Postdoctoral Fellow in Reactive Multiphase Modeling

About the job

The postdoctoral fellowship position is a temporary position where the main goal is to qualify for work in senior academic positions.

We have a vacancy for a Postdoctoral Fellow to work with reactive multiphase modeling for the thermal treatment of municipal solid wastes at the Department of Energy and Process Engineering (EPT)  in Trondheim, Norway.

The process of gasifying municipal solid waste and separated fractions, including low-quality biomass and plastics, can generate gas for energy application, produce hydrogen, or high-quality syngas for chemical synthesis. The gasification of waste is a technology that enables the integration of bio-based carbon into the future circular economy by utilizing low-quality biomass and allows for the recycling of mixed plastic wastes.

Computational tools are used to study and optimize gasification units by analyzing how different waste streams and conditions affect the process and product gas composition. However, simulating the gasification process is challenging due to the varying feedstock and the different involved processes that occur over a wide range of time and length scales, such as particle break-up and interaction, chemical reactions, and highly turbulent flow. In high-fidelity turbulence modeling (LES and DNS), the thermo-chemical processes must typically be simplified due to computational limitations. The Postdoctoral Fellowship aims to create a new computational method using a tabulated approach to overcome these limitations. Together with a surrogate approach for solid wastes, the tabulation method aims to incorporate particle break-up and heterogeneous and homogeneous reactions into high-fidelity computational tools. The goal is to develop a cutting-edge method for modeling reactive multiphase processes in solid waste materials.

Your immediate leader is Associate Professor Corinna Schulze-Netzer .

Duties of the position

• Assessment and formulation of suitable progress variables for solid fuel conversion
• Implementation of a tabulated particle and gas phase chemistry model
• Application of surface interaction models with adaptive mesh
• Conduct independent research and disseminate findings through publication in recognized scientific journals and international conference presentations
• Collaboration with international groups with the option for a stay abroad

Required selection criteria

• You must have completed a Norwegian doctoral degree or a corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian PhD in in Energy, Process, Chemical or Mechanical Engineering. If you can document that the PhD thesis has been submitted, your application can be assessed even if you have not yet defended your dissertation. Documentation of the obtained doctoral degree must be presented before you can take up the position.
• Experience with high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics  simulations
• Excellent programming skills
• Good written and oral English language skills

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Ph.D Candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate  (in Norwegian).

Preferred selection criteria

• Background in reactive multiphase and detailed chemistry simulations
• Understanding of turbulence-chemistry interaction modeling
• Experience with tabulation techniques and or data-driven methods

Personal characteristics

• Ability to work independently and in a team
• Drive to learn new methods and applications
• Creativity in finding problem-related solutions
• Contribute actively to an inclusive and open work atmosphere

We offer 

Salary and conditions

As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK 584 700 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund

The period of employment is 3-4 years. 

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants  (in Norwegian), and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU.  

After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis.

About the application 

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above.  

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result. 

The application must include:

• CV and certificates
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor’s-, master’s- and PhD degrees. If you have not yet completed your Ph.D, you must provide confirmation on your estimated date for the doctoral dissertation, or that your PhD thesis has been submitted
• Candidates are required to submit a one-page sketch on how they plan to use their scientific background and research ambitions to address the research challenges of this position
• Documentation of a completed doctoral degree. If you are close to submitting, or hvae recently submitted your thesis, documentation must be presented before taking up the position
• Academic works – published or unpublished – that you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 3 items)
• Name and contact information of three referees

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education. Description of the documentation required can be found here . If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well.

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation. 

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment – DORA. 

General information 

Working at NTNU 

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is a strength. We want our faculty and staff to reflect Norway’s culturally diverse population and we continuously seek to hire the best minds. This enables NTNU to increase productivity and innovation, improve decision making processes, raise employee satisfaction, compete academically with global top-ranking institutions and carry out our social responsibilities within education and research. NTNU emphasizes accessibility and encourages qualified candidates to apply regardless of gender identity, ability status, periods of unemployment or ethnic and cultural background.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality  

EPT has established EPT Women in Science . The group is focused on supporting female PhD Candidates, Postdoctoral Fellows, Research Assistants and permanent academic employees within the Department. This support aims to help develop the careers of female PhD Candidates, Postdocs and Research Assistants, and is also made visible to our student body to encourage them to consider an academic path. As part of the EPT Women in Science initiative we are building an international network, inviting prominent female academics within and beyond the field of Engineering to speak at our events.

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.  

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted. 

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation  (in Norwegian). You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Corinna Schulze-Netzer, email: [email protected] . If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Emmy Høiseth, e-mail: [email protected] .

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation. 

Application deadline: 10.08.2023

NTNU

NTNU – knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Energy and Process Engineering

We conduct research and teaching covering the entire energy chain, from resources to the end-user. We look at how energy is produced and used by humans and machines in a sustainable way with regard to health, climate change and the resource base. The Department of Energy and Process Engineering  is one of eight departments in the Faculty of Engineering.

Deadline 10th August 2023
Employer NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service