KTH , School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health

Project description

Third-cycle subject: Fibre and Polymer Science with focus on Renewable Materials

The focus of this project is to create high-performance materials from forest resources with a designed degradation profile. Sustainable materials from renewable resources could become the next generation of plastic. However, to make this transition, we need to look at the whole life-cycle perspective. How is the material produced, what are the properties, can it be recycled, will it degrade, and if, to what, and for how long. Important in this context is that sustainable modification and production, based on only renewable resources, do not necessarily mean that the material is good for the environment. This project starts from the cellulosic fiber and undertakes a holistic approach towards creating fully sustainable materials by developing sustainable chemical modification methods, towards both thermoplastic polymers and thermoplastic fibers, evaluate material properties, recycling, and degradation behavior, combined with predictive models from experimental results and molecular simulations. This enables us to create tools to design, make, break and reuse the next generation of plastic from only renewable resources.

Supervision: The doctoral student will be supervised by Dr. Peter Olsén,  Ass. Prof. Karin Odelius, Prof. Minna Hakkarainen and Dr. Jakob Wohlert

Target degree: Doctoral degree

What we offer

Eligibility

To be admitted to postgraduate education (Chapter 7, 39 § Swedish Higher Education Ordinance), the applicant must have basic eligibility in accordance with either of the following:

  • passed a degree at advanced level. Preferably, the person should have a Master in either Polymer Science, Organic Chemistry, Wood Chemistry or equivalent.
  • completed course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 higher education credits at advanced level, or
  • in any other way acquired within or outside the country acquired essentially equivalent knowledge.
  • Requirements for English equivalent to English B/6, read more here.

Selection

In order to succeed as a doctoral student at KTH you need to be goal oriented and persevering in your work. During the selection process, candidates will be assessed upon their ability to:

  • independently pursue his or her work
  • collaborate with others,
  • have a professional approach and
  • analyse and work with complex issues.

After the qualification requirements, great emphasis will be placed on personal qualities and personal suitability.

Information regarding admission and employment

Only those admitted to postgraduate education may be employed as a doctoral student. The total length of employment may not be longer than what corresponds to full-time doctoral education in four years ' time. An employed doctoral student can, to a limited extent (maximum 20%), perform certain tasks within their role, e.g. training and administration. A new position as a doctoral student is for a maximum of one year, and then the employment may be renewed for a maximum of two years at a time.

Union representatives

You will find contact information for union representatives on KTH's website.

Doctoral section (Students’ union on KTH Royal Institute of Technology)

You will find contact information for doctoral section on the section's website.

Application

Apply for the position and admission through KTH's recruitment system. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the advertisement.

Applications must be received at the last closing date at midnight, CET/CEST (Central European Time/entral European Summer Time).

Applications must include the following elements:

  • CV including your relevant professional experience and knowledge.
  • Application letter with a brief description of why you want to pursue research studies, about what your academic interests are and how they relate to your previous studies and future goals. (Maximum 2 pages long)
  • Copies of diplomas and grades from previous university studies and certificates of fulfilled language requirements (see above). Translations into English or Swedish if the original document is not issued in one of these languages.
  • Representative publications or technical reports. For longer documents, please provide a summary (abstract) and a web link to the full text.

Other information

Striving towards gender equality, diversity and equal conditions is both a question of quality for KTH and a given part of our values.

For information about processing of personal data in the recruitment process please read here.

We firmly decline all contact with staffing and recruitment agencies and job ad salespersons.

Disclaimer: In case of discrepancy between the Swedish original and the English translation of the job announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.

 

 

Type of employment Temporary position
Contract type Full time
First day of employment According to agreement
Salary Monthly salary according to KTH's doctoral student salary agreement
Number of positions 1
Full-time equivalent 100%
City Stockholm
County Stockholms län
Country Sweden
Reference number C-2021-0214
Contact
  • Edith Tönseth Malm, HR administrator, edithmt@kth., +46 8 790 60 73
  • Peter Olsén, Forskare, polsen@kth.se, +46 8 790 86 80
Published 11.Feb.2021
Last application date 03.Mar.2021 11:59 PM CET

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