The purpose of this document is to clarify what I, as a supervisor, expect of my students at different levels (bachelor student, chemistry project module, master student, PhD Student and postdoc) and what you as a student at the different levels can expect of me as a supervisor in form of guidance.
In general, I highly expect excellence and independence of my students. A student in the CATCH group will find that we work highly project-oriented with focus on both theory and data generation. Depending on the ambition level of the student all projects (even a bachelor project) are designed to be able to end up in (or be part of) a scientific peer reviewed publication.
Required courses: Physical Chemistry I and Modelling I.
Suggested elective courses: Introduction to Programming with Scientific Applications, Modelling IIb.
A bachelor project in Chemistry, at Aarhus University, is fixed at 10 ECTS points. According to the official guidelines, at the end of the project the student should be able to:
Analyse the problems within the topic.
Clarify the problems within the topic using theoretical and/or experimental studies.
Discuss the problems within the topic on the basis of the supplementary theoretical and/or experimental studies.
Communicate the results in the form of a written report (20-30 pages).
This is a relatively open formulation. In the CATCH group bachelor projects will mainly involve learning how to prepare and perform simple quantum chemical calculations and how to analyse the obtained thermochemical data. The project can be any of the CATCH groups main interests (see webpage for projects)
I expect little prior knowledge related to QM calculations, as most bachelor students have little experience beyond modelling I. My supervision activities in a bachelor project involves:
Before project start I will provide background material in the form of either a book chapter or a research paper for introducing the project.
An initial few days where we sit down and set up accounts on our supercomputer facilities and test that the students can run the required calculations.
A weekly session with all bachelor students where we go through relevant theory (Hartree-Fock theory, Density Functional Theory (DFT), basis sets, optimization techniques, Statistical Mechanics and Transition State Theory (TST)) either from Frank Jensens "Introduction to Computational Chemistry" book or via primary literature.
A weekly personal meeting (if required) with each individual bachelor student.
Aid in structuring and guidance in writing the bachelor thesis.
Open door policy: You can always come by my office and ask for help!
I have many predefined projects and for the ambitious and hard working student a bachelor project in the CATCH group can end out in a first author peer reviewed publication (see website with previous students projects and related publications).
The chemistry project module can be either 5, 10, 15 or 20 ECTS points and should end out in a written report which is defended by an oral exam. The module is aimed at master students and thereby slightly more independence is expected compared to a bachelor project. The scope of a chemistry project module is similar to a small or an extended bachelor thesis. Depending on the students background courses I will provide similar supervision.
Required courses: Physical Chemistry I, Modelling I and Modelling IIb.
Suggested elective courses: Atmospheric Chemistry, Modelling III.
A master thesis in chemistry can either be one full semester (30 ECTS points) or a full year of research (60 ECTS points).
The official learning outcomes of the master thesis are:
Doing a master thesis in the CATCH group involves a project within the CATCH groups topics, but which is explored and specifically defined by the master student him/herself. Hence, there will be significantly more freedom to branch the project in the direction that the student desires. I expect that the student is familiar with how to carry out quantum chemical calculations. My supervision activities in a master project involves:
I have several predefined master projects and for the ambitious and hard working student a master thesis in the CATCH group can end out in one or potentially more first author peer reviewed publication (see website with previous students projects and related publications).
Required academic prerequisite: Basic quantum chemistry courses, experience with QM calculations.
Optional academic prerequisite: Atmospheric chemistry courses.
A PhD project at Aarhus University can either be three years (5+3 scheme), four years (4+4 scheme) and five years (3+5 scheme) depending on how far the student is in his/her studies upon admission to the PhD programme. A PhD in the CATCH group involves a project that go into specific details with one or more of the groups main research interests. The PhD student is expected to work highly independently becoming a specialist within a very specific area. My supervision activities in a PhD project involves:
Occasional personal meeting to assess if the project is on track.
Open door policy: You can always come by my office and ask for help!
For specific perplexing issues please send me an email in advance, so I can best prepare for guidance.
Remember as a PhD student you are responsible for your own learning! I will aid when possible, but you will mainly work separately and is expected to independently carry out your project. I expect at least three peer reviewed first author publications during the PhD project.
A postdoc position can range anything from 6 months to several years depending on how the funding is acquired. I expect my postdocs to work entirely independently and have specific pre-existing knowledge about the specific topic they work on. My supervision activities for a postdoc position involves:
As a postdoc you are completely in charge of acquiring the required knowledge. I expect my postdocs to publish on average two peer reviewed first author publications per year of employment.
