Doctoral student in WWSC: Structure and properties of lignin materials

KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm has grown to become one of Europe’s leading technical and engineering universities, as well as a key centre of intellectual talent and innovation. We are Sweden’s largest technical research and learning institution and home to students, researchers and faculty from around the world. Our research and education covers a wide area including natural sciences and all branches of engineering, as well as architecture, industrial management, urban planning, history and philosophy.

Third-cycle subject: Chemical Science and Engineering

Wallenberg Wood Science Center (WWSC) is a research center striving for scientific excellence, with a focus on new materials from trees. The center creates knowledge and builds competence for an innovative and sustainable future value creation from forest raw materials. WWSC is a multidisciplinary collaboration between KTH, Chalmers, and Linköping University. The base is a donation from Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, and the forest industry is supporting WWSC via the national platform Treesearch .

A significant progress in the understanding of lignin and lignin based materials have been achieved during the last decade. New refining protocols, advanced characterization techniques, and synthesis protocol has led to a better understanding of lignin. The results have shown that not only classical structural factors but also the unique morphology is of importance although numerous questions remain. The present project aims to gain a more fundamental understanding on how lignin and lignin based materials behave in this respect on molecular and nano-level. The projects covers formation (fractionantion and syntesis) of different lignin based materiels och studies of these with advanced tehcniques such as NMR, nano-FTIR, SEM, TEM, AFM, DMA, and synchrotronbased methods. 

We are looking for highly motivated candidates who want to join the research front and create novel technology for a sustainable future, based on materials from the forest.

Supervision: Professor Mats Johansson.

• The possibility to study in a dynamic and international research environment in collaboration with industries and prominent universities from all over the world.Read more
• A workplace with many employee benefits and monthly salary according to KTH’s Doctoral student salary agreement.
• A postgraduate education at an institution that is active and supportive in matters pertaining to working conditions, gender equality and diversity as well as study environment.
• Work and study in Stockholm, close to nature and the water.
• Help to relocate and be settled in Sweden and at KTH .
• Membership in the graduate school WWSC Academy, where ca 70 PhD students have been educated over the last 13 years and afterwards found attractive jobs both in academia, start-ups and industry.

To be admitted to postgraduate education (Chapter 7, 39 § Swedish Higher Education Ordinance), the applicant must have basic eligibility in accordance with either of the following:

• passed a second cycle degree (for example a master's degree), or
• completed course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 second-cycle higher education credits, or
• acquired, in some other way within or outside the country, substantially equivalent knowledge
• a Master's degree in organic or polymer chemistry, polymer technology, macromolecular materials, soft materials or the equivalent.

In addition to the above, there is also a mandatory requirement for English equivalent to English B/6, read more here

In order to succeed as a doctoral student at KTH you need to be goal oriented and persevering in your work. During the selection process, candidates will be assessed upon their ability to:

• independently pursue his or her work
• collaborate with others,
• have a professional approach and
• analyse and work with complex issues.
• to speak and write scientific English, and speak English fluently.

The applicant should have documented skills in summarizing research results in written and oral presentation. The applicant should also have a good insight in and willingness to learn how biomaterials are formed in nature and how this information can be utilized and applied in a sustainable way on lignin based raw materials.

After the qualification requirements, great emphasis will be placed on personal competency. 

Target degree: Doctoral degree

Only those admitted to postgraduate education may be employed as a doctoral student. The total length of employment may not be longer than what corresponds to full-time doctoral education in four years ' time. An employed doctoral student can, to a limited extent (maximum 20%), perform certain tasks within their role, e.g. training and administration. A new position as a doctoral student is for a maximum of one year, and then the employment may be renewed for a maximum of two years at a time.

You will find contact information for union representatives on KTH's website .

You will find contact information for doctoral section on the section's website .

Apply for the position and admission through KTH's recruitment system. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the advertisement.

Applications must be received at the last closing date at midnight, CET/CEST (Central European Time/entral European Summer Time).

Applications must include the following elements:

• CV including your relevant professional experience and knowledge.
• Application letter with a brief description of why you want to pursue research studies, about what your academic interests are and how they relate to your previous studies and future goals. (Maximum 2 pages long)
• Copies of diplomas and grades from previous university studies and certificates of fulfilled language requirements (see above) . Translations into English or Swedish if the original document is not issued in one of these languages.Copies of originals must be certified .
• Representative publications or technical reports. For longer documents, please provide a summary (abstract) and a web link to the full text.

Striving towards gender equality, diversity and equal conditions is both a question of quality for KTH and a given part of our values.

For information about processing of personal data in the recruitment process please read here.

We firmly decline all contact with staffing and recruitment agencies and job ad salespersons.

Disclaimer: In case of discrepancy between the Swedish original and the English translation of the job announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.