PhD student position in Polymeric materials and composites

Information about the research
We are daily surrounded by solid foams as packaging materials, isolating materials, distributers of body liquids in health care products etc. Today these materials are based on fossil raw materials and there is a wish to replace them with renewable materials, like cellulose and hemicellulose. This is the focus in a newly started project, Smart Foam, founded by FORMAS. The project will be hosted by CHALMERS University of Technology and is a part of CHALMERS' Area of Advance - Materials Science.

In Smart Foams we will recruit one post doc and two PhD students. The post doc will focus on extract and substitute hemicellulose, one of the PhD students will focus on characterization of the extracted raw materials, the foaming properties and the solid foam products and the last PhD student will develop and optimize the extrusion techniques for producing the foams. In close collaboration with the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology (SIK) and Gothenburg University will other parallel parts of the research project investigate the environmental effects of our approach and to look into how one can transfer the gained knowledge to Swedish industry.

The Department of Materials and Manufacturing Technology consists of six research groups and has a total staff of around 60 persons. The research activities span from basic research on nanostructural materials to product- and process related issues within materials and manufacturing technology. The research is carried out in close collaboration with national and international industries and universities. Our graduate as well as undergraduate education is organized in a wide range of courses, we are involved in three masters’ programmes and three research schools.

Major responsibilities
We offer a PhD student position in the area of processing and properties of foamed biopolymers. The aim is to find useful routes to effectively foam such materials, to enhance their hydrophobic properties and assess the important mechanisms in this context. Furthermore, the aim is to establish ways to produce stiff as well as soft foams using suitable chemical and/or physical modifications of the biopolymer. The manufacturing aspects are thus in focus as well as the physical properties of the final component. An understanding of the rheological properties of molten material is essential in this context.

The research project will be funded by FORMAS and will be carried out in collaboration with other departments at Chalmers, the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology (SIK)  and Gothenburg University.

Your major responsibilities as PhD student is to pursue your own doctoral studies. You are expected to develop your own scientific concepts and communicate the results of your research verbally and in writing, both in Swedish and in English. The position generally also includes teaching on Chalmers' undergraduate level or performing other duties corresponding to 20 per cent of working hours.

Position summary
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years.

Qualifications
The candidate should be interested in both experimental and modelling work. We believe that a suitable background is M Sc in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering or Engineering Physics (or similar education). Good knowledge in polymer science, flow behaviour and rheology is an advantage. The candidate is expected to take an active part in the teaching duties at the department. The undergraduate courses are normally taught in Swedish, and the graduate level teaching in English. Thus good language skills are required. Applicants who do not have Swedish as native language must be able to teach in Swedish after two years of employment. Chalmers offers Swedish courses.

Application procedure
The application should be marked with Ref 20130219 and written in English. The application should be sent electronically via Chalmers webpage.

Application deadline: 2013-10-10

For questions, please contact:
Professor Mikael Rigdahl
+46 31 772 1309





Chalmers continuously strive to be an attractive employer. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at Chalmers.