PhD student position in Development and optimisation of the organic phase

Information about the research
The details of the departmental research activities may be found at http://www.chalmers.se/en/departments/chem/research/energymaterials/Pages/Industrial-Materials-Recycling.aspx.

An important focus area is the utilisation and development of hydro chemical recovery and separation methods for valuable metals, such as the rare earth metals. These metals are necessary for the electronic industry. Since the available ore reserves in Europe are scarce, recycling from waste electronics is highly needed. Our group is composed of many nationalities. Applicants should have good communication skills and be good at interaction with persons from other cultures and countries. 

The applicant should be motivated, focussed, thorough working, educated in good laboratory practice and keeping a good record of the work and data.

The applicant should also be easy to get along with and easily be a part of a working group.

The position described below will be funded by the Marie Curie Initial Training Network “EREAN-European Rare Earth Magnet Recycling Network” of the 7th Framework Programme of the European Commission. EREAN is a consortium of high profile universities, research institutions and companies located in Belgium, Finland, Sweden, The Netherlands, UK, Germany and France. The Marie Curie programme offers highly competitive and attractive salary and working conditions. Benefits include mobility allowance, career development allowance and a travel allowance. In addition to their individual scientific projects, all fellows will benefit from further continuing education, which includes internships and secondments, a variety of training modules as well as transferable skills courses and active participation in workshops and conferences. The aim of EREAN is to train young researchers (in total 15) in the science and technology of rare earths, with emphasis on the recycling of these elements from permanent magnets.

Objectives: Development of extractants for solvent extraction separation of heavy rare earths from magnet leachates & Development and assessment of new environmentally friendly extractants for REE separation.

Planned secondments: University of Helsinki (3 months) , Metal Extraction AB (MEAB) Aachen (1 month)

Major responsibilities

The student resposibilities are:
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.

Project specific demands on the doctoral student:
To carry out the research project assigned to him/her To take the compulsory courses of PhD students at Chalmers and additional doctoral courses corresponding to 30 points for a licentiate degree and 60 points for a PhD degree.To take part in the activities of the EREAN network. To carry out the secondment periods indicated in the project descriptions.To take part in the teaching and departmental duties as our other doctoral students.

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

Qualifications
To qualify as a PhD student, you must have a master's level degree corresponding to at least 240 higher education credits in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering. The applicant for ESR9 should be strong in organic chemistry, solution chemistry and analytical methods.

The position requires sound verbal and written communication skills in Swedish and English. If Swedish is not your native language, you should be able to teach in Swedish after two years. Chalmers offers Swedish courses.

English language: It is a requirement that network fellows will show that their ability to understand and express themselves in both written and spoken English is sufficiently high for them to derive the full benefit from the networktraining.

Conditions of international mobility of researchers: Researchers are required to undertake trans-national mobility (i.e. move from one country to another) when taking up the appointment. At the time of selection by the host organisation, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of their host organisation for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to their recruitment. Short stays, such as holidays, are not taken into account.

Application procedure
The application should be sent electronically via Chalmers webpage.

Application deadline: 2013-11-13

For questions, please contact:
Britt-Marie Steenari, professor, Industrial Materials Recycling, bms@chalmers.se, +46 31 7722890 or +46 730 794201
Mark Foreman, Docent, same division, foreman@chalmers.se, +46 772 2928
Teodora Retegan, Dr, same division as above, tretegan@chalmers.se, +46 772 2881
Christian Ekberg, professor, same division, che@chalmers.se, +46 31 7722801

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