Two-year Postdoctoral Research Position in
Design and Modelling of Chemical and Physical Processes for the upgrading of Lignocellulosic Biomass
Salary of €40,259 – €47,728 per annum (22-24 months).
A position is available in the research team of Prof. Stephen Dooley at the School of Physics Trinity College Dublin, in collaboration with the School of Chemical Sciences at the University of Limerick, Ireland, supported by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. The project focusses on developing and understanding effective physics and chemistry which can convert lignocellulosic biomass into valuable chemicals and advanced liquid biofuels. The position supports multiple projects that combine experimental and computational sciences:
(i) Researchers at Trinity College Dublin and the University of Limerick have invented a novel cost effective process to produce drop-in diesel and gasoline liquid transportation fuels from sustainable carbon neutral biomass. The researcher will gather crucial fundamental chemical engineering data that will lead to a full technico-economic analysis of this process. A host of experimental methods are to be applied to achieve this end. Simultaneously the mechanism and theory of the process will be probed by the application of chemical and numerical modelling procedures.
(ii) In parallel associated work the researcher will take charge of a recent €3.1 million Research Infrastructure Grant that has commissioned a "Test-bed for Sustainable Chemical Processes". The test-bed provides a range of chemical reactor technologies and chemical and physical analytic equipment to probe the mechanism and element/energy efficiency of prototype technologies. The test-bed is the perfect tool to support the combination of experiment and theory to develop predictive numerical models of process chemistry.
The successful candidate is expected to; lead the execution of these and other test-bed projects and their reporting in international peer reviewed journals in the energy/physics/chemistry/chemical engineering area, to publicise their progress at international scientific conferences, and to engage with external collaborators industry and academic collaborators. A formal background in the physical sciences, holding a Ph.D. degree in any physical sciences discipline such as Chemical Engineering, Material Science, Physical/Organic Chemistry, Catalysis, Computational Modelling or a related subject matter would be most appropriate.
Experience of chemical reactor technology, purification protocols, chemical reaction kinetics, thermophysical modelling, and of chemical analysis techniques is required. Experience with chromatography and mass spectrometry are particularly important. Knowledge of scaling chemical reactions toward chemical engineering setups would be helpful, as would knowledge of sophisticated spectroscopic techniques such as liquid phase H1 and C13 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Skills and/or interest in translating experimental findings into numerical models is viewed as a critical commodity. The successful applicant will join a dynamic inter-disciplinary team of experimental and computational scientists and engineers, and will therefore have the opportunity to develop new skills and experiences.
Prospective candidates should send a two page CV, a covering letter outlining their educational background, research track-record, interest in the position and the names and contact details of two referees to Prof. Stephen Dooley (
[email protected]). Please quote the entire job title in the subject line of your email. The 24-month position is available immediately. Applications will be evaluated as received and candidates of all levels of experience possessing appropriate skillsets will be considered.
The School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin has been awarded Institute of Physics Juno Practitioner and Athena SWAN Bronze Award status for taking action to address gender inequities across its student and staff body. It is committed to promoting better working practices for men and women. See
https://www.tcd.ie/Physics/womeninphysics/. The School welcomes applications from all qualified applicants, and applications are particularly encouraged from traditionally under-represented groups in Physics.
