Postdoctoral position on Advanced microbial process studies

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 380 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.Information about the project
The Industrial Biotechnology group at Chalmers University of Technology is seeking a Post-doc to work on the research project “advanced microbial process studies for enhanced biogas production”. The project will be carried out in collaboration with the local energy company “Göteborg Energi”. The main aim of the present project is to understand the benefits of process and environmental conditions for the microbial consortia involved in anaerobic digestion to enhance biogas production in conditions relevant for the production facilities of “Göteborg Energi”. The work connected to this position includes set-up of laboratory scale anaerobic digestors in different operational conditions, analysis of microbial populations and use of analytical/chromatographic techniques to monitor the bioprocesses. Part of the employment time will be spent within the production sites of Göteborg Energi.

The Industrial Biotechnology group is a very young, dynamic and international group which was established in 2008 and counts now 25 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. The research performed within the group spans from fundamental research, technology development and lab-scale application.

Göteborg Energi is Western Sweden's leading Energy Company, providing energy services, broadband, district heating, cooling, natural gas, electricity network, and biogas. Biogas production and research are crucial activities within the Göteborg Energi portfolio. The company owns several plants located in Western Sweden, for a total production of nearly 200 GWh biogas per year.

Major responsibilities
Your major responsibility as postdoc is to perform your own research in a research group. The position also includes teaching on undergraduate and master's levels as well as supervising master's and/or PhD students to a certain extent. Another important aspect involves collaboration within academia and with society at large. The position is meritorious for future research duties within academia as well as industry/the public sector.

Position summary
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of two years (1+1).

Qualifications
To qualify for the position of postdoc, you must have a doctoral degree in biotechnology, chemical/biochemical engineering, microbiology or related disciplines; the degree should generally not be older than three years. You are expected to be somewhat accustomed to teaching, and to demonstrate good potential within research and education.

Applicants with experience in anaerobic digestion and advanced molecular microbiology techniques will be preferred.

Driving licence is required. Fluency in English, both written and verbal, is a must.

Application procedure
The application should be marked with Ref 20130190 and written in English. The application should be sent electronically via Chalmers webpage.

Application deadline: September 1, 2013

For questions, please contact:

Maurizio Bettiga (project leader)
Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering - Industrial Biotechnology
Phone: +46 31 772 3852, e-mail maurizio.bettiga@chalmers.se 

or 
Professor Lisbeth Olsson (group leader),
Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering - Industrial Biotechnology
Phone: +46 31 772 3805, e-mail: lisbeth.olsson@chalmers.se





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