Postdoctoral scholarship (2 years) within Analysis of PDEs and Kinetic Theory

The Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics is offering a postdoctoral scholarship within the project “Phase transition in aggregation processes and network models”. The scholarship is full time for two years with starting date 1 January, 2026 or by agreement.

Project description
Aggregation phenomena and clustering effects are widespread in natural and industrial processes and can be observed in many situations including both living and non-living systems. Prominent examples include swarming behaviour of animals, human interaction as well as industrial, economic or natural processes. A common approach to study these phenomena consists in modelling the systems as large clouds of interacting particles and to derive and analyse reduced models in the infinite particle limit. Often, the interaction between the particles can be modeled using an underlying network structure. Moreover, many systems exhibit a sensitive dependence on certain parameters, i.e. small changes to the latter can result in fundamental changes of the properties of the system which is known as phase transition.

The aim of this project is to rigorously study such behaviour in various kinetic models. For this, the successful candidate will deal with non-linear PDEs, integro-differential equations and dynamical systems.

This postdoctoral scholarship is financed and administrated by The Kempe Foundation (JCSMK25-0036). The stipend is tax-free and will be 750 000 SEK for two years, meaning 375 000 SEK per year.

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 requirement 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 before that may also be eligible. Special reasons include absence due to illness, parental leave, appointments of trust in trade union organisations, military service or similar circumstances, as well as clinical practice or other forms of appointment/assignment relevant to the subject area.

The doctoral degree should be within Analysis of PDEs or similar. A strong mathematical background in the analysis of PDEs and corresponding functional analytic methods is required. Good knowledge of English (written and oral) is required, as well as strong collaborative skills and the ability to work independently. Prior experience with kinetic equations is a merit.

Application
A full application should include:

• Cover letter (max 2 pages) summarising your qualifications, background, interests and motivation to apply for this scholarship,
• 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 (at most) 3 relevant articles. If the thesis is not yet available by the application deadline a summary (at most 5 pages) should be submitted instead,
• A research statement (max 2 pages excluding references),
• Contact information of at least two persons willing to act as references.

The application should be written in English or Swedish, and attached documents should be in PDF format. The application should be registered via Umeå University’s e-recruitment system Varbi and submitted by the deadline 5 November 2025.

Umeå University strives to offer an equal environment where open dialogue between people with different backgrounds and perspectives lay the foundation for learning, creativity and development. We welcome people with different backgrounds and experiences to apply for this scholarship, and we encourage female and male applicants equally.

More information
Further details are provided by Sebastian Throm, sebastian.throm@umu.se

More information about the department: https://www.umu.se/en/department-of-mathematics-and-mathematical-statistics/