Job Description

 

Professor of Chemical Engineering: Modeling Transport Phenomena and Properties for Soft Matter in Bio- and Health Applications

KU Leuven has a vacancy for a full-time (junior or senior) professor in the domain of Chemical Engineering with expertise in computational modeling of transport phenomena and properties for soft matter for bio- and health applications. We are looking for internationally oriented candidates with an excellent research track record, a strong orientation towards collaboration with industry and the medical sector, and educational excellence in the field of chemical engineering technology.

The successful candidate will become a member of Group T Leuven Campus, an international and entrepreneurial engineering campus with a focus on healthcare engineering and sustainability (https://www.kuleuven.be/grouptcampus). It is one of seven campuses where KU Leuvens educational Faculty of Engineering Technology is offering academic yet implementation-oriented engineering programs across Flanders. Each year more than 2200 students enrol at Group T Leuven Campus in Bachelor and Master in Engineering Technology programs that are offered in both English and Dutch.

The new faculty member will also become a member of KU Leuvens research Department of Chemical Engineering, and in particular its SMaRT (Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology) unit. Research at SMaRT aims at designing methodologies for intelligent process or product (formulation) design using complex fluids or soft matter. Hence, the research is situated at the intersection of classical chemical engineering (transport phenomena) and soft matter physics and chemistry. From a materials point of view, the two most important classes studied are polymers and colloidal dispersions.
The faculty, department and campus can build upon solid research and educational infrastructure, extensive regional, national and international networks, and connections with companies and non-profit organisations in Belgium and abroad.
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Duties

Research

You develop a research program at an international level in the field of chemical engineering investigating the computational modeling of transport phenomena and viscoelastic properties for soft (bio)materials. This research program should be synergetic and complementary to the Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering research team at Group T Leuven Campus (https://www.mtm.kuleuven.be/english/research/siem/BIO/Biomaterials-tissue-engineering) as well as the Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology unit at Arenberg Campus and Diepenbeek Campus (https://cit.kuleuven.be/smart). Potential research tracks include (but are not limited to): modeling the behavior of (polymeric) gels in biomedical applications; modeling the controlled release and transport of active pharmaceutical ingredients and other compounds in soft matter; creating viscoelastic models of microfibrous materials; experimentally verifying these models and theoretical predictions,… 

Additional research tracks can link to other research groups in the field of Health Engineering or Sustainable Engineering at Group T Leuven Campus (https://www.kuleuven.be/campussen/campus-groep-t-leuven/onderzoek/health-engineering) and within the Chemical and Biochemical Reactor Engineering and Safety (CREaS) division in the Chemical Engineering Department (https://cit.kuleuven.be/creas), or within KU Leuven at large. 

You engage in targeted scientific research, resulting in PhDs and publications that meet international standards and lead to broad international recognition, and support the development of a network of (international) academic as well as industrial and/or medical organisations, a.o. through the valorisation of research results and by delivering services. The up-to-date infrastructure of the division SMaRT is at the disposal of the candidate for his/her research.

Education

You provide high-quality education for both bachelor and master students, with a clear commitment to the quality of the programme as a whole. You contribute to the facultys and the universitys pedagogical project through the supervision of student projects (for example bachelors and masters theses) and by acting as a supervisor of PhD students.

Your teaching duties will include generic chemistry courses in the Bachelor of Engineering Technology program, as well as courses in the Chemical Engineering specialization of the Bachelor/Master of Engineering Technology program (e.g. Analytical Chemistry, Instrumental Analytical Chemistry). You have an outspoken interest in next-generation engineering education and are willing to evolve throughout your career towards substantial educational engagements.

You develop your teaching in accordance with KU Leuvens views on activating, blended and research-based education and make use of the possibilities for educational professionalization offered by the faculty and the university.

Service

You are prepared to provide services to the scientific community, to society and to the university in function of the needs and your personal interests.

You maintain close contact with the local industry and/or medical sector.

You are actively involved in promoting the Faculty of Engineering Technology to future students and participate in information and public relations activities of the faculty.

Profile

You have a combined teaching and research profile and hold a PhD. The quality of your research is evidenced by publications in leading international journals, books and proceedings of international conferences. You have demonstrable qualities related to academic education. International experience is an important advantage.

Industrial experience, an extensive network and/or a strong track record of collaborations with industry or medical sector are a plus.

You possess organisational skills and have a cooperative attitude. You also possess leadership capacities within a university context.

A very good proficiency in English is required. 

The official administrative language used at KU Leuven is Dutch. If you do not speak Dutch (or do not speak it well) at the start of your employment, KU Leuven will provide language training to enable you to take part in meetings and to acquire the level of Dutch that is required for tenure. Before teaching courses in Dutch or English, you will be given the opportunity to learn Dutch resp. English to the required standard. 

Offer

We offer a full-time employment in an intellectually challenging environment. Depending on your record and qualifications, you will be appointed to or tenured in one of the grades of the senior academic staff: assistant professor, associate professor, professor or full professor. In principle, junior researchers are appointed as assistant professor on the tenure track for a period of 5 years; after this period and a positive evaluation, they are permanently appointed (or tenured) as an associate professor.

KU Leuven is a research-intensive, internationally oriented university that carries out both fundamental and applied scientific research. Our university is highly focused on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research and strives for international excellence. In this regard, the university actively works together with research partners in Belgium and abroad and provides its students with an academic education that is based on high-quality scientific research. Recently, KU Leuven has been selected as one of the 10 most innovative universities in the world.

To facilitate scientific onboarding and accelerate research in the first phase, a starting grant is offered to new professors.

You will work in Leuven, a historic, dynamic and lively city, located in the heart of Belgium, within 20 minutes of Brussels, the capital of the European Union and less than two hours from Paris, London and Amsterdam.
KU Leuven welcomes foreign professors and their family and provides practical support with regard to immigration & administration, housing, childcare, learning Dutch, partner career coaching, …

Interested?

For more information on the contents of the job, please contact:
* Professor Christian Clasen, departmental chair of the Department Chemical Engineering (christian.clasen@kuleuven.be, tel. +32 16 322 354 or +32 16 322 676) or
* Professor Wim Dewulf, campus chair of Group T Leuven Campus (wim.dewulf@kuleuven.be, tel. +32 16 372 881)

You can submit your application only through our online application system. If you have problems submitting your application online, please send an email to solliciteren@kuleuven.be.

Add to your application following documents in English (more information is available on the KU Leuven job site):

• your biosketch in which you indicate your added value as an academic for research, education and service to society of your past career and of your future activities (maximum 2 pages);
• a file on your five most important publications or realizations;
• an extensive cv including a full publication list and if applicable a portfolio of your architectural projects;
• your research plan with focus on the development of your research line and research team in relation with the colleague-researchers of the entity of employment (maximum 4 pages);
• your vision on academic education and its organization (maximum 2 pages);
• your contribution to society by outreach and public communication on science and technology, internal representation in boards and councils and service activities directly in relation to your developed expertise (maximum 1 page);
• your vision on leadership (maximum 1 page).

KU Leuven places great importance on research integrity and ethical conduct and will therefore ask you to sign an integrity statement upon appointment.

You can apply for this job no later than November 07, 2023 via the online application tool

KU Leuven seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please contact us at diversiteit.HR@kuleuven.be.

*Please mention you saw this ad on CommunityCollegeJobs.*

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