Doctoral student in Physics with a focus on the development of novel X-ray imaging methods with beam-steering ptychography and AI Full-time

Doctoral Student In Physics With A Focus On The Development Of Novel X-Ray Imaging Methods With Beam-Steering Ptychography And Ai

Lund University, Science Faculty, Department of Physics

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world's top universities. The University has around 46 000 students and 8 500 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain and improve our world and the human condition.

You will be enrolled at the Division of Synchrotron Radiation Research, but will be actively involved in the operations of the MicroMAX beamline within the RÅC-funded project MIRA.

The Division of Synchrotron Radiation Research is a part of the Department of Physics and has more than 40 employees. The focus of the research is on experimental studies of electronic, structural, and chemical properties of materials. The Division is developing a new activity focussing on magnetic properties. At the Division we use and develop a wide range of large facility- and lab-based techniques. We are additionally engaged in the development of the MAX IV Laboratory in the fields of beamlines, experimental stations, techniques for Synchrotron radiation and the accelerator systems. MAX IV is a national large-scale research laboratory hosted by Lund University and situated within biking distance from the Department of Physics. It provides scientists from Sweden and the rest of the world with the most brilliant Synchrotron radiation source and instrumentation for research in areas such as materials science, structural biology, chemistry and nanotechnology.

NanoLund, formerly known as the Nanometer Structure Consortium, founded in 1988, supports and coordinates activities within nanoscience and nanotechnology at Lund University. NanoLund is today Sweden's largest research environment for nanoscience, engaging approximately 250 PhD students and scientists in the faculties of engineering, the natural sciences, and medicine at Lund University. Its vision is to bring together the most creative minds in a world-leading interdisciplinary research environment to help overcome society's grand challenges by pushing the frontiers of nanoscience. NanoLund runs Lund Nano Lab, a state of the art facility for nanofabrication.

For more information about the main supervisor of the project, please see: https://www.sljus.lu.se/pablo-villanueva-perez

Being A Doctoral Student

As a doctoral student, you are both admitted as a student and employed at Lund University.

As a doctoral student, you will be trained in a scientific approach. In short, you will be trained to think critically and analytically, to solve problems independently using the right methods, and to develop an awareness of research ethics. In addition, you will have the opportunity to work on projects, to develop your leadership and pedagogical skills. Throughout your studies, you will be guided by supervisors. Doctoral studies end with a thesis and a doctoral degree.

More about being a doctoral student at the Faculty of Science at naturvetenskap.se Doctoral studies | Faculty of Science

Subject And Project Description

Beam-steering ptychography is an emerging approach to coherent X-ray imaging in which the illuminating probe is scanned across the sample by steering the beam, rather than by translating the sample itself. This decouples scanning from sample motion and opens up high-resolution quantitative 2D and 3D imaging of samples that are difficult to scan mechanically — including soft biological tissue and disease models studied in their native or near-native state.

Within the RÅC-MIRA project, we are seeking a PhD candidate to contribute to the next phase of this development. The work will focus on refining the forward model for beam-steering ptychographic reconstruction and extending the approach to 3D via (joint) ptycho-tomography and AI-guided reconstruction methods, aimed at improving efficiency and reducing the required beamtime and radiation dose. The position is hosted at Lund University with research activities at MAX IV (MicroMAX beamline), and is embedded in a close collaboration with DESY (Hamburg) and other RÅC-MIRA partners. Depending on background and interests, the work may also include experimental activities at synchrotron beamlines and contributions to instrumentation development.

Work Duties

The project is mainly computational with an experimental component. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to:

• Develop forward models and reconstruction methods for beam-steering ptychography.
• Work on ptychographic tomography and AI-guided 3D reconstruction approaches.
• Validate algorithms using simulated and experimental data.
• Contribute to scientific software development for large-scale imaging problems.
• Participate in synchrotron experiments with project partners.
• Work in international research collaboration environments.
• Publish in peer-reviewed journals and present at scientific meetings.

The main duties of doctoral students are to devote themselves to their research studies which includes participating in research projects and third cycle courses. The work duties can also include teaching and other departmental duties (no more than 20%).

Qualifications

To be eligible for admission and employment as a doctoral student, you must fulfil the requirements below.

Admission Requirements

A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if he or she:

• has been awarded a second-cycle qualification, or
• has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second cycle, or
• has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

A person meets the specific admission requirements for third-cycle studies in Physics if he or she has:

• passed an independent project (e.g.degree project) of at least 30 credits in a relevant subject

Equivalent knowledge acquired through corresponding programmes will be assessed individually. In order to enable interdisciplinary initiatives and important specialisations in certain areas, students with qualifications in subjects other than Physics may be considered for admission.

Finally, the student must be judged to have the potential to complete the programme.

Additional Requirements

• Very good oral and written proficiency in English.
• Programming experience in Python, C/C++, or other languages used for scientific computing.
• Familiarity with at least two of: wave optics, diffraction, numerical methods, optimization, inverse problems.
• Strong interest in computational methods for coherent X-ray imaging — at the intersection of imaging physics, algorithm development, and scientific computing.
• Good analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work both independently and within an interdisciplinary, international team.

Selection Criteria

Although not a requirement, it is highly advantageous to be skilled in one or more of the following:

• Hands-on experience with ptychography, coherent diffraction imaging, phase retrieval, or tomography.
• Background in inverse problems, optimization, or iterative reconstruction.
• Experience with scientific software development, HPC, or parallel programming.
• Machine learning or AI methods for image reconstruction or analysis.
• Experimental experience at synchrotron beamlines or with advanced imaging instrumentation.

Candidates with backgrounds in adjacent imaging, physics, or computational fields are warmly encouraged to apply, even without prior ptychography or synchrotron experience.

We are looking for a creative person focused on solving problems with new methods and techniques. You are good at learning new knowledge and concepts from other subject areas than your own. We attach great importance to personal qualities such as organization, attention to detail, and perseverance.

We Offer

Dedicated beamtime access at the MicroMAX beamline (MAX IV).

Active collaboration with DESY and other RÅC-MIRA partners in Germany and Sweden. A computational environment with GPU and HPC resources for large-scale reconstruction.

• An international, interdisciplinary research environment connecting instrumentation, algorithms, and biomedical applications.

More about working at Lund University on lu.se. https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/about-university/work-lund-university

About The Employment

The employment is a fixed-term employment at full-time, starting as soon as possible. Third-cycle studies at LTH consist of full-time studies for 4 years. In the case of teaching and other departmental duties, employment is extended accordingly. Doctoral studentships are regulated in the Higher Education Ordinance