Internship/Master project: Encapsulation Efficiency of PURE in Synthetic Cells

Work Activities
This internship is part of a research project within EVOLF, a large Dutch research consortium that aims to build a fully functional synthetic cell from the bottom up. A key challenge in synthetic cell construction is the efficient encapsulation of cell-free gene expression systems inside membrane-bound compartments.

The project will focus on the PURE system (Protein Synthesis Using Recombinant Elements), a well-defined in vitro transcription-translation platform widely used in synthetic biology. You will investigate how efficient PURE system components can be encapsulated in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) and how encapsulation efficiency affects gene expression within synthetic cells.

Fluorescent protein expression is commonly used as a readout for successful encapsulation. However, protein production only occurs when all components required for transcription and translation are present inside a vesicle. As a result, it is difficult to determine whether non-expressing vesicles lack essential components altogether or contain sufficient machinery for transcription but not for translation. In this project, you will compare RNA production and protein production within individual GUVs to determine the encapsulation efficiencies of the transcriptional and translational machinery. These measurements will help identify bottlenecks in current GUV preparation methods and provide insight into the sources of gene expression variability in synthetic cells.

Qualifications
You hold a Bachelor's degree in (bio)physics, nanobiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, biomedical sciences, or a related field, and are currently enrolled in a Master's program in one of these disciplines.

You have a nationality of an EU-member state and/or you are a student at a university in the Netherlands. The internship has to be a mandatory part of your curriculum. We expect you to be available for at least 5 months, although longer is preferable. The preferred start date is early 2027.

Experience with confocal microscopy, synthetic biology, or quantitative data analysis is an advantage but not required.

Work environment
AMOLF is a part of NWO-I and initiate and performs leading fundamental research on the physics of complex forms of matter, and to create new functional materials, in partnership with academia and industry. The institute is located at Amsterdam Science Park and currently employs about 140 researchers and 80 support employees. www.amolf.nl

Physics of Cellular Interactions (Ganzinger) group – We are a supportive and social research group of about 10 PhD students and postdocs, which work together in small teams on various projects from immunological signalling to signalling in synthetic cells. The collaborative and social atmosphere includes to the other research groups at the AMOLF institute at the Science Park in Amsterdam and other universities.

We study how immune cells communicate when they touch. At these contact points, called immune synapses, proteins move, cluster, and reorganize to send signals that tell cells how to react. The group investigates how these physical movements and chemical signals work together to control immune responses.

We use powerful microscopes, synthetic biology, and simplified model systems (e.g. lipid bilayers) to observe signaling one molecule at a time. By combining experiments in living cells with synthetic biology approaches, we can see how immune cells process information and make decisions, including in situations that could improve cancer immunotherapy. We also design artificial signaling systems and synthetic cells to test new ideas and principles behind biological sensing and signaling.

https://amolf.nl/research-groups/physics-of-cellular-interactions

Working conditions
At the start of the traineeship your trainee plan will be set out, in consultation with your AMOLF supervisor. During the internship, you will receive training in all necessary experimental methods and techniques. You will be closely integrated into the research team and receive day-to-day supervision from a PhD candidate, while also interacting with other members of the PCI group and the wider EVOLF consortium.

More information?
For further information about the position, please contact Kristina Ganzinger: k.ganzinger@amolf.nl or Franziska Giessler: F.Giessler@amolf.nl.

Application
You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below.

Online screening may be part of the selection.

Diversity code
AMOLF is highly committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment: we want to develop talent and creativity by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. We recruit and select on the basis of competencies and talents. We strongly encourage anyone with the right qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical ability.

AMOLF has won the NNV Diversity Award 2022, which is awarded every two years by the Netherlands Physical Society for demonstrating the most successful implementation of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

Commercial activities in response to this ad are not appreciated.

The dynamic atomic interface between halide perovskites and metals

Work Activities
The Hybrid Nanosystems group and the Hybrid Solar Cells group at NWO-Institute AMOLF are looking for two PhD candidates to watch, in real time and at the atomic scale, how interfaces between halide perovskites and metals change under light and electrical bias, using a unique in situ transmission electron microscope (TEM).

Halide perovskites are promising semiconductors for solar cells, LEDs, photocatalysis, and brain-inspired (neuromorphic) electronics. In almost every device they are contacted by a metal, and because the perovskite lattice is soft and its ions are mobile, these contacts are not static: defects migrate, bonds break and reform, and metal atoms can diffuse into the perovskite. These “living” interfaces can degrade a device or enable new functionality, yet how they evolve under operating conditions has never been observed directly. This project uses AMOLF’s in situ TEM, which is unique in its ability to apply light and electrical bias while imaging at atomic resolution, to watch these processes as they happen and link them to charge transfer and device performance.

PhD position 1 – Hybrid Nanosystems group (Wiebke Albrecht). You will develop low-dose, time-resolved TEM methods for beam-sensitive perovskites, including event-driven nanodiffraction with a nanosecond-resolution direct electron detector to track local electric fields and strain. You will apply these methods to gold-perovskite nanostructures, combining single-particle optical spectroscopy with in situ TEM under laser excitation to reveal how light-driven charge transfer reshapes the interface.

PhD position 2 – Hybrid Solar Cells group (Bruno Ehrler). You will design and fabricate lateral perovskite-metal devices that fit inside the TEM, measure their electrical and memristive behavior, and study in situ how bias and light drive ion migration and metal filament growth. You will extend drift-diffusion simulations to dynamically changing interfaces, connecting the observed atomic-scale changes to device function.

The project is funded by an NWO Open Competition Domain Science (M-2) grant. The two PhD candidates will work closely together, with shared samples, joint experiments on the TEM, and regular meetings across both groups. The project further benefits from international collaborations with leading groups in perovskite materials, electron microscopy, nanoparticle synthesis, and computational imaging.

Qualifications
You have a MSc degree in physics, chemistry, nanoscience, or a related field.

Work environment
You will perform this research in the Hybrid Nanosystems group headed by Wiebke Albrecht (position 1) or the Hybrid Solar Cells group headed by Bruno Ehrler (position 2) at AMOLF. Both groups are part of AMOLF’s LMPV–Sustainable Energy Materials department, where about 50 scientists work on semiconductors for solar energy conversion and photocatalysis.

The Hybrid Nanosystems group uses light as a tool to probe, program, and reshape nanomaterials. By combining advanced electron microscopy, single-particle optical spectroscopy, and electromagnetic simulations, we uncover how the atomic-scale structure of nanoparticles governs their response to light, and how light can drive these structures to transform.

The Hybrid Solar Cells group focuses on perovskite materials science, both on the fundamental level and for device applications. By combining electrical and optical spectroscopy with drift-diffusion simulations, the group studies the dynamic nature of halide perovskites, from ion migration in solar cells to artificial synapses for neuromorphic computing.

AMOLF is a part of NWO-I and initiate and performs leading fundamental research on the physics of complex forms of matter, and to create new functional materials, in partnership with academia and industry. The institute is located at Amsterdam Science Park and currently employs about 140 researchers and 80 support employees. www.amolf.nl

Working conditions

• The working atmosphere at the institute is largely determined by young, enthusiastic, mostly foreign employees. Communication is informal and runs through short lines of communication.
• The position is intended as full-time (40 hours / week, 12 months / year) appointment in the service of the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (NWO-I) for the duration of four years
• The starting salary is 3.115 Euro’s gross per month and a range of employment benefits.
• After successful completion of the PhD research a PhD degree will be granted at a Dutch University.
• Several courses are offered, specially developed for PhD-students.
• AMOLF assists any new foreign PhD-student with housing and visa applications and compensates their transport costs and furnishing expenses.

More information?
For further information about the positions, please contact Wiebke Albrecht (position 1): w.albrecht@amolf.nl, or Bruno Ehrler (position 2): b.ehrler@amolf.nl.

Application
You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below. Please indicate in your motivation letter whether you are applying for position 1, position 2, or both.

Online screening may be part of the selection.

Diversity code
AMOLF is highly committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment: we want to develop talent and creativity by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. We recruit and select on the basis of competencies and talents. We strongly encourage anyone with the right qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical ability.

AMOLF has won the NNV Diversity Award 2022, which is awarded every two years by the Netherlands Physical Society for demonstrating the most successful implementation of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

Commercial activities in response to this ad are not appreciated.

The dynamic atomic interface between halide perovskites and metals

Work Activities
The Hybrid Nanosystems group and the Hybrid Solar Cells group at NWO-Institute AMOLF are looking for two PhD candidates to watch, in real time and at the atomic scale, how interfaces between halide perovskites and metals change under light and electrical bias, using a unique in situ transmission electron microscope (TEM).

Halide perovskites are promising semiconductors for solar cells, LEDs, photocatalysis, and brain-inspired (neuromorphic) electronics. In almost every device they are contacted by a metal, and because the perovskite lattice is soft and its ions are mobile, these contacts are not static: defects migrate, bonds break and reform, and metal atoms can diffuse into the perovskite. These “living” interfaces can degrade a device or enable new functionality, yet how they evolve under operating conditions has never been observed directly. This project uses AMOLF’s in situ TEM, which is unique in its ability to apply light and electrical bias while imaging at atomic resolution, to watch these processes as they happen and link them to charge transfer and device performance.

PhD position 1 – Hybrid Nanosystems group (Wiebke Albrecht). You will develop low-dose, time-resolved TEM methods for beam-sensitive perovskites, including event-driven nanodiffraction with a nanosecond-resolution direct electron detector to track local electric fields and strain. You will apply these methods to gold-perovskite nanostructures, combining single-particle optical spectroscopy with in situ TEM under laser excitation to reveal how light-driven charge transfer reshapes the interface.

PhD position 2 – Hybrid Solar Cells group (Bruno Ehrler). You will design and fabricate lateral perovskite-metal devices that fit inside the TEM, measure their electrical and memristive behavior, and study in situ how bias and light drive ion migration and metal filament growth. You will extend drift-diffusion simulations to dynamically changing interfaces, connecting the observed atomic-scale changes to device function.

The project is funded by an NWO Open Competition Domain Science (M-2) grant. The two PhD candidates will work closely together, with shared samples, joint experiments on the TEM, and regular meetings across both groups. The project further benefits from international collaborations with leading groups in perovskite materials, electron microscopy, nanoparticle synthesis, and computational imaging.

Qualifications
You have a MSc degree in physics, chemistry, nanoscience, or a related field.

Work environment
You will perform this research in the Hybrid Nanosystems group headed by Wiebke Albrecht (position 1) or the Hybrid Solar Cells group headed by Bruno Ehrler (position 2) at AMOLF. Both groups are part of AMOLF’s LMPV–Sustainable Energy Materials department, where about 50 scientists work on semiconductors for solar energy conversion and photocatalysis.

The Hybrid Nanosystems group uses light as a tool to probe, program, and reshape nanomaterials. By combining advanced electron microscopy, single-particle optical spectroscopy, and electromagnetic simulations, we uncover how the atomic-scale structure of nanoparticles governs their response to light, and how light can drive these structures to transform.

The Hybrid Solar Cells group focuses on perovskite materials science, both on the fundamental level and for device applications. By combining electrical and optical spectroscopy with drift-diffusion simulations, the group studies the dynamic nature of halide perovskites, from ion migration in solar cells to artificial synapses for neuromorphic computing.

AMOLF is a part of NWO-I and initiate and performs leading fundamental research on the physics of complex forms of matter, and to create new functional materials, in partnership with academia and industry. The institute is located at Amsterdam Science Park and currently employs about 140 researchers and 80 support employees. www.amolf.nl

Working conditions

• The working atmosphere at the institute is largely determined by young, enthusiastic, mostly foreign employees. Communication is informal and runs through short lines of communication.
• The position is intended as full-time (40 hours / week, 12 months / year) appointment in the service of the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (NWO-I) for the duration of four years
• The starting salary is 3.115 Euro’s gross per month and a range of employment benefits.
• After successful completion of the PhD research a PhD degree will be granted at a Dutch University.
• Several courses are offered, specially developed for PhD-students.
• AMOLF assists any new foreign PhD-student with housing and visa applications and compensates their transport costs and furnishing expenses.

More information?
For further information about the positions, please contact Wiebke Albrecht (position 1): w.albrecht@amolf.nl, or Bruno Ehrler (position 2): b.ehrler@amolf.nl.

Application
You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below. Please indicate in your motivation letter whether you are applying for position 1, position 2, or both.

Online screening may be part of the selection.

Diversity code
AMOLF is highly committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment: we want to develop talent and creativity by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. We recruit and select on the basis of competencies and talents. We strongly encourage anyone with the right qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical ability.

AMOLF has won the NNV Diversity Award 2022, which is awarded every two years by the Netherlands Physical Society for demonstrating the most successful implementation of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

Commercial activities in response to this ad are not appreciated.

Postdoc: Probing electron-photon correlations using CL spectroscopy

Work Activities
Cathodoluminescence (CL), the light emitted when a fast electron interacts with a material, is a powerful probe of optical and electronic properties at the nanoscale. Each emission event is a quantum-mechanical electron-photon interaction, and the correlations between the electron and the emitted photons carry information that conventional CL does not use. This project is part of the NXTGEN Hightech programme of the Dutch National Growth Fund, with TU Delft, DELMIC, Amsterdam Scientific Instruments, and Technolution. We push CL in two directions: towards high throughput in a multi-beam electron microscope for compound semiconductor metrology (GaN, SiC, GaAs), and towards fundamental studies of electron-photon correlations and entanglement.

As a postdoc at AMOLF you will work on:

• High-throughput CL with a single beam: identify what limits the imaging speed of a CL system (scanning, detector response, signal level, data volume) and optimize it using fast detectors such as multi-pixel photon and electron counters (TimePic), smart scanning strategies and data reduction.
• Multi-beam CL: design and test how to collect and detect CL from many electron beamlets at once, from "ensemble CL" to flag and localize defects towards imaging of individual beamlets. You will build an optical testbench that emulates an array of electron beams and develop a prototype with DELMIC that is tested in the multi-beam microscope at TU Delft.
• Correlative measurements: you will combine CL with single-electron counting, detecting each emitted photon in coincidence with the electron that excited it, to access photon statistics, emission dynamics and electron-photon correlations.
• Electron-photon entanglement: you will investigate whether the electron and photon emitted in the same event are entangled, using the laterally coherent fraction of the electron beam to excite emitters coherently. By erasing the which-path information in the scattering geometry (a quantum eraser) you will test whether interference of the emission is observed, giving insight into the coherence of electron-light-matter scattering.

You will work in the Photonic Materials group of Prof. Albert Polman at AMOLF, in close collaboration with the TU Delft team, DELMIC, Amsterdam Scientific Instruments, and Technolution, with regular joint meetings and workshops.

Qualifications
We invite applications from highly motivated candidates with a PhD in physics, optics, materials science or engineering, and a keen interest in cathodoluminescence, electron microscopy, quantum optics and instrument development. Experience with optical instrumentation, fast detectors, photon-correlation or coincidence measurements, optical simulation, or data acquisition and analysis is an advantage. We especially encourage individuals from underrepresented groups to apply.

Work environment
The Photonic Materials group (www.erbium.nl), led by Prof. Albert Polman, studies light-matter interactions at the nanoscale. The group pioneered cathodoluminescence spectroscopy as a nanophotonics probe, and its CL setup was the prototype for the SPARC system commercialized by DELMIC. The group is an international team of PhD students, postdocs and master students that work in a collaborative atmosphere with many social group activities. Every week we hold a group meeting and departmental colloquium and poster sessions. We also regularly organize an international group labtour.

In this project you will collaborate closely with TU Delft, DELMIC and Technolution, with biweekly virtual meetings, quarterly workshops and an annual event with external partners from industry. We offer a highly collaborative and supportive environment, fostering strong connections both within the group and with our national and international partners.

AMOLF is a part of NWO-I and initiate and performs leading fundamental research on the physics of complex forms of matter, and to create new functional materials, in partnership with academia and industry. The institute is located at Amsterdam Science Park and currently employs about 140 researchers and 80 support employees. www.amolf.nl

Working conditions

• The working atmosphere at the institute is largely determined by young, enthusiastic, mostly foreign employees. Communication is informal and runs through short lines of communication.
• The position is intended as full-time (40 hours / week, 12 months / year) appointment in the service of the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (NWO-I) for the duration of three years
• Salary is in scale 10 (CAO-OI) which starts at 4.552 Euro’s gross per month, and a range of employment benefits.
• AMOLF assists any new foreign Postdoc with housing and visa applications and compensates their transport costs and furnishing expenses.

More information?
For further information about the position, please contact Albert Polman: a.polman@amolf.nl

Application
You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below. Applications are being reviewed until the vacancy is filled.

Online screening may be part of the selection.

Diversity code
AMOLF is highly committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment: we want to develop talent and creativity by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. We recruit and select on the basis of competencies and talents. We strongly encourage anyone with the right qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical ability.

AMOLF has won the NNV Diversity Award 2022, which is awarded every two years by the Netherlands Physical Society for demonstrating the most successful implementation of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

Commercial activities in response to this ad are not appreciated.

PhD position: Optical metasurfaces controlling quantum electron wavepackets

Work Activities
In this project, you will study the fundamental interactions between high-energy electrons and extreme light fields in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Gaining control over these interactions may lead to new forms of electron microscopy that exploit the quantum-mechanical nature of electron wavepackets. The project uses an emerging technique, photon-induced near-field electron microscopy (PINEM), in which electrons in a 1-ps-pulsed electron beam exchange energy with a strongly confined optical near field generated by intense laser pulses. This interaction changes the electrons' energy, which in turn modifies the electron wavepacket in space and time, creating, for example, attosecond electron pulse trains. You will develop specially designed non-local optical metasurfaces to control the interaction of the electrons with the strong light fields. Structured 2D dielectrics integrated with nanometer-thin transition-metal dichalcogenide layers, exhibiting strong optical resonances, will be designed to enhance and control the coupling in an ultrafast 1-30 keV SEM.

Your research will include:

• PINEM and metasurface design (years 1): learn to operate the ultrafast SEM at AMOLF, study PINEM theory and modeling, and design and fabricate metasurfaces in the Amsterdam NanoCenter cleanroom.
• PINEM-metasurface integration (year 2): measure the electron-light interaction of optimized metasurfaces and tailor electron wavepackets by design, including through two subsequent coherent PINEM interactions.
• Coherence and entanglement (year 3-4): investigate correlations between electron energy loss and cathodoluminescence, and test a quantum-eraser geometry in which the which-path information is erased.

The project combines the ultrafast electron-light-matter interaction and cathodoluminescence expertise of Prof. Albert Polman (AMOLF) with metasurface design, fabrication and optical characterization expertise of Dr. Jorik van de Groep (University of Amsterdam). You will be based in the Photonic Materials group of Prof. Polman at AMOLF, with close interaction with the 2D Nanophotonics group of Dr. van de Groep at the University of Amsterdam.

Qualifications
We invite applications from highly motivated candidates with a strong background in physics and a keen interest in nanophotonics, quantum physics, nanofabrication and electron microscopy. We especially encourage individuals from underrepresented groups to apply. Prospective PhD candidates must hold an MSc degree in physics or equivalent qualification.

Work environment
Work environment The Photonic Materials group (www.erbium.nl), led by Prof. Albert Polman, studies light-matter interactions at the nanoscale. The group is composed of an international team of PhD students, postdocs and master students that work in a collaborative atmosphere with many social group activities. Every week we hold a group meeting and departmental colloquium and poster sessions. We also regularly organize an international group labtour.

AMOLF provides state-of-the-art ultrafast electron microscopy systems for time-, angle- and polarization-resolved cathodoluminescence spectroscopy and PINEM, and a shared cleanroom for nanofabrication and characterization (Amsterdam NanoCenter). We offer a highly collaborative and supportive environment, fostering strong connections both within the group and with our national and international partners. PhD students benefit from a variety of courses designed to enhance their research skills.

AMOLF is a part of NWO-I and initiates and performs leading fundamental research on the physics of complex forms of matter, and creates new functional materials, in partnership with academia and industry. The institute is located at Amsterdam Science Park and currently employs about 140 researchers and 80 support employees. www.amolf.nl The 2D Nanophotonics lab (https://vandegroeplab.com), led by Dr. Jorik van de Groep, studies nanophotonic metasurfaces that enable active control over light by harnessing the highly tunable optical properties of two-dimensional quantum materials. By combining resonant metallic and semiconductor nanostructures with exciton resonances in 2D semiconductors, we create dynamic metasurfaces that actively tune light emission, scattering, and absorption at the nanoscale. Our group is part of the Institute of Physics at the University of Amsterdam (https://iop.uva.nl) and works in a collaborative atmosphere with other researchers within the department and (inter)national collaborators.

Working conditions

• The working atmosphere at the institute is largely determined by young, enthusiastic, mostly non-Dutch employees. Communication is informal and runs through short lines of communication.
• The position is intended as full-time (40 hours / week, 12 months / year) appointment for the duration of four years. The planned start date is December 1, 2026. · The starting salary is 3.115 Euros gross per month and a range of employment benefits.
• After successful completion of the PhD research a PhD degree will be granted at the University of Amsterdam.
• Several courses are offered, specially developed for PhD-students.
• AMOLF assists any new foreign PhD-student with housing and visa applications and compensates their transport costs and furnishing expenses.

More information?
For further information about the position, please contact Albert Polman: a.polman@amolf.nl and Jorik van de Groep: j.vandegroep@uva.nl

Application
You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below.

Online screening may be part of the selection.

Diversity code
AMOLF is highly committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment: we want to develop talent and creativity by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. We recruit and select on the basis of competencies and talents. We strongly encourage anyone with the right qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical ability.

AMOLF has won the NNV Diversity Award 2022, which is awarded every two years by the Netherlands Physical Society for demonstrating the most successful implementation of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

Commercial activities in response to this ad are not appreciated.