PhD Position in Pickering Emulsion Rheology and Stability

Would you like to start your career in a European training network of leading research universities and professionals from the industry? Then you might be interested in this PhD position, which will enable you to join the PICKFOOD project.

PICKFOOD is a top level interdisciplinary training and research programme involving 15 PhD positions across physics, physical chemistry and food science. PICKFOOD aims to create at European level a network of next generation young scientists trained in novel methodologies within Pickering emulsions research enabling the development of safe, healthy and functional foods and at the same time minimizing food waste due to lipid oxidation.

This PhD position concerns study of the formation, rheology and stability of Pickering emulsions in simple model systems- the aim is to find general rules rather than system-specific details. You will be associated with the thriving Soft Matter group of the Institute of Physics at the University of Amsterdam. The University of Amsterdam is a leading university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom Secondments with the partners of this European project will be possible.

What are you going to do?
During your PhD project you will study the physics and physical chemistry of emulsification, including catastrophic phase inversion. The latter is an important example of emulsion stability; we will ask the question under what conditions water in oil and oil in water emulsions will form, and be stable or unstable. In addition, we will study the rheology and come up with generically applicable models for the rheology of simple model emulsion systems. One question of particular interest will be the slow evolution by small rearrangements of emulsions systems; these in principle should not happen in athermal systems in which the energy barriers for rearrangements are high, but are observed in practice.

During the PhD work you will:

• be responsible for your own research, supervised by experienced and engaged supervisors in a collaborative environment with excellent research infrastructure;
• perform interdisciplinary research within the fields physics and physical chemistry;
• engage in collaboration with the other PhD students in the training network as well as with co-hosts;
• contribute with new knowledge in the field of Pickering emulsions stability and rheology.

Requirements:

• a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) in Physics, Physical Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree.

Furthermore you should have:

• Working knowledge of (fluid) mechanics
• Knowledge on colloid chemistry or willingness to learn
• Good laboratory skills
• Good collaboration and communication skills (written and oral English)
• Structured and analytical working approach
• Skills within statistical analyses of data

Because this project is part of an EU training network the following eligibility rules apply:

The applicant shall, at the time of recruitment by the University of Amsterdam, be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and not yet have been awarded a doctoral degree. Full-time equivalent research experience is measured from the date when a researcher obtained the degree which would formally entitle him or her to embark on a doctorate, either in the country in which the degree was obtained or in the country in which the researcher is recruited.

The applicant is required to undertake transnational mobility (i.e. move from one country to another) when taking up his/her appointment. At the time of recruitment by the host beneficiary, the applicant must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of their host beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference date

Salary Benefits:

A temporary contract for 38 hours per week for the duration of 4 years (the initial contract will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it will be extended for a total duration of 4 years). The preferred starting date is as soon as possible. This should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. We also expect you to assist in teaching undergraduates and master students.

The gross monthly salary, based on 38 hours per week and dependent on relevant experience, ranges between € 2,541 to € 3,247 (scale P). This does not include 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% year-end allowance. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Universities of the Netherlands is applicable.

Besides the salary and a vibrant and challenging environment at Science Park we offer you multiple fringe benefits:

• 232 holiday hours per year (based on fulltime) and extra holidays between Christmas and 1 January;
• multiple courses to follow from our Teaching and Learning Centre;
• a complete educational program for PhD students;
• multiple courses on topics such as leadership for academic staff;
• multiple courses on topics such as time management, handling stress and an online learning platform with 100+ different courses;
• 7 weeks birth leave (partner leave) with 100% salary;
• partly paid parental leave;
• the possibility to set up a workplace at home;
• a pension at ABP for which UvA pays two third part of the contribution;
• the possibility to follow courses to learn Dutch;
• help with housing for a studio or small apartment when you’re moving from abroad.

Are you curious to read more about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits, take a look here.

38 hours per week

Science Park 904