Researcher in in hydrogen storage for a sustainable telescope

About the position

Position as Researcher available at Department of Technology System (ITS).

The appointment is a fulltime position and is for a period of 2.5 years. 

Preferred starting date as soon as possible, and no later than 1st of October 2025.

Job description

Energy storage is a crucial tool for enabling the effective integration of renewable energy sources in the future energy system. The candidate will perform syn-thesis and characterisation of multicomponents alloys designed for hydrogen storage. The system will be designed to provide energy to a new generation telescope to be built near the ALMA site (Chile) and will include a combination of components outlined in the previous phase of the project. A close collaboration with an industrial partner will allow preliminary testing in a pilot stack. The position is funded by the EU-project AtLAST2 (Horizon 2020, GA number 101188037) which is consolidating the plans for the 50-meter Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (https://www.atlast.uio.no/). This will be the first astronomical facility of this scale for which a full environmental sustainability study is implemented at the Design Study stage. The project is an effort from 20 partners and over hundreds of collaborators from 26 different countries. 

The research fellow will conduct research on topics such as:

• Solid-state synthesis of alloys with focus on performances, and environ-mental sustainability of the medium for hydrogen storage 
• Structural and hydrogenation characterization of alloys, including their feasibility under realistic conditions envisioned for AtLAST

The core activity of the ATLAST2 shall support several Researchers, PhD candidates and Postdocs. They work in close contact with the research and user partners of ATLAST2, and with other collaborators on the general topics of renewable energy systems, their sustainability and public acceptance. The candidate will work on a team at ITS comprising two other positions funded by AT-LAST2, and be member of the group Materials and Technologies for Sustainable Energy (https://www.mn.uio.no/its/english/research/Thematic%20research%20areas/Energy%20Storage%20Systems/). We conduct research in a wide range of national and EU projects (e.g. HYDROGENi (https://hydrogeni.no/), HySchool (https://www.uib.no/en/hyschool), FAIR (https://www.mn.uio.no/its/english/research/projects/FAIR/), SOLAR (https://www.prosjektbanken.no/en/project/FORISS/350244?Kilde=FORISS&distribution=Ar&chart=bar&calcType=funding&Sprak=no&sortBy=date&sortOrder=desc&resultCount=30&offset=0&TemaEmne.1=Marin)) addressing key challenges related to, among other, the synthesis and characterization of materials for hydrogen-based stationary applications.

The research and innovation environment of AtLAST2 will offer a unique opportunity to enable cross-disciplinary ideas towards sustainable introduction and use of hydrogen technologies. With this project the research fellow will expand competences in a growing field of global relevance and will be exposed to the development of new concepts, methods and technologies relevant to national and international stakeholders. 

Qualification requirements

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition of being a leading research faculty. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

Required qualifications:

• Applicants must hold a degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree in chemistry, physics, metallurgy, materials science, or related field with a strong emphasis on synthesis of new materials and alloys and their structural characterization. Candidates must be in possession of a doctoral degree at the closing date of the application deadline, i.e., they have successfully defended their thesis 
• Experience with alloy synthesis (e.g. arc melting, ball milling)
• Experience with characterization techniques (diffraction, electron micros-copy, etc.)
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English

Desired qualifications:

• Familiarity with pressure-composition-temperature measurements
• Experience with Rietveld refinement
• Good interpersonal and communication skills and show high level of motivation to work as part of an international team
• Candidates with a demonstrated record of high technical achievement and the ability to conduct creative, independent research will be given preference

Personal skills

• High interest in the topic and motivation to conduct impactful research
• Critical thinking, attitude for teamwork and knowledge sharing, capacity to work independently
• Creativeness and proactiveness
• Ability to write in a structured, clear and concise manner
• Ability to take initiative and come up with new ideas to solve theoretical and practical problems
• Good personal communication skills
• Willingness to travel abroad for short periods of research to collaborative partners

We offer

• Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development, education, and enlightenment that promote sustainable, fair, and knowledge-based societal development
• Vibrant international academic environment 
• Professionally stimulating work environment
• Good welfare schemes (https://www.uio.no/english/for-employees/employment/welfare/index.html)
• Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours (https://www.uio.no/english/for-employees/employment/welfare/exercise/)
• Oslo's family-friendly surroundings with their rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities
• Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse (https://www.spk.no/en/), which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes
• Salary in position as Researcher, position code 1109 in salary range NOK from 579 700 to 670 000 per annum depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund

Read more about the benefits of working in the public sector at Employer Portal (http://arbeidsgiver.difi.no/lonn-goder-og-reise).

Inclusive worklife and diversity at UiO

Inclusion and diversity are a strength. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.

We hope that you will apply for the position. 

Application

Your application should include:

• Cover letter - Statement of motivation and research interests describing why you are applying for this research fellowship position and how your background will allow you to conduct the research project
• CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work - scientific publications)
• A complete list of publications and up to 5 academic works that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
• Written original one-two page proposed composition of metal hydrides for a chosen stationary application
• Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number), letters of recommendation are optional

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system (please follow the link “Apply for this job"). Foreign applicants are ad-vised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English or a Scandinavian language.

General information

The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews.

Please see the guidelines (https://www.uio.no/english/about/regulations/personnel/academic/guidelines-appointment-postdoc-researcher.html) and regulations (https://www.uio.no/english/about/regulations/personnel/academic/regulations-employment-conditions-postdoc.html) for appointments to Research Fellow-ships at the University of Oslo.

Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (https://lovdata.no/dokument/NLE/lov/2006-05-19-16) § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we can't, you will hear from us.

Please refer to Regulations for the Act on universities and colleges chapter 3 (https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2024-06-28-1392/KAPITTEL_3#KAPITTEL_3) (Norwegian) and Rules for the use of research posts SKO 1108, 1109, 1110 and 1183 at UiO. (https://www.uio.no/english/about/regulations/personnel/academic/rules-use-research-post.html)

The University of Oslo has a transfer agreement (https://www.uio.no/english/for-employees/employment/work-results/agreement-rights-to-work-results.html) with all employees that is intended to secure the rights to all research results etc.