Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate research is a great opportunity to explore cutting-edge projects and gain experience that will help you obtain a job or admission to graduate/medical school. WFU offers this unique opportunity for undergraduate students to work with faculty—especially in their junior or senior year of study. There are two options for getting involved in our research group: Research (PHY 381) for credit or paid summer projects in the form of summer research fellowships.

There are NO prerequirements, other than an interest in physics, mathematics, and computers! However, basic knowledge of quantum mechanics and LINUX are useful. Students from all areas of science are welcome!

Interested students should send an e-mail to Prof. Thonhauser .


Graduate Students

The department always welcomes applications for graduate (MS and PhD) studies—the deadline is generally in mid January. See WFU Graduate Admissions and the WFU Physics Grad Program for further details. For international students whose first language is not English, the TOEFL is required.

Once admitted, a graduate student is typically supported by the supervisor (in a research assistant position) or the department (in a teaching assistant position) for the entire duration of their program—this is to say that one does not have to pay for his/her studies, but rather is paid. Note that applications do not go directly to a prospective supervisor, but to the university and department. The key is thus getting admitted by the department.

To become a graduate student in the Materials Simulation Group, the following qualifications are desirable:

  • Undergraduate degree in physics or closely related field
  • Computer and programming skills (LINUX, Fortran, scripting, etc.)
  • Knowledge of quantum mechanics

Interested students should send an e-mail to Prof. Thonhauser .


Post Docs

Unfortunately, at the moment I do not have any open post doc positions – but that, of course, might change in the future. To become a post doc in the Materials Simulation Group, the following qualifications are required:

  • Graduate degree in physics or closely related field
  • Computer and programming skills (LINUX, Fortran, scripting, etc.)
  • Extensive experience with electronic-structure theory
  • Extensive experience with first-principles computer codes
  • Extensive knowledge of DFT and quantum chemistry

Interested applicants should send a cover letter, CV, a statement of research interests/experience, and the contact information of three references as a single PDF attachment to Prof. Thonhauser .