Postdoctoral Researcher in the Field of Sustainability in Pulping

Aalto University is where science and art meet technology and business. We shape a sustainable future by making research breakthroughs in and across our disciplines, sparking the game changers of tomorrow and creating novel solutions to major global challenges. Our community is made up of 13 000 students, 400 professors, and more than 4 500 other faculty and staff working on our dynamic campus in Espoo, Greater Helsinki, Finland. Diversity is part of who we are, and we actively work to ensure our community’s diversity and inclusiveness. This is why we warmly encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds to join our community.

The School of Chemical Engineering is one of the six schools of Aalto University. It combines natural sciences and engineering in a unique way.

We are now looking for a

Postdoctoral researcher in the field of sustainability in pulping

Are you interested in research and working towards the future of forest products, lignocellulose chemistry and sustainability? We are now looking for an ambitious new colleague to join our multidisciplinary team.

Your responsibility and goals

• Build mentoring skills by helping and supervising younger researchers
• Lead and write peer-reviewed articles for high impact journals
• Participate in events, give expert talks, support in teaching and workshops
• Network with scientists and industry to support your research as well as the development of new research proposals
• Increase your employability by demonstrating leadership and excellence measuring sustainability of applied research solutions/concepts. A growing need in academia and industry!

The postdoctoral researcher will be gathering data coming from other researchers from various organizations and industry to assess the sustainability of proposed concepts with regards to economic and environmental feasibility. The position is available immediately, but the starting date can be negotiated to a few months ahead.

Your network, project and team

The position is open in the Sustainable Bioproduct Innovations group headed by Prof. Luana Dessbesell, which is a highly multidisciplinary team seeking to support the development of truly sustainable bioproducts innovations. If you see yourself wondering what is and what isn't sustainable, please apply and join us. We are working with hard-science evidence to help speed up the development of solutions that can mitigate climate change.

The Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems (Bio2) is one of the three departments in the School of Chemical Engineering at Aalto University, has an internationally leading reputation in basic and applied research for the development of advanced materials from natural resources. It is one of the leading European research and higher education institutions in the field of sustainable chemistry and engineering based on the utilization of renewable resources. Bio2 aims to contribute to the development of novel solutions to move towards sustainable primary production and processing systems that can produce materials with fewer inputs, less environmental impact and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Within bioscience, the department has research in bioprocess technology, molecular biotechnology, enzyme technology, metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, biomolecular, and biohybrid materials. Other strengths of the department include sustainable materials and products based on lignocellulose, ranging from nanomaterials to novel cellulose-based textiles.

The position is open in the Emission Free Pulping (EFP) research program. The EFP program represents a ground-breaking initiative aimed at challenging and revolutionizing current pulping processes and developing novel pulping concepts to drastically reduce CO2 emissions. EFP partners are Aalto, VTT and several other Finnish and Swedish universities and research organizations.

The target of the EFP program is to challenge chemistry and unit operations used in pulping processes to maximize product yield (i.e., fibre, lignin, and other wood components) while avoiding emissions. Feedstock is wood-based biomass, the use of which should follow a cascading principle of raw material value.

Your experience and ambitions

The candidate is expected to have:

• Recently obtained PhD or doctoral degree in chemical engineering, pulp and paper technology, biorefining, forest products, or similar
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English given the essential role to communicate with the project consortium members.
• Knowledge in mass and energy balance software
• Interest in conducting deskwork (e.g., process modeling and simulation)
• Understanding of environmental assessments (e.g., energy intensity and CO2 emissions)

The following are seen as assets:

• Experience in conducting techno-economic analysis
• Experience in conducting life cycle assessment

What we offer

The postdoctoral researcher position will be filled for two years. The expected starting salary of a postdoctoral researcher is approximately 3700-3900 EUR/month depending on experience.

We work in Otaniemi, Espoo. The Otaniemi campus is a thriving and connected community of 100 nationalities, 13 000 students and 4 500 employees. Life at the transformed campus is vibrant and filled with amazing architecture, calming nature, and a variety of cafes, restaurants, services and good connections along the metro line.

Ready to apply?

If you want to join our community, please submit your application through our online recruitment system no later than 20.1.2024 using the link on Aalto University’s webpage (“Apply now”). If you are an Aalto employee, please apply via Workday system (internal jobs).

To apply, please include the following documents in English and as a single pdf document:

• 1 page motivation letter specific to this project
• 1 page description of previous relevant research experience
• CV with a possible list of publications and the title of your doctoral/PhD thesis
• List of references that we may contact

The position will be filled when a suitable candidate is found.

Want to know more about us and your future colleagues? You can watch these videos: Aalto University – Towards a better world , Aalto People , and Shaping a Sustainable Future . You can also check out our webpage about Aalto and Finland: https://www.aalto.fi/en/services/welcome-to-aalto-university-and-finland-info-package and our new virtual campus experience:  https://virtualtour.aalto.fi/ .

For further information about this position, please contact Prof. Luana Dessbesell ([email protected] ).

About Finland

Finland is a great place for living with or without family – it is a safe, politically stable, and well-organized Nordic society. Finland is consistently ranked high in quality of life and was just listed again as the happiest country in the world: https://worldhappiness.report/news/its-a-three-peat-finland-keeps-top-spot-as-happiest-country-in-world/ . For more information about living in Finland: For international staff | Aalto University  

Aalto University reserves the right for justified reasons to leave the position open, to extend the application period, and to consider candidates who have not submitted applications during the application period.

More about Aalto University:

Aalto.fi
youtube.com/user/aaltouniversity
linkedin.com/school/aalto-university/
www.facebook.com/aaltouniversity
instagram.com/aaltouniversity
twitter.com/aaltouniversity