Researcher – Wood Composites and Engineering

The Department of Forest Biomaterials and Technology (SBT) forms part of the Faculty of Forest Sciences, has about 50 employees and is located in both Umeå and Uppsala. The department carries out high quality research and under- and postgraduate education on a high international level and collaborates with society and industry to develop a bio-based economy where forest biomaterials are an important resource. The major focus in Umeå lies on value chains in the bio-based industry, where different components of forest biomaterials are collected, characterized, separated, modified / processed, used and re-used cost-effectively for different purposes while forest ecosystem services are managed sustainably. In Uppsala, the focus lies on wood science and technology with research and education on wood materials from nano to macro levels, wood adhesives and composites, and with accredited testing of wood products and treatments for the market.

Read more about our benefits and what it is like to work within SLU at https://www.slu.se/om-su/jobba-pa-slu/

Background and goals:

The society's growing interest in sustainable products and efficient resource utilization has prompted the wood industry to increase their efforts towards replacing fossil fuel-based adhesives in various products ranging from furniture to building components. Much research is conducted in the field of biobased adhesives systems, especially at the fundamental level, but for succesfull future industrial implementation, evaluation systems for quality performance of these new wood adhesive systems must be developed.   

Work and duties:

To successfully implement new biobased adhesive systems, baseline comparisons need to be established towards the fossil-based systems used today but standardized testing methods for mechanical performance is currently lacking. The use of fracture mechanics to adhesive bonds has played an important role for the rapid advancement of various fields including aerospace, automobile and windmill industry by introducing new methods for testing, designing and predicting quality. In this project we aim to establish a framework for proper evaluation of the mechanical performance of bio-based wood adhesives systems and related wood-based panels by evaluating fracture mechanics using a combination numerical modelling and experimental methods. The project will be conducted at the Fibres and Wood composites group at the SLU campus in Ultuna and with the position, lab responsibility is expected as well as participation in onging EU Horizon projects of the group. 

Qualifications:

Applicants must have a PhD in wood technology or equivalent related discipline. The applicant should have experience in the methodology of wood panels production using biobased adhesive systems and experience in various techniques for evaluating mechanical performance. Experience of work related to pilot-scale wood waste material processing and recycling is meriting. Additional experience on statistical numerical modelling and machine learning techniques is advantageous.  

The applicant should be able to work independently, should have good communication skills and proven skills in both oral and written scientific English. Proven ability in applying for and be granted external research funding is meriting.

Place of work:
Uppsala

Form of employment
Permanent employment. SLU may use probationary employment.

Extent:
100%

Starting date:
2023-04-01 or by agreement

Application:

We welcome your application no later than 2023-03-17, use the button below.

An assessment and evaluation of applications is based on a written application that should contain a CV, thesis project report, possible additional publications, information about reference persons.

More information about SLU’s doctoral education is available at: https://www.slu.se/en/education/programmes-courses/doctoral-studies/

 

Academic union representatives:

https://internt.slu.se/en/my-employment/employee-associations/kontaktpersoner-vid-rekrytering/



The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is a world-class international university with research, education and environmental assessment within the sciences for sustainable life. Its principal sites are in Alnarp, Umeå and Uppsala, but activities are also conducted at research stations, experimental parks and educational establishments throughout Sweden. We bring together people who have different perspectives, but they all have one and the same goal: to create the best conditions for a sustainable, thriving and better world.

SLU has just over 3,000 employees, 5,000 students and a turnover of SEK 3 billion. The university has invested heavily in a modern, attractive environment on its campuses.

www.slu.se