PhD within Chemical Engineering

About the position

We announce a vacancy for a PhD scholarship at Department of Chemical Engineering (https://www.ntnu.edu/chemeng ) within the field of designing Pickering emulsions for photocatalytic applications. The work will primarily be carried out at Ugelstad Laboratory (https://www.ntnu.edu/chemeng/research/ugelstad ) and the Catalysis group.

Organic acids and their derivatives are common contaminants in industrial waste waters worldwide and many technologies have been used for water purification. Among the advanced oxidation processes, heterogeneous photocatalysis is considered a low-cost and environmentally friendly approach for a wide range of degradable pollutants. Pickering emulsions have been used in a variety of catalytic applications in recent years, offering advantages such as large catalytically active surface areas and easy recovery of catalysts by demulsification. The overall goal of this PhD project is to design Pickering emulsion systems for photocatalytic applications. The major tasks will be 1) to prepare and characterize photocatalytic nanoparticles, 2) to prepare, characterize and optimize particle stabilized emulsions in terms of catalytic performance and recycling oil and catalysts, and 3) study the photocatalytic degradation in both batch and flowing systems using a solar simulator.

The Particle Engineering Centre  at the Department of Chemical Engineering at NTNU was established in early 2021. The basis for the research in the Centre is an extensive experience at the department within particle synthesis and characterization, which quite recently was put into practical application as part of the COVID-19 test method developed at NTNU. The objective of the Centre is to advance the scientific knowledge within fundamental and applied particle engineering. Ongoing research activities focus on synthesis, characterization and tailoring of particles for use in nanomedicine and environmental applications.

The announced position is sponsored by the Particle Engineering Centre and the Department of Chemical Engineering.

Duties of the position

• Develop and utilize Pickering emulsion systems for photocatalytic applications
• Present project results at project meetings, workshops, and conferences
• Prepare scientific papers

Required selection criteria

The PhD-position's main objective is to qualify for work in research positions. The qualification requirement is that you have completed a master’s degree or second degree (equivalent to 120 credits) with a strong academic background in chemical engineering, chemistry, physics, nanotechnology or equivalent education with a grade of B or better in terms of NTNU’s grading scale . If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you are unable to meet these criteria you may be considered only if you can document that you are particularly suitable for education leading to a PhD degree.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants and national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant.

• Solid experience with experimental work
• Good written and oral English language skills

Preferred selection criteria

• Good knowledge of surface and colloid chemistry, emulsion characterization, nanoparticle synthesis, microfluidic methods, and photocatalytic reactions
• Experience with scientific writing
• Good written and oral Norwegian language skills

Personal characteristics

• Self-motivated, pro-active and goal oriented
• Good communication skills
• Good collaborative and socializing skills
• Organized and patient with problem-solving mindset

We offer

Salary and conditions

PhD candidates are remunerated in code 1017, and are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 491 200 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 years.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Chemical Engineering (https://www.ntnu.no/studier/phkjpros ) within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, 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 daily.

About the application

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

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. 

The application must include:

• CV including information pertaining to the given qualifications.
• Testimonials and certificates. Applicants from universities outside Norway are kindly requested to send a diploma supplement (https://ec.europa.eu/education/diploma-supplement_en ) or similar document, which describes in detail the study programme and grading system.
• A cover letter where the applicant describes personal motivation and relevance with respect to the requirements of this position.
• The required documentation of English language proficiency
• Names and contact information of at least two references

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 suitability.

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

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background. 

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.

Information Act (Offentleglova), your name, age, position and municipality may be made public even if you have requested not to have your name entered on the list of applicants.

If you have any questions about the position, contact Professor Gisle Øye, email: [email protected] .  If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR-Consultant Unni M. Myhre, e-mail: [email protected]

Please submit your application electronically via

About the position

We announce a vacancy for a PhD scholarship at Department of Chemical Engineering (https://www.ntnu.edu/chemeng ) within the field of designing Pickering emulsions for photocatalytic applications. The work will primarily be carried out at Ugelstad Laboratory (https://www.ntnu.edu/chemeng/research/ugelstad ) and the Catalysis group.

Organic acids and their derivatives are common contaminants in industrial waste waters worldwide and many technologies have been used for water purification. Among the advanced oxidation processes, heterogeneous photocatalysis is considered a low-cost and environmentally friendly approach for a wide range of degradable pollutants. Pickering emulsions have been used in a variety of catalytic applications in recent years, offering advantages such as large catalytically active surface areas and easy recovery of catalysts by demulsification. The overall goal of this PhD project is to design Pickering emulsion systems for photocatalytic applications. The major tasks will be 1) to prepare and characterize photocatalytic nanoparticles, 2) to prepare, characterize and optimize particle stabilized emulsions in terms of catalytic performance and recycling oil and catalysts, and 3) study the photocatalytic degradation in both batch and flowing systems using a solar simulator.

The Particle Engineering Centre  at the Department of Chemical Engineering at NTNU was established in early 2021. The basis for the research in the Centre is an extensive experience at the department within particle synthesis and characterization, which quite recently was put into practical application as part of the COVID-19 test method developed at NTNU. The objective of the Centre is to advance the scientific knowledge within fundamental and applied particle engineering. Ongoing research activities focus on synthesis, characterization and tailoring of particles for use in nanomedicine and environmental applications.

The announced position is sponsored by the Particle Engineering Centre and the Department of Chemical Engineering.

Duties of the position

• Develop and utilize Pickering emulsion systems for photocatalytic applications
• Present project results at project meetings, workshops, and conferences
• Prepare scientific papers

Required selection criteria

The PhD-position's main objective is to qualify for work in research positions. The qualification requirement is that you have completed a master’s degree or second degree (equivalent to 120 credits) with a strong academic background in chemical engineering, chemistry, physics, nanotechnology or equivalent education with a grade of B or better in terms of NTNU’s grading scale . If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you are unable to meet these criteria you may be considered only if you can document that you are particularly suitable for education leading to a PhD degree.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants and national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant.

• Solid experience with experimental work
• Good written and oral English language skills

Preferred selection criteria

• Good knowledge of surface and colloid chemistry, emulsion characterization, nanoparticle synthesis, microfluidic methods, and photocatalytic reactions
• Experience with scientific writing
• Good written and oral Norwegian language skills

Personal characteristics

• Self-motivated, pro-active and goal oriented
• Good communication skills
• Good collaborative and socializing skills
• Organized and patient with problem-solving mindset

We offer

Salary and conditions

PhD candidates are remunerated in code 1017, and are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 491 200 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 years.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Chemical Engineering (https://www.ntnu.no/studier/phkjpros ) within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, 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 daily.

About the application

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

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. 

The application must include:

• CV including information pertaining to the given qualifications.
• Testimonials and certificates. Applicants from universities outside Norway are kindly requested to send a diploma supplement (https://ec.europa.eu/education/diploma-supplement_en ) or similar document, which describes in detail the study programme and grading system.
• A cover letter where the applicant describes personal motivation and relevance with respect to the requirements of this position.
• The required documentation of English language proficiency
• Names and contact information of at least two references

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 suitability.

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

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background. 

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.

Information Act (Offentleglova), your name, age, position and municipality may be made public even if you have requested not to have your name entered on the list of applicants.

If you have any questions about the position, contact Professor Gisle Øye, email: [email protected] .  If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR-Consultant Unni M. Myhre, e-mail: [email protected]

Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Diploma Supplement is required to attach for European Master Diplomas outside Norway. Chinese applicants are required to provide confirmation of Master Diploma from China Credentials Verification (CHSI) .

If you are invited for interview you must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters. Please refer to the application number NV-21/135 when applying.

Application deadline: 21.01.2022

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 Chemical Engineering 

We take chemistry from laboratory scale to industrial production. This demands a wide range of knowledge, from molecular processes and nanotechnology to building and operation of large processing plants. We educate graduates for some of Norway's most important industries. The Department of Chemical Engineering is one of eight departments in the Faculty of Natural Sciences.  

Deadline 21st January 2022
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Gløshaugen