PhD Position in Engineering at University in Leuven, Belgium

Are you a highly motivated student considering studying in Belgium? The Department of Engineering at the University in Leuven is pleased to offer a four-year fully-funded PhD Position. This is a full-time PhD position with a competitive salary and additional benefits such as health insurance, access to university sports facilities, etc

Summary

Scholarship Sponsor	University in Leuven, Belgium
Scholarships level	PhD Position
Award Amount	Not Specified
Fellowship Period	Four years
Study area	Engineering
Opening date	February 15, 2021
Closing date	March 15, 2021

The PhD project will be performed in the Soft Matter Rheology and Technology (SMaRT) section in the Chemical Engineering Department at KU Leuven under the supervision of Prof. Ruth Cardinals. The research in the SMaRT group is mostly experimental and aims at designing methodologies for intelligent process or product (formulation) design using so-called “complex fluids” or “soft matter”.

Extensive state-of-the-art and home-built experimental facilities for the characterization of viscoelastic properties in the liquid state (bulk and interfacial rheology), combined with various techniques to characterize microstructure development during flow, are available. Moreover, the lab is equipped with all major types of commercial 3D printing devices and several in-house adapted devices.

Project Description

For many applications, polymers have substantial advantages compared to other materials, e.g. they are light-weight, flexible, easy to process and corrosion-resistant. Additional functionality can be introduced by the addition of conductive or magnetic particles. Thereby, materials can be developed for energy harvesting, electric discharge protection, electromagnetic shielding or soft robotics. However, the resulting properties are strongly dependent on the dispersion and distribution of the nanoparticles, whereby multiphasic structures are of particular importance.

The microstructure can act as a template to tailor the particle distribution utilizing selective localization at the interface. The network formation of the particles at the interface will govern the dynamics of the interface and its dielectric and electromagnetic properties. This will, in turn, determine the development of the bulk microstructure and, therefore, the bulk dielectric and electromagnetic properties.

In the proposed research project, the relations between, on the one hand, flow conditions and material properties and on the other hand, the properties of the particle-covered interface will first be investigated. Subsequently, these interfacial properties will be related to the developed microstructure in the bulk system. 

To that, various in-situ and time-resolved techniques such as bulk and interfacial rheology as well as microfluidics will be used. Finally, the dielectric and electromagnetic properties of the generated Pickering emulsions will be studied to develop rational design strategies to create functional multiphasic materials.

Application Deadline

The deadline for applications is March 15, 2021

Eligibility

• You are recently graduated or will soon graduate with a master degree in chemical engineering, materials science, physics or a related discipline
• You have excellent analytical skills, high grades, and you are a creative and critical thinker.
•  You are highly motivated to start your research career and pursue a PhD degree during a four year research period.
• You can work with precision and like hands-on laboratory work.
• You have prior experience in experimental research obtained during project or thesis work, preferably in the area of soft matter.
• Experience with microfluidics and/or interfacial rheology is a plus.
• You can report your progress in an accurate and timely fashion.
• You have excellent communication skills, with fluency in both written and spoken English.   

Offer

• The opportunity to work and live in one of the most innovative universities and cities in Europe. Leuven is located 20 min from Brussels, in the centre of Europe
• International working environment and the possibility to present your work at international conferences
• A state-of-the-art experimental infrastructure.
• A full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate evaluation after one year
• To support you during your PhD and to prepare you for the rest of your career, you will participate in the Arenberg Doctoral School doctoral training program (Doctoral Training – Arenberg Doctoral School (kuleuven.be))
• You will get the opportunity to deepen your rheology knowledge via participation in the European School on Rheology and other relevant summer schools.

Application Process

For more information, please contact Prof. dr. Ruth Cardinaels, tel.: +32 16 32 16 88, mail: [email protected]

Candidates can apply by submitting their CV, motivation letter and grade lists via the online application tool. Please also include the names and contact details of at least two senior researchers willing to write a letter of recommendation upon request.

We look forward to your application and will screen it as soon as we have received it. The screening will continue until the position has been filled.

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