IRP5—life cycle assessment, materials&resources, environmental science/engineering

Research topic:

Life cycle assessment of bio-based fibre products

Recruiting organization:

Maastricht University

Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials

Application deadline:

March 11th 2018

Starting time:

June 2018 or as mutually agreed (1-2 months changes to the intended starting time are possible)

Contract duration:

We offer a fulltime employment for the duration of 4 years, the first 36 months within FibreNet

Trial period:

The probationary period is 2 months. The contract has a go-no go moment after 1 year.

Salary

Your salary would be € 2.222,- gross per month in the first year up to € 2.840,- gross per month in the fourth year according to the PhD salary scale. You will receive a mobility allowance and, if applicable, a family allowance from the FibreNet program. The family status will be determined at the date of the (first) recruitment. For more details, see Section 5 of the MSCA-ITN guide.

Benefits

The terms of employment of Maastricht University are set out in the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO). Furthermore, local UM provisions also apply. For more information look at the website www.maastrichtuniversity.nl, Support/UM employees/Employment conditions

For more information on the research topic (scientific content), contact the supervisor:

Associate Professor Dr. Yvonne van der Meer,

Phone: +31 43 38 82 246
Over the past decades, Maastricht has changed from a quiet provincial capital to a vibrant, international student city with a renowned university medical centre, a health campus, numerous start-ups, a city centre with enormously divers shopping possibilities, beautiful hotels, countless terraces and many artists who start a studio in town after they graduate.

 

Scientific content

Bio-based fibre products have great potential to reduce carbon emissions. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is one of the most useful methods to quantify and compare the environmental impact of products and services. However, in its current state this methodology does not fulfil all requirements to assess the life cycles of bio- based fibre products. Therefore, the main goal of this PhD project is to develop and carry out LCA methodologies to assess the environmental impacts of biobased fibre products by taking into account important aspects, such as accounting for biogenic carbon storage, ecosystem quality, cascading use of biomass, land use change, and end of life scenarios. Moreover, the PhD researcher will perform ex-ante environmental assessments for novel technologies/products that will be developed within the FibreNet project. The PhD project will be concluded with recommendations for product categories rules of bio-based fibre products.

The PhD researcher will collect and analyse data, perform LCA modelling, write reports, publish scientific articles and disseminate the project results. This project will be performed in close collaboration with project partners in the application areas of bio-composites and paper & packaging.

 

The general requirements for all FibreNet positions apply here, i.e.:

  • you may already be in a PhD program but you cannot be a PhD holder,
  • you must have less than 4 years of research experience, i.e., you should be an early-stage researcher,
  • you must not have resided or carried out your main activity in the country of the hiring organization for more than 12 months during the last 3 years immediately prior to the recruitment (short stays such as holidays and/or compulsory national service are not taken into account), and
  • you should have a high-level knowledge of the English language.

 

Furthermore, the position-related requirements are:

  • You hold a MSc or Master Engineering degree in the areas of materials & resources, environmental science/engineering, or a related field;
  • You have expertise in research with life cycle assessment with the focus on (biobased) chemicals/materials/ bioenergy or you have high affinity with this research field;
  • You have excellent English skills (written and oral)
  • You are an independent candidate who is able to work in close collaboration with other researchers.
  • Preferably, you have proven experience with publishing scientific work in refereed international scientific journals.

 

How to apply:

You have to apply on this position via Academic Transfer at: https://www.academictransfer.com/employer/UM/vacancy/45073/lang/en/ (Always mention the job number AT2018.28 and refer to AcademicTransfer).

 

Mandatory appendices:

  • a Curriculum Vitae,
  • a letter of motivation (maximum of one page),
  • the contact details of two referees,
  • a copy of B.Sc. and M.Sc. certificates with annexes, and
  • a language certificate (IELTS, TOEFL, PTE Academic, Cambridge Language Certificate (Proficiency CPE or Advanced CAE) if available.

 

In case no suitable candidates are found, Maastricht University reserves the right to re-open the call.