Postdoctoral scholarship (2 years) within Experimental Physics

The Department of Physics is offering a postdoctoral scholarship within the project “Nanomaterials for recovery of actinides and lanthanides from industrial wastes.”  The scholarship is full-time for two years with start March 1, 2025, or by agreement.

Project description
The project is focused on preparation of high surface area nanomaterials, chemical modification of these materials and studying sorption properties of these materials for recovery of actinides and lanthanides. These materials include activated carbons, graphene, graphene oxide and other 2D materials. The project will be performed in collaborative network of EU project MaLaR. 
 The candidate will be engaged in synthesis of new materials and characterization of these materials using surface area / pore size distribution analysis, DSC, x-ray diffraction, Raman and IR spectroscopy etc. It is also planned to use synchrotron radiation facilities.  
New high surface area materials will be tested for sorption of various contaminants from waste solutions (actinides, lanthanides transition metals, organics) and as electrodes in supercapacitors. 
The project group conducts research with national and international collaborations. 

The project is for two years starting March 1, 2025, or by agreement. The stipend is financed by The Kempe Foundations and it amounts to 360 000 SEK per year (the stipend is tax-free).

Qualifications 
To qualify as a postdoctoral scholarship holder, the postdoctoral fellow is required to have completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree. This qualification requirements must be fulfilled no later than at the time of the decision about scholarship recipient.

Priority should be given to candidates who completed their doctoral degree, according to what is stipulated in the paragraph above, no later than three years prior. If there are special reasons, candidates who completed their doctoral degree prior to that may also be eligible. Special reasons include absence due to illness, parental leave, appointments of trust in trade union organizations, military service, or similar circumstances, as well as clinical practice or other forms of appointment/assignment relevant to the subject area.

The applicant is required to have completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree that is deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree in Physics, Chemistry or Material Science.
High level of written and spoken English is a requirement. 

Previous experience and competence in at least one of below listed areas is required:
-          Synthesis of nanomaterials: (e.g. related to graphene, graphene oxide, carbon nanotubes, activated carbons, MXenes). 
-          Characterization methods for these materials include (but not limited to) surface area analysis using BET/DFT methods, X-ray diffraction, Ramand and FTIR spectroscopy, TGA, DFT. 
-          Characterization of sorption properties of materials, first of all for sorption from aqueous solutions. 
-          Experience with chemistry of actinides and lanthanides

The applicant should be motivated, goal-oriented, and have good ability to take on mainly experimental assignments both independently and in a research group. Documented experience of work with carbon materials, characterization of materials using above listed methods is a merit. It is expected that candidate has documented skills in preparing data for publication and writing manuscripts.

Application 
 A full application should include: 
          -     Cover letter with summary of research interests and motivation.
-          Curriculum vitae (CV) with publication list, 
-          Verified copy of doctoral degree certificate or documentation that clarifies when the degree of doctor is expected to be obtained, 
-          Verified copies of other diplomas, list of completed academic courses and grades, 
-          Copy of doctoral thesis and maximum 5 of most relevant publications.  
-          Other documents that the applicant wishes to enclose.
-          Contact information of two persons willing to act as references.

The application should be written in English (preferably) or Swedish and attached documents should be in Word or PDF format. The application should be registered via Umeå University’s e-recruitment system Varbi and submitted by the deadline 20, January 2025. 

More information
Further details are provided Alexander Talyzin alexandr.talyzin@umu.se.

We look forward to receiving your application!