Part time Academic Employee - DTU Physics

From fundamental understanding of the interactions of water, gas and organic compounds with natural materials, we are developing a fast, cheap, environmentally friendly way to mineralise CO2, to make it stable for millennia.

As a result of recently funded projects, we are building a cross disciplinary research group, and we are looking for a part time academic employee.

In the BioMin Research Group our goals are to develop a local method for mineralising CO2, to convert it back to solid, where it will remain stable on the long term. Even with the very best alternative energy sources and conversion of CO2 into products, current air and ocean CO2 levels will need 1,000 to 10,000 years to return to preindustrial levels. To reduce climate change and ocean acidification, CO2 must be converted to solid and put back into the Earth, where it came from in the first place.

At DTU Physics, we are running several projects in parallel, that range from very fundamental investigations of mineral-organic compound-water-gas properties to applying research results and designing an industrial CO2 trapping process. The need is urgent, the task is challenging and a multidisciplinary approach is essential - so our highly motivated team includes students and senior scientists: chemists, physicists, nanoscientists, materials scientists, mineralogists, geoscientists, engineers and others.

The job
You are a Physics student, midway in the MSc programme. Your overall responsibility is to complete tasks and solve small problems as they come up, to help the Technical Coordinator and the Group Leader, and to work with the research group members, to develop operations manuals for the various instruments.

Examples of the types of tasks are:

• Fetching packages from the mail delivery area and preparing packages for the post
• Grinding and sieving samples 
• Photocopying, collecting information from the web and printing it
• Organising articles and papers
• Emptying sample tubes after the solutions have been analysed and disposing them
• Taking waste out to the recycling area
• Moving gas tanks 
• Preparing samples for BET (surface area) analyses and removing the samples afterwards
• Helping with trouble shooting for setting up reactors
• Using your physics background to explore the capabilities of the analytical facilities and explaining this to group members (who are chemists, geologists, materials scientists) and contributing to operations manuals, particularly for BET and AFM
• Other tasks, as needed

Our expectations of you
We are looking for a dependable, curious, enthusiastic problem solver, who has an interest in nature, enjoys working with others and finds it fun to contribute to reaching a goal. We expect you to:

• Have a solid physics background
• Have completed BSc and some courses at MSc level
• Experience with BET, AFM, XPS and the like
• Enjoy fixing things
• Be flexible and a team player
• Have good communication and personal interaction skills
• Be fluent in English and Danish

We offer
DTU is among the leading technical universities of Europe and the top in the Nordic countries. The Physics Department is a dynamic environment. The CO2 projects will unite researchers from several DTU departments as well as national and international researchers from a number of fields. The atmosphere in the research group is friendly and supportive, allowing us to produce groundbreaking results, of interest to science and essential for industry. Our mission is to derive new fundamental understanding and use it to solve society’s problems.

Salary and appointment terms
Appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). You are employed as an Academic Employee. Salary will be determined by the applicant’s qualifications and in agreement with the relevant union.

The position is part time, 8 hours per week, but can be adjusted based on agreement with the ideal candidate. Starting date is October 1, 2024 or according to mutual agreement.

The workplace is DTU Lyngby Campus.

Application and contact
Please submit your online application no later than 13 September 2024 at 23:59 (Danish time) . Open the “Apply now” link, fill out the form and attach the requested documents as one single pdf file :

• Cover letter (1 page) explaining how you are perfect for the position, using your background as example
• Your CV, including employment history, with dates, career highlights, and other relevant information about you as a person
• Your course list and grades from your university education so far
• The name, email and phone number for 2 personal references (do not include letters of reference)

If you would like additional information about the position, please contact Prof. Susan Stipp, [email protected] .

Applications submitted online after the deadline, or sent by email will not be considered.

All interested candidates, irrespective of gender, age, race, disability, religion and ethnic background are encouraged to apply.

Technology for people
DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear vision to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That vision lives on today. DTU has 13,400 students and 5,800 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.