PDRA in Seaweed Bioprocess Intensification Development

About us

This research will be conducted in the Manufacturing Futures Laboratory (MFL) (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/manufacturing-futures-lab/) at UCL East, UCL’s new campus on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, East London. The MFL is an innovative facility that brings together core expertise from several departments, enabling the development of new strategic research focused on knowledge-based manufacturing to deliver the sustainable products and processes of the future. We are seeking to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join Dr Emily Kostas’ research group to lead research on bioprocess intensification development within seaweed biorefineries.

About the role

Applications are invited to join a multidisciplinary programme of research that aims to establish a UK seaweed bioeconomy built on integrated biorefinery technologies. The primary role will be to lead on the creation of new reactor designs and bioproduct recovery strategies to intensify processes that can be embedded within seaweed biorefineries. The postholder will be required to conduct research in prototype development, and apply process and parameter optimization using statistical parametric study software (such as Design of Experiments) to optimize bioproduct recovery. The work will also address the identification of compatible intensification downstream separation processing techniques for target bioproducts of interest. Key deliverable for this research is the bioprocess evaluation to determine the most feasible overall process route and economic feasibility.

About you

You will hold a PhD (or about to be awarded a PhD) in a relevant discipline, e.g. Biochemical/Chemical Engineering, and ideally possess experience in one or more of the following areas: reactor design, transport phenomena, separation processes, or materials processing. You’ll have the ability to generate, analyze and document experimental data through efficient project management and creative problem solving. An ability to collaborate within a multi-disciplinary team is essential.

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr Emily Kostas,

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits, some of which are below:

· 41 Days holiday (including 27 days annual leave, 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)

· Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)

· Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan

· On-Site nursery

· On-site gym

· Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay

· Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service

· Discounted medical insurance

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women. You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/

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