1-3 PhD Research fellowships are available at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The fellowships are affiliated with “iCSI – industrial Catalysis Science and Innovation for a competitive and sustainable process industry”, which is a National Centre for Research-based Innovation (SFI) granted by the Research Council of Norway for the period 2015-22. In addition to NTNU, SINTEF Materials and Chemistry and the University of Oslo are research partners, and YARA, INEOS, Haldor Topsøe AS, Dynea, and KA Rasmussen AS are the iCSI industrial partners. The iCSI basic vision is to establish an integrated competence and technology platform that promotes world class energy and raw material efficiency and allows spin-off activities in the different directions of prime interest for the industrial partners.

The main part of the PhD research is to be conducted at NTNU in Trondheim, Norway, in the laboratories of the Petrochemistry and Catalysis group (KINCAT, http://www.ntnu.edu/chemeng/kincat ). Opportunities exist, however, for performing research at other laboratories through international exchange.

iCSI joins the three major research institutions involved in heterogeneous catalysis in Norway with five industrial partners competing globally in a collaborative utilization of competence and infrastructure. Industrial catalysis links material properties on the nano-scale to the raw material efficiency, energy consumption and emission abatement of thermochemical processes. The research efforts target fundamental understanding of phenomena relevant to the productivity, selectivity and stability of the catalytic processes, and will build knowledge important to both continuous technological improvements and possible breakthroughs that may induce step changes to the industry.

6 Industrial Innovation Areas (IIA) have been defined in the project, and the PhD fellowships will be connected to these:
IIA1 21st century ammonia oxidation and nitric acid technology development
IIA2 New NOx abatement technologies for the marine market and state-of-the-art SCR catalysis
IIA3 Frontier formalin technology development
IIA4 PVC Value Chain: World class energy and raw material efficiency for the production of Chlorine and Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM)
IIA5 The next step in direct alkane activation
IIA6 Generic competence for industrial synergy

Catalysis and kinetics is core research in the project, and a suitable background for the candidate ranges from chemical engineering and catalysis to physics, inorganic chemistry and materials science. Previous experimental training in catalyst testing, synthesis and characterization, as well as experience in kinetic or reactor modelling is highly advantageous. The candidate should be creative, with a strong ability to work problem oriented. He/she should also enjoy interdisciplinary research and take keen interest in learning and working in teams.

Further information can be obtained from Centre Director Professor Hilde Venvik, (hilde.venvik@chemeng.ntnu.no), Professor De Chen de.chen@ntnu.no or Professor Magnus Rønning (magnus.ronning@ntnu.no). For more information about the Department of Chemical Engineering, NTNU, please look at our web page http://www.ntnu.edu/chemeng/

The appointments have a duration of 3 years with the possibility of 1 year extension with 25% teaching duties in agreement with the department. The position as PhD research fellow is remunerated according to the Norwegian State salary scale. The appointment of the PhD fellow will be made according to Norwegian guidelines for universities and university colleges and to the general regulations regarding university employees. Applicants must agree to participate in organized doctoral study programs within the period of the appointment. A contract will be drawn up regarding the period of appointment and work related duties.

The regulations for PhD programs at NTNU state that a Master degree or equivalent with at least 5 years of studies and an average grade of A or B within a scale of A-E for passing grades (A best). Candidates from universities outside Norway are kindly requested to send a Diploma Supplement or a similar document, which describes in detail the study and grade system and the rights for further studies associated with the obtained degree. See http://www.ntnu.edu/research/phd-opportunities for details on NTNU PhD program requirements. The position furthermore adheres to the Norwegian Government’s policy of balanced ethnicity, age and gender.

All applicants must be able to communicate fluently in English (in speaking and writing), while knowledge of Norwegian is considered an additional advantage. Applicants must indicate their level of language skills in English and Norwegian.

An application with CV, certified copies of transcripts, certified copies of documentation on English language proficiency (e.g. TOEFL, IELTS, etc.), and reference letters is to be submitted electronically through http://www.jobbnorge.no/.

Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered.
Application Deadline : 30 April 2015