Professor/Associate Professor of Transition Process Metallurgy

Contract: Open Ended

Closing date:  Midnight on 18^th August 2025

Applications are invited for the post of Professor/Associate Professor to establish and lead a new area of work in process metallurgy to support recycling of metals and minerals as part of a growing multidisciplinary team at the University.

Heriot-Watt University has, through its Global Institute for Net Zero and Beyond (“iNetZ+”), created a multidisciplinary platform for developing mission led practical solutions to advance circularity, bringing together academic and partners thus far covering:

• Plastics and Chemicals (Professor David Bucknall)
• Building Materials (Professor Gabi Medero)
• Green and Transition Finance (Professor Havard Halland, Professor Bing Xu). 

This has formed a coherent Materials & Circularity Research Group (M&CRG) led by Professor Gabriela Medero. The new professor will build on this strategic initiative working as part of an ambitious transdisciplinary team to address what we regard as being a very major societal need around metals.

There is a very significant gap in technological capability in driving transitions in metals refining and recycling.

New work, developments and leadership together with global connectivity with industry and business is needed to address this situation, which might be described, in modern parlance, as being a wicked-problem.

The research chair has been made possible due to a donation from the University's Shaping Futures Campaign. The post and area of development will be supported by a small advisory board and may include occasional contact with the donor. The post holder will also be able to contribute to the learning and teaching across the University and including their host school and department – likely to be The School of Engineering and Physical Sciences and Department of Chemical Engineering.

Education, Qualifications and Experience

Essential criteria:

• Candidates for this role will have a first degree in process metallurgy, process/chemical engineering, chemical metallurgy or materials science/engineering relating to the mining and recycling sector with relevant PhD degree in this domain. 
• Proven expertise, research supervision and research track record outputs in their domain resulting in academic and industrial publications, patents, policy etc.
• Experience of industrial partnership and management of collaborative projects.
• Enthusiasm and honed communication skills for communication.
• Passion for both research and teaching of process metallurgy and the circular economy.
• A strong personal network with the profession.
• Excellent digital skills in terms of Microsoft 365 tools, AI-enablement, specialist simulation tools relevant to the subject area.
• Ability to plan strategically to develop and build a research team with external partners and funders.

Desirable criteria

• Specialist understating of rare earth recycling from electromagnets and lithium batteries.
• Deep understanding of the principles of metals ecology as well as policy and regulations relating to the circular economy.
• Fellow or Membership of IMM and/or IChemE or equivalent.
• Industrial experience in the sector.

Line Management

This is a permanent full time position subject to the normal conditions of appointment and probation, based in Edinburgh and will require residency in this vicinity. The appointee will be responsible to the Executive Dean of the School in which they are appointed and for programme development to Advisory Panel for the Chair, chaired by Prof Medero. 

Applications can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) on 18^th August 2025. 

For more information about the role and to apply, please visit; enzj.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX/job/4404/?keyword=4404&mode=job-location

Advert information