PhD student position in microalgal biotechnology

The Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering promotes research and education for sustainable development, for improved health and quality of life. Our research ranges from natural science and bioscience, applied chemistry and biotechnology to chemical engineering. Our educational programs are characterized by technological solutions for improving people’s everyday life, and are continuously developed for meeting and promoting societal and industrial development. 

We have approximately 400 employees, divided into five research divisions and one administrative unit. We are situated at campus Johanneberg. 

Our department is characterized by stimulation of world leading research, in an environment where people develop and create new knowledge. The details of the departmental research activities may be found at http://www.chalmers.se/en/departments/chem/Pages/kbstartpage.aspx.

Information about the research group
The subgroup for algal biotechnology is part of the group of Industrial biotechnology. The Industrial biotechnology group is a young, dynamic and international group, which was established in 2008 and counts now 24 members. The common denominator of the research activities in the group is to optimize the use of renewable raw materials for the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals also within the main concept of biorefinery. The research performed within the group spans from fundamental research, technology development and lab-scale application: this ensures deep knowledge of the studied systems, leading to rational development and optimization of the respective applications.The research fields include production of biofuels and chemicals via fermentation and enzymatic refining of biomass, bioelectrochemical systems and algal biotechnology. The algae subgroup works on both micro- and macroalgae with a focus on marine species, on cultivation conditions for microalgae, and using seaweed and microalgal biomass for biorefining.  

Major responsibilities
For displacement of fossil resources in a bio-based society there is a need for carbon-neutral raw material in the production of chemicals for biofuels, bulk, and high-value products. This project aims at using marine microalgae to provide starch-containing biomass as substrate for bio-based production of chemicals. Biomass will be obtained by microalgal cultivation using nutrients from waste material, like wastewater and flue gas, allowing for nutrient recycling. The work will be divided into four parts by identification of suitable microalgal strains and waste material, by studying the influence of cultivation parameters on algal growth and cellular content, and by evaluating fermentability of hydrolysed algal biomass.
 
The work will e.g. include cultivation of marine microalgae in both screening and high performance cultivations systems, analyses of physiological response of cells to process conditions, establishment of new protocols for analysis of cellular components and biomass processing.

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. The position generally also includes teaching on Chalmers' undergraduate level or performing other duties corresponding to maximum 20 per cent of working hours. 

Position summary
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years including maximal amount of teaching/departmental duties. 

Qualifications
To qualify as a PhD student, you must have a master's level degree corresponding to at least 240 higher education credits in biotechnology, marine biology, microbiology, biochemistry or other related disciplines.

Needed experiences include experimental work in life science laboratory, cultivation of microorganisms, and analytical chemistry. Advantageous experiences are cultivation of microalgae, use of several types of bioanalytical assays, especially chromatographic techniques. University courses or equivalent in marine microbiology, phycology and molecular biology is qualifying merits. The project is a collaboration with two other research institutions (University of Gothenburg and SP Technical research Institute of Sweden) and thus good cooperation and social abilities are highly important.

The position requires fluent verbal and written communication skills in English. The undergraduates are normally taught in Swedish, although the graduate level teaching is in English. Applicants who do not have Swedish as their native language are encouraged to learn Swedish during the first two years of employment. Chalmers offers Swedish courses.

Application procedure
The application should be marked with Ref 20130419 and written in English. The application should be sent electronically via Chalmers webpage.

Application deadline: January 31, 2014

For questions, please contact:
Associate Professor Eva Albers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, albers@chalmers.se, +46(0)31 7723844




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