Het ontwikkelen van een communicatieplan dat de verschillende fasen van het herzieningsproject ondersteunt met duidelijke mijlpalen en deadlines.
• Het coördineren van communicatieactiviteiten om ervoor te zorgen dat alle betrokkenen tijdig en effectief worden geïnformeerd over de voortgang en veranderingen binnen het curriculum.
• Het creëren van informatieve en inspirerende content die de voordelen en impact van de curriculumherziening duidelijk maakt.
• Het monitoren en evalueren van de communicatie-inspanningen om continu verbeteringen aan te brengen en de effectiviteit van de communicatie te waarborgen.

Verder:

• Ben je het eerste aanspreekpunt voor collega’s die vragen hebben over hoe intern te communiceren richting studenten.
• Help je bij de uitvoering van communicatieactiviteiten en schrijf je teksten op basis van je eigen advies.
• Houd je de ontwikkelingen binnen de faculteit nauwlettend in de gaten en vertaal je deze naar concrete adviezen en uitingen voor interne communicatie richting studenten.
• Werk je nauw samen met collega’s binnen en buiten team CIMA, waaronder de interne communicatieadviseur voor medewerkers, ondersteun je elkaar waar nodig en onderhoud je contacten met adviseurs van andere faculteiten.

Senior Gebouwbeheerder

Als Senior Gebouwbeheerder ben je verantwoordelijk voor de onderhoudscontracten en stuur je leveranciers aan op basis van de gemaakte afspraken. Je zorgt voor veiligheid, opvolging van storingen en optimaal gebruik van gebouwen en installaties. Ook ben je de communicatieve spil tussen gebruiker, interne organisatie en leverancier. Het is afwisselend werk, waarbij je techniek vertaalt in concrete prestaties en er is ruimte om je daarin bij te scholen. Dankzij jou en je collega’s kunnen de gebouwen optimaal benut worden. Ook draag je bij aan de duurzaamheid van de campus. Daarnaast neem je zitting in inkoopteams voor (Europese) aanbestedingen voor het waardegestuurd onderhoud aan gebouwen. Je ziet erop toe dat prestatieafspraken worden nagekomen. In deze functie werk je nauw samen met de gebouwcoördinatoren.

Jouw taken

• je organiseert het beheer en onderhoud van het vastgoed (DMJOP)
• je bent gesprekspartner bij de uitvoering van projecten en de levering van projectcoördinatie
• je (laat) uitgebrachte voorstellen tot technische verbeteringen beoordelen op basis van financiële en technische analyses.
• je voert aanvragen van gebruikers op technisch vlak uit
• je stelt onderhoudsbudgetten op, op basis van het onderhoudsbeleid en DMJOP’s
• je zorgt dat het onderhoud wordt uitgevoerd en geregistreerd volgens de gemaakte afspraken
• je denkt mee over- en hebt een actieve rol in het verder ontwikkelen van het onderhoudsbeleid, leveranciersevaluaties en aanbestedingen voor het waardegestuurd onderhoud. Daarnaast heb je een actieve rol in de uitvoering van deze zaken

PhD in fast multi-scale electromagnetic modeling for RF systems

Antenna and RF systems play a pivotal role in society by providing a crucial enabling medical diagnostics, transportation, and communication in the form of MRI applications, automotive radars, and 5G/6G applications, respectively. To meet the ever-increasing demands of society, e.g. wireless data bandwidth, antenna and RF systems are exhibiting a higher degree of complexity in materials, geometries, and length scales. As a result, the design of such systems has become quite a challenge. This becomes even more challenging when considering that the design of these systems hinges on the usage of electromagnetic modeling techniques, which require the full re-evaluation of the model when even a small system change is introduced. As such, there is a clear need for electromagnetic modeling techniques that can support the design of the next generation of antenna and RF systems in a fast and accurate manner.

In the computational Electromagnetics research group (EMPMC lab), we have been pioneering the “Linear Embedding of Green’s Operators” method, which is an in-house domain decomposition method based on integral equations. This electromagnetic modeling technique has shown excellent performance both timewise and precision. However, this technique is not yet applicable for the support of the design of next-generation antenna and RF systems. Consequently, we are looking for a PhD candidate to take up the challenge of extending the capabilities of our in-house domain decomposition method to meet the design requirements of these antenna and RF systems at the heart of medical diagnostics and automotive radar applications.

As PhD candidate, you will extend the in-house domain decomposition method by introducing multi-scale techniques, such that small details can be readily incorporated. This will involve hierarchical modeling strategies. Additionally, you will help in extending the possible material properties within the electromagnetic modeling techniques, such that we can model systems consisting of a wide range of varying materials. These extensions will be employed and tested on actual measurement data as a benchmark.

The project will involve mathematical modeling, construction of numerical methods, coding, testing, numerical simulations, and possibly measurements. You will mainly do your programming work in a mixed programming environment, i.e. combining both high-level and low-level programming languages such as Python for the former and Fortran/C++ for the latter. You will be part of the EMPMC lab, headed by prof. van Beurden, embedded within the broader Electromagnetics group.