PhD Candidate in Soft Active Matter Microrobots for Medicine

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Research Project: Design, Synthesis, and Multiscale Characterization of Materials for Soft Robotics Applications (SAM3/ESR12)

This project is part of the Marie Curie Doctoral Network on Soft Active Matter Microrobots for Medicine (SAM3). This doctoral network comprises 12 PhD candidates focusing on the ear-nose-throat area from a microrobotics perspective. Leveraging active matter and small-scale microrobotics engineering, we aim to achieve three specific goals:

• Access the middle ear through the Eustachian tube.
• Access the olfactory clefts for mucosal biopsy.
• Access the skull cavity through the nose and the cribble plate for cerebrospinal fluid biopsy.

Your Tasks

This PhD project will concentrate on the design, synthesis, and multiscale characterization of materials specifically for soft robotics applications. The objectives include:

• Computationally designing materials using a simulation-guided approach.
• Synthesizing (meta)materials via light-based 3D-printing architecture for medical soft robotics.
• Characterizing the morphology, microstructure, and mechanical behavior of the metamaterials in relation to environmental and boundary conditions.

The expected outcomes are:

• Functional architectured material designs and synthesis routes via 3D printing applicable to medical soft robotics.
• Characterization setup for probing mechanical behavior of active and passive materials under varying boundary conditions (variable strain rate, relative humidity, etc.).
• Multiscale characterization of materials and systems developed in the SAM3 project, focusing on process-structure-mechanical property-function relationships.

The candidate will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Doctoral School for Materials Science and Engineering (EDMX) at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland) and will receive co-supervision from Dr. Jakob Schwiedrzik and Prof. Dr. Johann Michler at EPFL and Empa (Thun, Switzerland). The work will take place at the Laboratory for High Performance Ceramics of Empa (Dübendorf, Switzerland).

An academic stay of three months is planned at ULB (Prof. Pierre Lambert, Bruxelles, Belgium) for metamaterial design, a second academic stay of three months at UMONS (Prof. Jérémy Odent, Mons, Belgium) for the synthesis of soft robotics materials, and an industrial secondment of five months at Alemnis AG (Dr. Jean-Marc Breguet, Thun, Switzerland) for micromechanical testing of metamaterial structures.

Research Environment

The main research lab will be the Laboratory for High Performance Ceramics at Empa Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Dübendorf, Switzerland). The PhD student will receive joint supervision from Dr. Jakob Schwiedrzik (Empa, Dübendorf) and Prof. Johann Michler (EPFL and Empa, Thun). The laboratory is well-equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, including:

• Workstations and simulation software
• Chemical labs
• DLP and 2 Photon Lithography 3D printing
• Raman spectroscopy
• Electron microscopy
• Nanoindentation
• Macroscopic mechanical testing
• Humidity control

Your Profile

• We are looking to appoint one PhD student for this project, related to 11 other positions open in the SAM3 EU network.
• The candidate should have a Master's degree or diploma in materials science, mechanical engineering, or a related field, and must not have a doctoral degree.
• The ideal candidate will possess a solid background in the mechanics of materials and simulations. Experience with material characterization methods such as electron microscopy, nanoindentation, or light-based 3D printing is advantageous.
• Strong soft skills are essential, including motivation for research, teamwork spirit, and effective communication skills.
• Fluency in spoken and written English is required; knowledge of German or French is a plus.

Our Offer

Duration: 3 years full-time
Starting date: From October 2026
Apply online using the form below. Note that only applications matching the job profile will be considered.

We foster a culture of inclusion and respect, welcoming all individuals interested in innovative, sustainable, and meaningful work.

Questions?

For inquiries, please contact:
Dr. Johann Jakob Schwiedrzik
Head of Laboratory
High Performance Ceramics
Empa Website