Applicants are invited for a PhD fellowship/scholarship at Graduate School of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark, within the Civil and Architectural Engineering programme. The position is available from 01 August 2025 or later. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.

Title:
Upcycling of alkaline wastes based on CO2 mineralization

Research area and project description:
This PhD project will be anchored in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at Aarhus University, aiming to contribute to the global endeavour in reducing carbon emissions. By focusing on the development of innovative CO2 mineralization processes, this project will explore the potential of bacteria-based technologies. 

CO2 mineralization based on alkaline waste sources has attracted significant interests and holds high potential, while it also faces challenges. This project will especially investigate how specific types of bacteria can overcome the constraints of the process, and maximize the efficiency of the process, etc. Moreover, novel strategies will be sought to ensure high value uses of the obtained final products (rather low value applications are NOT of interest in the project).   

The position is part of an interdisciplinary project funded by Novo Nordisk Foundation. You will be working in close collaboration with another PhD student at the Department of Biology at AU. You will join an innovative and cross-disciplinary research team including experts on microbiology, fundamental and applied material science. The team has access to excellent infrastructure and state-of-the-art facilities for the project. You are expected to autonomously carry out research work under the supervision team. You may co-supervise students (MSc and BSc) in their projects. You expand your research portfolio and share your research findings through high-impact publications and presentations at international conferences, contributing to the advancement of relevant technologies.

Project description: For technical reasons, you must upload a project description. Please simply copy the project description above and upload it as a PDF in the application.

Qualifications and specific competences:
Applicants must have a relevant Master's degree (120 ECTS) or at least one year of a Master's degree related to material sciences, material chemistry, inorganic materials or relevant subjects.

• Strong expertise within experimental work, especially related to new material development and characterization
• Research experience on material science especially on CO2 mineralization, calcium carbonate, fabrication of nanoparticles is a plus
• Self-motivated, proactive, team- and goal-oriented personality
• Good communication skills
• Fluent written and spoken communication in English.

The application should include the following documents:

• A cover letter explaining your motivation and qualifications to join this project
• A CV documenting your MSc degree and other qualifications for the position
• Contact details to 1-2 relevant persons who could provide a reference letter

Place of employment and place of work:
The place of employment is Aarhus University, and the place of work is Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Navitas, Inge Lehmanns Gade 10, 8000 Aarhus C., Denmark.

Contacts:
Applicants seeking further information regarding the PhD position are invited to ask:

• Min Wu, mnwu@cae.au.dk (main supervisor)
• Kasper Urup Kjeldsen, kasperuk@bio.au.dk (co-supervisor)

For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide. If answers cannot be found there, please contact:

• admission.gradschool.tech@au.dk

How to apply:
Please follow this link to submit your application.

Application deadline is 20 April 2025 at 23:59 CEST.

The preferred starting date is 01 August 2025.

Please note:

• Only documents received prior to the application deadline will be evaluated. Thus, documents sent after deadline will not be taken into account.
• The programme committee may request further information or invite the applicant to attend an interview.
• Shortlisting will be used, which means that the evaluation committee only will evaluate the most relevant applications.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background. Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with applicable collective agreement.