PhD Course

Materials science and technology

Thematic area Hard Sciences
Duration 3 years
Language English
PhD Programme Coordinator Stefano Agnoli

The SIMN Course aims to give an international and highly multidisciplinary training to young researchers in the most advanced fields of science and engineering of innovative materials

  Find out more

Structure and aims

The Doctoral Course in Science and Engineering of Materials and Nanostructures (Corso di Dottorato in Scienza e Ingegneria dei Materiali e delle Nanostrutture or SIMN, in Italian) is a three-year PhD Programme that aims at training at international level young researchers in the most advanced fields of science and engineering of innovative materials at the forefront of science and technology.

Research and Training

The SIMN Students can perform their research activity in the labs of the three reference Departments: the Dept. of Chemical Sciences (DiSC), the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy (DFA) and the Dept. of Industrial Engineering (DII). Indeed, SIMN adopts a highly multi-disciplinary approach to training through the combination of complementary expertise exceeding the traditional boundaries between disciplines like chemistry, physics or engineering and providing advanced training opportunities in the field of materials, in particular nanostructured ones, to Students coming from different degree programs. This approach will provide the SIMN Students a vision, as much as possible transversal and wide, of the development of innovative materials encompassing different fields of application such as energetics, catalysis, nanophotonics, optoelectronics, sensing or biomedicine.
SIMN Students deal effectively with all materials topics, i.e., design, (nano)fabrication, characterization and modeling of innovative materials and devices, through the understanding and the use of the relationship between (nano)structure and function of the material developed for targeted applications.

The SIMN PhD Training Program is based on two actions:

  1. Research-based training: the PhD students will be assigned a research project on one of the most advanced topics. This is the most important activity and will produce a final written original PhD thesis, which will be evaluated by two International Experts in the field. The PhD student will defend it in front of a Panel of Experts to obtain the PhD Degree.
  2. Lecture-based training: to enhance the scientific/technical knowledge on the most advanced and specialized research topics and to improve the soft and transferable skills of the PhD student. This is obtained through course or modules given mainly by the Members of the Academic Board and/or by other national or international leading experts.

Students advancements will be evaluated each year and admission to the next year is obtained upon a positive evaluation of a written report.

Job Placement

The acquired ability to master different languages and the special emphasis given to transversal and multidisciplinary skills will provide the SIMN Students the possibility to find job placement both in academic or public research and in R&D division at industrial level.

  Contacts

Secretariat: Anna Menna
Address: Dept. of Chemical Sciences, via Marzolo 1, Padova
email: dottorati.chimica@unipd.it

Coordinator: Stefano Agnoli
Address: Dept. of Chemical Sciences, via Marzolo 1, Padova
email: stefano.agnoli@unipd.it