PhD position in electronics cooling; Engineered nanostructured surfaces for improved immersion cooling solutions with applications to HPC/AI data centers

Are you passionate about science and eager to make a significant impact in the world of high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI)? At imec, we're at the forefront of developing cutting-edge nanofabrication technologies, and we're looking for motivated candidates to join our dynamic research team.

Why Liquid Cooling? Liquid cooling is revolutionizing HPC and AI data centers [1, 2], offering enhanced computational performance and significant reductions in operational expenses (due to reduced energy consumption compared to traditional air-cooled data centers). One of the more common techniques on the market is immersion cooling, where servers are immersed in non-conductive liquids, enabling higher power densities and improved heat transfer compared to air-cooled solutions.

Your Role: As a PhD candidate, you'll delve into the fascinating world of nucleate boiling heat transfer. Surface characteristics play a crucial role in this process [3-5], and recent advances in micro/nanofabrication offer exciting opportunities to enhance heat transfer beyond existing techniques. Your research will focus on designing and producing novel surface enhancements using imec's state-of-the-art nanofabrication facilities [6]. Through experimental characterization and modeling, you'll explore the link between surface micro/nanostructure and nucleate boiling characteristics, ultimately leading to improved thermal solutions for AI and HPC data centers.

What We Offer:

• Hands-On Experience: Develop practical skills in nanofabrication, surface characterization, and heat transfer measurements.
• Collaborative Environment: Join a diverse, high-energy research team at a world-leading semiconductor research hub.
• Cutting-Edge Research: Work at the intersection of nanofabrication, materials science, and heat transfer processes.
• Career Growth: Build a career with the potential to support next-generation AI/HPC hardware advances.
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Who We're Looking For:

• Strong analytical skills and a curiosity to understand complex physical systems.
• Passion for science and desire to innovate using cutting-edge technologies.
• Eagerness to join a collaborative, multi-disciplinary team and contribute to groundbreaking research.

If you're ready to take on this exciting challenge and be part of a team that's shaping the future of AI and HPC, we want to hear from you!

References

1. "Imec demonstrates efficient cost-effective cooling solution for high performance chips". imec. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
2. "How to efficiently cool power electronics and optoelectronic sensors?". imec. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
3. Webb, Ralph L. "The evolution of enhanced surface geometries for nucleate boiling." Heat Transfer Engineering (1981). https://doi.org/10.1080/01457638108962760.
4. Jones, Benjamin J., John P. McHale, and Suresh V. Garimella. “The Influence of Surface Roughness on Nucleate Pool Boiling Heat Transfer.” Journal of Heat Transfer (2009). https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3220144.
5. Jones, Benjamin J., and Suresh V. Garimella. “Surface Roughness Effects on Flow Boiling in Microchannels.” Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Applications (2010). https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4001804.
6. "Infrastructure: semiconductor cleanrooms and state-of-the-art lab", imec, Retrieved September 15, 2025.