Job description

A position as PhD Research Fellow in Superconductivity is available at the Department of Physics.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.

The PhD position is of 3 years duration. If the candidate has the necessary qualifications and based on the teaching need of the Department, the candidate can apply for an additional 25 % teaching duty resulting in a total length of the fellowship of 4 years.

Starting date no later than 01.10.2020.

More about the position

The project is a direct response to recent Norwegian initiative aiming to introduce liquid hydrogen value chain for maritime use. The special focus of this chain is to provide liquid hydrogen for car ferries, high-speed crafts and platform supply vessels in the region from Rogaland to Trøndelag. The initiative is a major technological breakthrough never attempted before. It is designed to reduce CO2 emissions in Norway by 45 percent in 2030 compared to 1990-levels following recent Norwegian government’s decision, and is in agreement with the ambition of the International Maritime Organization to reduce CO2 emissions from the shipping sector by 50 percent by 2050 compared to 2008-levels.

The aim of the project is to increase efficiency of the maritime use of liquid hydrogen by introducing superconductivity in all elements of the chain, from simultaneous delivery of electricity and hydrogen along the superconducting pipelines to its direct use in the electrical propulsion. The purpose of the position is to analyse economic benefits of incorporating superconducting materials into the liquid hydrogen value chain, to overview the most relevant superconducting devices needed for the chain and to choose superconducting materials for the chain applications.

The candidate should have experience with and good understanding of superconductivity. This should be combined with a background and strong interest in economy modelling. PhD research fellow will work in collaboration with the newly established UiO Computational and Data Science Center taking advantage of new computer modelling approaches to analyse economy benefits of merging superconductivity and liquid hydrogen economy. The PhD researcher will also work with UiO:Energy, Energy Valley Norway, SINTEF, NCE Maritime Cleantech, Greensight, Norled, Equinor, Gasnor, and international partners. The experimental activity in selection of superconducting materials and tests of superconducting devices will be conducted either on the liquid hydrogen storage sites or in the Superconductivity laboratory at the University of Oslo, which is well equipped with magneto-optical imaging and electrical transport measurements set-ups operating at temperatures down to 3.7 K. The successful applicant will perform economic modelling, design and conduct experiments, analyse data and publish results of the research.

Qualification requirements

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition is to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

• Master’s degree in physics or equivalent with specialization in superconductivity, materials science or solid-state physics.
• A background in economic modelling.
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English. Please see English requirements for applicants from outside of EU/ EEA countries
• Good communication and collaboration skills

Candidates without a Master’s degree have until 30 June, 2020 to complete the final exam.

Grade requirements:

The norm is as follows:

• The average grade point for courses included in the Bachelor’s degree must be C or better in the Norwegian educational system
• The average grade point for courses included in the Master’s degree must be B or better in the Norwegian educational system
• The Master’s thesis must have the grade B or better in the Norwegian educational system

Other desired qualifications include:

• Experience in working with cryogenic liquids, especially liquid hydrogen.
• Understanding of challenges of superconductivity-based liquid hydrogen economy.
• Knowledge of modern computer analysis techniques for calculating economic benefits.

For candidates who apply for a fourth year including teaching, good knowledge of Norwegian or another Scandinavian language is strongly preferred.

The purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree.

The fellowship requires admission to the PhD program at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The application to the PhD program must be submitted to the department no later than two months after taking up the position. For more information see:

http://www.uio.no/english/research/phd/

http://www.mn.uio.no/english/research/phd/

We offer

• Salary NOK 479 600 – 523 200 per annum depending on qualifications and seniority as PhD Research Fellow (position code 1017)
• Vibrant international academic environment
• Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement
• Career development programmes
• Oslo’s family-friendly surroundings with their rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

How to apply

The application must include

• Cover letter including a description of scientific interests and the motivation for applying for the position (max. 2 pages)
• CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work - scientific publications)
• Copies of the original Bachelor and Master’s degree diploma, transcripts of records and letters of recommendation
• Documentation of English proficiency if needed (please see admission criteria)
• List of publications and academic work that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
• Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)
• Applicants who are interested in teaching need to add to this application a description of their motivation for teaching.

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link “Apply for this job”. Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language). Note that applications with missing documents will not be considered further.

Applicants will normally be called in for an interview.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships at the University of Oslo.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

The University of Oslo aims to achieve a balanced gender composition in the workforce and to recruit people with ethnic minority backgrounds.

Contact information

• Pavlo Mikheenko, phone: +47 228 57471, email: pavlo.mikheenko@fys.uio.no

For technical questions regarding the application system, please contact HR Adviser Elin Thoresen, +47 22 85 71 96, e-mail: elin.thoresen@mn.uio.no

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