Researcher on Sustainable and high-performance material development

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You can find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

   

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About the Job

A temporary researcher position within the frame of the SFI PhysMet (Centre for Sustainable and Competitive Metallurgical and Manufacturing Industry; https://www.ntnu.edu/physmet) is offered at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The position is a temporary full-time position for 2 years.

Development of new alloys and products in industry is to a large extent based on trial-and-error experimental approaches, which is both costly and time consuming. This becomes more critical for the metal and manufacturing industries, with application of more recycling-based metals in the production cycles and with the broader application of AM technology. To address these challenges, it is needed to establish fundamental knowledge and understanding of materials with recycled content and/or materials for new processes and applications (e.g. rapid solidification and additive manufacturing) with focus on low CO2 footprint. Moreover, to accelerate the design of new materials and alloys and/or industrial processes relationships, a systematized use of relevant and adequate  modelling tools in close combination with relevant experiments is required.

Duties of the position

The research topics will be within one or more of the following topics:

Compensation metallurgy and alloy design: Enable the development of materials with a higher recycled content (thus low CO2 footprint) by understanding the relationships between alloy composition (with recycled content) and solidification, heat treatment and mechanical processing. A focus will be put on the influence of impurity elements on nucleation, growth and morphology of grains and intermetallic particles, precipitation behavior of secondary phases, grain boundary segregation and processability of the alloys, etc.

Powder materials and rapid solidification: Develop powder-based materials with improved properties based on rapid solidification technology. Expanding the range of AM materials is targeted by tailoring the microstructure through-process control (solidification conditions), introducing inoculant particles (to achieve equiaxed instead of columnar grain structures) and additives (e.g. nanoparticles for improved properties), and mixtures of elemental powders.

Tailored properties through post-processing: Microstructure tailoring during heat treatments of aluminium products (by e.g. AM and rapid solidification or with recycled content) to compensate for unwanted detrimental secondary phases and precipitates (e.g. Fe containing phases due to recycled content) and to promote desired phase transformations (in steels) is the target of this activity.

Required selection criteria

• Completed a Norwegian doctoral degree or corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian PhD in Materials Science and Engineering, Physics, Materials Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering or equivalent.
• Strong academic background from previous studies.
• An educational background and hands-on experience with methods for characterization of materials microstructure and texture and mechanical testing and characterization ( e.g. SEM, EBSD, TEM, XRD, EDS).
• An educational background and experience with numerical/mathematical modelling and simulations of nano-/microstructure phenomena in materials science and engineering (e.g. Molecular dynamics (MD), Monte Carlo methods (MC), CALPHAD approaches).
• Good written and oral English language and communication skills. 

Preferred selection criteria

• Hands-on experience with methodologies for materials synthesis and processing (e.g. arc-melting and or methods for Additive manufacturing (e.g. Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) will be an advantage.
• Some knowledge of Machine Learning methodologies is an advantage.
• Knowledge of a Scandinavian language is considered as a plus.

Personal characteristics

• Creative, with a strong ability to work goal-oriented and independently.
• Good skills to deliver oral and written presentations of research results.
• He/she should also enjoy interdisciplinary research and take keen interest in working in project teams.

We offer

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Salary and conditions

The gross salary for the position of Researcher (code 1109) is remunerated 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 2 years.

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.

The position is subject to external funding. 

It is a prerequisite that 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.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

f, 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, including list of publications and information pertaining to the given qualifications. 
• transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's-, master's- and PhD degrees. 
• A copy of the doctoral thesis. If you are close to submitting, or have recently submitted your thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed doctoral degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Possible academic works - published or unpublished - that you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 5 items)
• The required documentation of English language proficiency.
• Name and contact information of three referees.
   

Joint work will also be considered. If it is difficult to identify your specific input to a joint project, you must include evidence of your contributions.  

In the assessment of the best qualified applicant, we will emphasize education, experience and personal suitability as well as your motivation for the position. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA. This means that we pay special attention to the quality and professional breadth of these works. We also consider experience from research management and participation in research projects. We place great emphasis on your scientific work from the last five years.

General information

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. 

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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.

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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. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Knut Marthinsen, telephone +47 41513972, e-mail knut.marthinsen@ntnu.no, or Professor Marisa Di Sabino +47  98243462, e-mail marisa.di.sabatini@ntnu.no.  

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: 15.01.2025