Postdoctoral Fellow in Chemistry

The Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry (MMK) is one of the largest departments at the Faculty of Science at Stockholm University with about 160 employees, including about 50 PhD students and about 40 postdoctoral fellows/researchers.
The research is focused on materials, including biobased materials, self-assembled materials, porous materials, and inorganic materials, with applications in energy, environment and health. More information can be found at: www.mmk.su.se.

Starting January 2025 the Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry and the Department of Organic Chemistry will merge in to the Department of Chemistry. It will then be one of the largest departments at the Faculty of Natural sciences at Stockholm University with about 200 employees.

Project description
This recruitment is connected to the Wallenberg Initiative Materials Science for Sustainability (WISE), wise-materials.org. WISE, funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, is the largest-ever investment in materials science in Sweden and will encompass major efforts at Sweden’s foremost universities over the course of 10 years. The vision is a sustainable future through materials science. Read more: https://wise-materials.org.

All early-stage researchers recruited into the WISE program will be a part of the WISE Research School, an ambitious nationwide program of seminars, courses, research visits, and other activities to promote a strong multi-disciplinary and international network between PhD students, postdocs, researchers and industry. 

This multidisciplinary project aims to develope and utilize state-of-the-art neutron scattering techniques to study phonon transport and phonon scattering in biobased and waste-based thermally insulating organic, primarily polymer-based materials. We aim to establish a fundamental understanding of the microscopic mechanisms of heat transport in organic nanomaterials with a particular focus on the crucial role water plays in phonon transport. This project will provide fundamental key insights that translate into practical applications, contributing to the development of sustainable, high-performance, carbon-sink thermal insulating materials.

Main responsibilities
You are expected to plan and conduct experiments on biobased and wastebased organic foams and aerogels at renowned large-scale Neutron facilities such as PSI, ISIS and ILL and analyse, combine and interpret data obtained from a range of methods such as inelastic neutron scattering (INS), quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS), and small and wide-angle scattering (SAS). You are expected to conduct in-house measurements of the thermal conductivity using a Hotdisk equipment and characterise the foam structure using scanning electron microscopy.

You will be responsible to draft and write manuscripts and beam-time proposals. You are expected to collaborate with other members in the research group, with leading scientists across major neutron facilities and, within the WISE initiative, with  other researchers from Academia and industry.

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.

In the appointment process, special attention will be given to research skills. The selection will be based on scientific excellence. A suitable background is a PhD in neutron science, scattering physics, materials science, materials chemistry or similar. Extensive experience in the utilization of neutron scattering methods (INS, QENS, SAS), including planning and conducting large-scale facility measurements, and analysing and interpreting data is required. Good understanding of heat transport, in particular phonon transport and phonon scattering, is very important. Experience in small angle X-ray scattering, electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and modelling is a merit.

You should be a self-motivated researcher and a good team player with experience of large, multidisciplinary research collaborations. You must have strong communication skills with excellent knowledge in English, both written and spoken.

Terms of employment
The position involves full-time employment for a minimum of two years and 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
Further information about the position can be obtained from Professor Lennart Bergström, telephone: +46 705 17 99 91, lennart.bergstrom@mmk.su.se and Dr. Elisabetta Nocerino: elisabetta.nocerino@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!

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