Postdoctoral Fellow on Sustainable upgrading of biomass into fibers

at the Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry. Closing date: 20 December 2023.

The Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry (MMK) is, with about 160 employees, one of the largest departments at the Faculty of Natural sciences at Stockholm University. A significant part of the teaching activities is at the undergraduate level with courses in General, Physical, Inorganic, and Analytical Chemistry. The teaching at the graduate level focuses on the master programs in Sustainable Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry.

Research activities of MMK focus primarily on materials, and include different classes such as ceramics, glasses, self-assembled, porous materials, and soft matter. The projects often encompass synthesis, and characterization by X-ray, neutron diffraction, electron microscopy, solid-state NMR, and computer modelling of materials with a potential for various applications. Research activities in the area of Analytical Chemistry focus on developing advanced analytical techniques for studies of organic compounds and biomolecules.

Project description
The position is part of an EU funded Horizon CBE JU project Bio-LUSH.   BioLUSH project is a consortium with partners across Europe and aims exploit the cell wall structure of underexplored plant resources (forest residues, marine plants and weeds) in Europe to extract high quality fibres. The project will contribute to the retention of value of the EU’s fibrous biomass and the growth of European fibrous bioeconomy. The program is highly transdisciplinary and selected candidate will be able to collaborate with industries, research institutes and other stakeholders in the different tasks of the project. 

Main responsibilities
We are seeking a post-doctoral fellow for 3 years with a broad vision and passion to  develop novel and sustainable  routes of biomass fractionation, into fibres at micron and nanoscale and their characterisation.. Forest residues, nettle and seagrass will be used as biomass sources. The task is to develop processes for the intelligent and circular  use of novel and plant feedstock for fibres extraction as well as tuning of the fibre properties during refining (extraction from cell wall) to address specific end product needs. The selected candidate will work in the group of Prof Aji Mathew at MMK and with Prof Joseph Samec group at the Department of Organic Chemistry.

Qualification requirements
Postdoctoral positions are appointed primarily for purposes of research. Applicants are expected to hold a Swedish doctoral degree or an equivalent degree from another country.

Assessment criteria
The degree must have been completed at latest before the employment decision is made, but no more than three years before the closing date. An older degree may be acceptable under special circumstances. Special reasons refer to sick leave, parental leave, elected positions in trade unions, service in the total defense, or other similar circumstances as well as clinical attachment or service/assignments relevant to the subject area.

The successful candidate will join a vibrant multidisciplinary team of students and post‐docs and should therefore be a good team player with experience to supervise students. Applicants must have strong communication skills with excellent knowledge in English, both written and spoken.

In the appointment process, special attention will be given to research skills. The selection is based primarily on scientific excellence and experience in the field of biomass fractionation, or cellulose chemistry. Experience in data mining and machine learning for process optimization will be an added advantage.

Terms of employment
The position involves full-time employment for a maximum of three years, with the possibility of extension under special circumstances. Start date 2024-02-01 or as per agreement.

Stockholm University strives to be a workplace free from discrimination and with equal opportunities for all.

Contact
For more information, please contact the project leader: Professor Aji P Mathew, telephone +46 8 16 1256, aji.mathew@mmk.su.se, Professor Joseph Samec, telephone +46 8 16 31 14, joseph.samec@su.se.

For general information about MMK, please contact Professor Niklas Hedin (Head of Department), niklas.hedin@mmk.su.se.

Union representatives
Ingrid Lander (Saco-S), telephone: +46 708 16 26 64, saco@saco.su.se, Alejandra Pizarro Carrasco (Fackförbundet ST/OFR), telephone: +46 8 16 34 89, alejandra@st.su.se, and seko@seko.su.se (SEKO).

Application
Apply for the position at Stockholm University's recruitment system. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the job advertisement, and that it is submitted before the deadline.

Please include the following information with your application

• Your contact details and personal data
• Your highest degree
• Your language skills
• Contact details for 2–3 references

and, in addition, please include the following documents

• Cover letter
• CV – degrees and other completed courses, work experience and a list of publications
• Research proposal (no more than 3 pages) describing:
  – why you are interested in the field/project described in the advertisement
  – why and how you wish to complete the project
  – what makes you suitable for the project in question
• Copy of PhD diploma
• Letters of recommendation (no more than 3 files)
• Publications in support of your application (no more than 3 files).

The instructions for applicants are available at: How to apply for a position.

You are welcome to apply!

Stockholm University contributes to the development of sustainable democratic society through knowledge, enlightenment and the pursuit of truth.