The Faculty of Science and Institute of Environmental Sciences are looking for: 4 PhD candidates related to Horizon Europe projects in the fields of material flow, life cycle, and wellbeing assessments and 1 Junior Docent (leading to a PhD) on Frontiers of Industrial Ecology
Vacancy number: 22-228
Key responsibilities
Our push toward newer forms of clean energy, increasing technological advancement, strategies for biomass and waste valorization drive a growing need for understanding the demand of (critical) materials in society and the pressures that these economic activities put on the environment. In order to improve material circularity while minimizing overall waste and environmental impacts, we require a thorough understanding of the environmental response to changing socioeconomic and industrial activities, including the associated material and carbon flows. We are looking for 4 Ph.D. students to join our team at the CML-Industrial Ecology (IE) department to work within several Horizon Europe projects to start from May-September 2022. These new members will interact with various EU partners to analyse the vast amounts of data for various materials and assess their production and fate within the European Union.
The projects include:
- Future Availability of Secondary Raw Materials (FutuRaM). Starting date June-September:
- PHD1: Ex-ante LCA of emerging recycling (and material recovery) technologies.
- PHD2: Wellbeing and social impact assessment of the circular economy.
- PHD3: Spatially-explicit material flow and (circular) scenario analysis on either metal and nutrient recovery from slags and ashes or construction and demolition waste fate and valorization.
- Resilient and sustainable critical raw materials REE supply chains for the e-mobility and renewable energy ecosystems and strategic sectors (REEsilience), starting date May 1st:
- PHD4: Material flow analysis of REE supply chains.
- Junior Docent on Frontiers of Industrial Ecology:
- JD1: Hybrid Industrial Ecology approaches and methods for future sustainability assessments and scenario analysis (50%). This position will also consist of teaching duties (50%) that include:
- Help teach in courses of the M.Sc. IE, GoS and/or the Sustainability Minor in close collaboration with course and program coordinators;
- Teach and coordinate in M.Sc. Thesis Preparation Courses and in Sustainability Challenge for both programs
- Stimulate students’ interdisciplinary and proactive attitudes.
- JD1: Hybrid Industrial Ecology approaches and methods for future sustainability assessments and scenario analysis (50%). This position will also consist of teaching duties (50%) that include:
Selection criteria
- You should have an M.Sc. in a relevant field (sustainability science, and/or industrial ecology), but we also consider candidates from other scientific fields with good mathematical and programming skills and an interest in sustainability;
- Strong data management, visualization and coding skills (e.g. in Matlab, Python and/or R) are a strong advantage. During your MSc your thesis ideally involved handling, combining, and analysing large datasets;
- Knowledge of industrial ecology methods, such as LCA, IOA and material flow analysis (MFA) is a strong advantage;
- You must be proficient in spoken and written English;
- You are a team player, and are able to communicate your work to other consortium members of various disciplines.
Research at our Institute/Faculty
The Faculty of Science is a world-class faculty where staff and students work together in a dynamic international environment. It is a faculty where personal and academic development are top priorities. Our people are driven by curiosity to expand fundamental knowledge and to look beyond the borders of their own discipline; their aim is to benefit science, and to make a contribution to addressing the major societal challenges of the future.
The research carried out at the Faculty is very diverse, ranging from mathematics, information science, astronomy, physics, chemistry and bio-pharmaceutical sciences to biology and environmental sciences. The research activities are organised in eight institutes. These institutes offer eight bachelor’s and twelve master’s programmes. The faculty has grown strongly in recent years and now has more than 2,300 staff and almost 5,000 students. We are located at the heart of Leiden’s Bio Science Park, one of Europe’s biggest science parks, where university and business life come together.
The environmental science research in CML is organized around two major research areas: ‘Industrial Ecology’ and ‘Environmental Biology’. This makes CML one of the few institutes covering both the circular, sustainable economic use of natural resources and natural capital, as well as assessing the environmental impacts of economic activities on natural resources, biodiversity and natural capital. Presently, over 140 FTE (including postdocs and PhDs) are employed at CML. CML collaborates with the TU Delft and Erasmus University (Rotterdam) in the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for Sustainability (LDE-CfS).
Terms and conditions
We offer a 1-year position with the possibility of extension to 4 years (6 years for the Junior Docent position) based on performance and following the pay scale P in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. Salary ranges from € 2.443.- gross per month in the first year to € 3.122 gross per month in the fourth year based on a full-time position. Leiden University offers an attractive benefits package with additional holiday (8%) and end-of-year bonuses (8.3 %), training and career development and sabbatical leave. Our individual choices model gives you some freedom to assemble your own set of terms and conditions. For international spouses we have set up a dual career programme. Candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a substantial tax break.
Diversity
At the Faculty of Science we value inclusiveness and strive for a diverse community with equal opportunities for all. We give full support to our staff in achieving their potential to become independent academic researchers and teachers. For more information about our policy on diversity and equality please go to the diversity page on our website. Female researchers are also welcomed to join the Researchers In Science for Equality network of the Faculty if Science (rise.nu)
Information
Enquiries can be made to Dr. José Mogollón ([email protected] ) for PHD1-3, Dr. Stefano Cucurachi ([email protected] ) for PHD1 or JD1, Dr. Rutger Hoekstra ([email protected] ) for PHD2, Dr. René Kleijn ([email protected] ) for PHD4 , or [email protected] for general questions.
Applications
To apply for this vacancy, please send an email to [email protected] . Please ensure that you upload the following additional documents quoting the vacancy number:
- CV
- A motivation letter indicating the preferred PhD project for which the candidate is applying for
- The names and contact information of two referees
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis based on matches with specific projects. However, no applications will be considered beyond June 15th, 2022. Interviews will take place in April for PhD 4 and in June for PhDs 1-3 and JD1.
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