Postdoc in WWSC: Colloidal interactions between cellulose nanofibrils - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Job description

A Post Doc position within the Wallenberg Wood Science Center (WWSC). WWSC is a research center striving for scientific excellence, with a focus on new materials from trees. The center creates knowledge and builds competence for an innovative and sustainable future value creation from forest raw materials. WWSC is a multidisciplinary collaboration between KTH, Chalmers, and Linköping University. The base is a donation from Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, and the forest industry is also supporting WWSC via the national platform Treesearch.

Project description:

Nanomaterials from cellulose in the form of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) or cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), are today used to manufacture self-assembling materials with fantastic optical and mechanical properties. To optimize and control the properties of these materials, it is necessary to understand and control the colloidal interaction between these nanomaterials. Experimentally, there is today a large amount of results available concerning the self-organization of nanocelluloses, but no reliable theoretical models to describe this. It is therefore necessary to develop a more realistic theoretical model to describe the colloidal stability of dispersions of CNFs. To accomplish this, it is necessary to combine high-resolution experimental techniques with a theoretical model building. In the project, you will work independently using different types of CNFs (chemically/physically modified) and with characterizing their colloidal properties with new and established methods to clarify how the properties will change with changes in the chemical and/or physical environment. In order to link the experimental and theoretical work, you are expected to form a contact network where different basic skills can be used. This can of course be carried out through digital meetings but you are also expected to visit potential partners to explain the complexity of the subject and to explain why this is theoretically and practically interesting.

What we offer

• A position at a leading technical university that generates knowledge and skills for a sustainable future
• Engaged and ambitious colleagues along with a creative, international and dynamic working environment
• Work in Stockholm, in close proximity to nature
• Help to relocate and be settled in Sweden and at KTH

Read more about what it is like to work at KTH

Qualifications

You have completed your dissertation in a subject that is relevant to the content of the project. This of course means that you have a proven scientific ability to work independently and that you can critically evaluate experimental data and summarize them in high-quality scientific publications and that you deliver summaries on time. Since the work also includes some modeling work, we assume that you are interested in theoretical model building and have an interest and aptitude for this. We would like to see that you have the ability to present your results to listeners with different degrees of theoretical training. We also see that you have a basic awareness of diversity and equal treatment issues with a particular focus on gender equality.

Requirements

•  Completed doctoral degree, or foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a doctoral degree, in a relevant field. This eligibility requirement must be met at the latest at the time when the employment decision is made.
• Ability to a) independently plan and carry out advanced experiments b) critically evaluate experimental results c) summarize results in well-written scientific publications.
• Theoretical competence to formulate models that can be used to describe and explain experimental results
• Collegial collaboration skills
• Social competence to create a good collaborative environment 

Preferred qualifications

• A doctoral degree or an equivalent foreign degree, obtained within the last three years prior to the application deadline

• A knowledge about fibre-based materials in general and about nanocellulose based materials in particular.

Great emphasis will be placed on personal competency

Trade union representatives

You will find contact information to trade union representatives at KTH's webbpage.

Application

Log into KTH's recruitment system in order to apply to this position. You are the main responsible to ensure that your application is complete according to the ad.

Your complete application must be received at KTH no later than the last day of application, midnight CET/CEST (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time).

About the employment

The position offered is for, at the most, two years.

A position as a postdoctoral fellow is a time-limited qualified appointment focusing mainly on research, intended as a first career step after a dissertation.

Others

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

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