All current vacancies and studentships

The Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology is seeking to appoint a full-time Catering Assistant (Term Time only) to help deliver catering services at the Department's building on the West Cambridge Site.

The postholder will undertake general catering duties within the department and tea room, such as preparing and serving food/hot drinks, and ensure food hygiene regulations are met. They will be responsible for cash handling, using the till, handling card payments and assist with cashing up the till as required. They might be asked to serve at Department events and restocking the counters and fridges as required.

We are looking for a reliable, friendly and professional individual with great customer service skills and a high level of attention to details. Good communication skills are essential, as well as the ability to work as part of a team and on your own. The postholder will have good organisational skills and the ability to work well under pressure.

Experience in catering is desirable, but full training will be given.

Once an offer of employment has been accepted, the successful candidate will be required to undergo a health assessment.

We particularly welcome applications from women and /or candidates from a BME background for this vacancy as they are currently under-represented at this level in our department.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Informal enquiries are welcomed and should be directed to Mr Vito Candela, HR Administrator, at hr@ceb.cam.ac.uk.

Applications closing dates 19th of August 2024.

Please quote reference NQ42531 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

A position is open for a Postdoctoral Research Assistant/Associate as part of an ERC awarded project funded by UKIR at the University of Cambridge in the group Catalysis and Process Integration group led Dr Laura Torrente (www.capi.ceb.cam.ac.uk).

The successful candidate will have a strong background in sorption processes (i.e. absorption or adsorption), kinetic studies and characterization of materials, including a PhD in a relevant area. Knowledge of process design as well as the design, commissioning and use of flow systems will be advantageous.

The overall aim of the project is the development of novel green ammonia processes powered by renewable energy and able to cope with its intermittency nature. The position will focus on the study of absorption for the separation of ammonia at relatively low partial pressures. The research will focus on the mechanism and kinetics of ammonia on metal halides as well as their decomposition.

The ability to work both as part of a team and independently, coupled with excellent communication, organisational and problem-solving skills are required. The duties / responsibilities of this post include developing and driving research objectives, writing up work for presentation and publication, collaborating with academic and industrial partners, assisting in the supervision of student research projects, and delivering seminars and occasional talks as outlined on the Further Information document.

Applicants should provide a CV, including contact details of three referees and a covering letter describing their suitability for the role. For further information contact Prof Laura Torrente (lt416@cam.ac.uk)

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 2 years in the first instance.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Informal enquiries are welcomed and should be directed to Mr Vito Candela, HR Administrator, at hr@ceb.cam.ac.uk.

Applications closing dates 20th of August 2024

Please quote reference NQ42548 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

A position is open for a Postdoctoral Research Associate/Assistant as part of an ERC awarded project funded by UKIR at the University of Cambridge in the group Catalysis and Process Integration group led Dr Laura Torrente (www.capi.ceb.cam.ac.uk).

The successful candidate will have a strong background in the synthesis and characterisation of heterogeneous catalysts and/or expertise in chemical reaction engineering, including a PhD in a relevant area. Experience in inorganic chemistry, nitrogen activation and chemical looping would be advantageous.

The aim of the project is the development of catalysts for the synthesis of green ammonia with a focus on the mechanisms of nitrogen activation and the use of readily available materials. The research will involve the investigation of novel ammonia synthesis routes, including chemical looping systems.

The ability to work both as part of a team and independently, coupled with excellent communication, organisational and problem-solving skills are required. The duties / responsibilities of this post include developing and driving research objectives, writing up work for presentation and publication, collaborating with academic and industrial partners, assisting in the supervision of student research projects, and delivering seminars and occasional talks as outlined on the Further Information document.

Applicants should provide a CV, including contact details of three referees and a covering letter describing their suitability for the role. For further information contact Prof Laura Torrente (lt416@cam.ac.uk)

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 2 years in the first instance.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Informal enquiries are welcomed and should be directed to Mr Vito Candela, HR Administrator, at hr@ceb.cam.ac.uk.

Applications closing dates 20th of August 2024

Please quote reference NQ42553 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

A fully funded PhD studentship is available under the supervision of Prof Alex Routh, with a start date of 1 January 2025. Funding will cover the student's stipend and tuition fees at the UK rate. Non-UK applicants will be considered only if they can fund the overseas fees differential or if they are awarded a suitable external scholarship. (Please note that there are no additional funds available via the University for which applicants can apply.)

Friction consumes large amounts of energy. When dissipated in car brakes this is good, but residual friction in an engine, wind turbine or boat hull leads to large losses. Much of our knowledge around friction comes from the automotive industry, where fuel economy shows an inverse relationship with friction. Hence there have been a number of methods employed to reduce friction in engines including organic friction modifiers. These oil additives are known to reduce friction and the question is why? The overall aim of this collaborative project between the University of Cambridge and Infineum is to build on our understanding of how friction modifiers function (in solution and at the solid/ liquid interface). We have built a molecular understanding and now need to relate this to the resultant friction.

Internal combustion engines are being phased out and the industrial sponsor is keen to apply their leading knowledge to new business areas, wherever moving contact points exist. The initial application will be wind turbines but the project aims to build generic understanding that can be applied across sectors.

Details of the Programme: We have designed and built a unique tribometer which fits into neutron and x-ray reflectometers. This allows us to probe the conformation of organic molecules at moving metal interfaces. Linking the measurable structural changes with inline friction determination will allow linkages to be made between structure and friction. We will link our experimental observations with modelling of the flow patterns over the interface.

The project will involve close collaboration with the Chemistry Department at Edinburgh University, where molecular dynamic simulations of similar systems are being performed. We will make extensive use of neutron beamlines at the Rutherford lab (Oxfordshire), ILL (Grenoble) and NIST (Washington, DC).

References: Alexander J. Armstrong, Thomas M. McCoy, Rebecca J. L. Welbourn, Robert Barker, Jonathan Rawle, Beatrice Cattoz, Peter J. Dowding, and Alexander F. Routh, Towards a high-shear neutron and X-ray reflectometry environment for the study of surface-active materials at solid-liquid interfaces, Scientific Reports 11:9713 2021

Alexander J. Armstrong, Rui F. G. Apostolo, Thomas M. McCoy, Finian J. Allen, Rebecca J. L. Welbourn, James Doutch, Beatrice N. Cattoz, Peter J. Dowding, Alexander F. Routh, and Philip J. Camp, Experimental and Simulation Study of Self-Assembly and Surface Adsorption of Glycerol Monooleate in n-Dodecane onto Iron Oxide. Nanoscale 16: 1952-1970 2024.

Applicants should have a First Class (or high Upper Second Class) mark in all previous degrees in a relevant discipline such as chemical engineering, chemical technology, mechanical engineering, chemistry, or a related subject. Those whose qualifications were completed outside the UK should check if they qualify before applying: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/international/international-qualifications

For full information on entry requirements and how to apply, please see: https://www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/47445/

Please quote reference NQ42513 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

A fully funded PhD studentship is available under the supervision of Dr Ewa Marek, with a start date of 1 January 2025. Funding will cover the student's stipend and tuition fees at the UK rate. Non-UK applicants will be considered only if they can fund the overseas fees differential or if they are awarded a suitable scholarship. (Please note that there are no additional funds available via the University for which applicants can apply.)

Background: The EU has set a highly ambitious goal to increase the share of SAFs in the aviation industry from 2% in 2025 to 64% by 2050. Microalgae can play a critical role in meeting this fuel target, but the commercialisation of biofuels from microalgae has been hampered by systemic and technological limitations. This PhD will address the current problems in the hydrogenation of algal lipids. The work will be embedded and supported by the EU/UKRI-funded project SusAlgaeFuel. Besides producing SAFs, SusAlgaeFuel aims to develop a range of innovative approaches based on waste treatment, digital sensors, cascading biorefinery, and multifunctional catalysts to enable a more sustainable and cost-competitive production of microalgae aviation fuels. Thus, this PhD is a perfect opportunity to participate in a multifaceted research project, collaborating with 8 project partners.

Objectives: The conversion pathways for algae lipids to HEFA-SPK will be investigated experimentally, developing a novel, algae-specific bifunctional catalyst for hydrogenation reactions. The overarching ambition of this project is to characterise the algae lipid-to-HEFA conversion process and understand the catalytic mechanisms that promote the production of SPK-desired C9-C15 alkanes from algal feedstocks. This will be achieved by analysing high-granularity experimental data obtained for varied feedstock composition/catalyst/support combinations in a single- and two-step process approach. The innovative nature of this research promises to make a significant impact in the field of sustainable aviation fuels.

The experimental work will require building new experimental facilities and modernising our existing bench-top micro-reactors (Autoclave Engineers BTRS and Carberry Spinning Basket), followed by extensive experimental campaigns. The composition of the collected SPK samples will be assessed with GC and LC/MS, with results assessed using Machine Learning- algorithms for future predictions and process optimisations. Results from small-scale experiments will identify the best process parameters and catalysts for HEFA-SPK from the algal feedstock. The final part of this work will focus on scaling up the catalytic process to a lab pilot, producing 1 kg of HEFA-SAF.

Requirements: Applicants should have a First Class (or high Upper Second Class) mark in all previous degrees in a relevant discipline such as chemical engineering, chemical technology, mechanical engineering, chemistry, or a related subject. Those whose qualifications were completed outside the UK should check if they qualify before applying: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/international/international-qualifications Applicants with relevant research experience, gained through Master's study or while working, are strongly encouraged to apply.

Interested applicants must submit a formal application for admission with the supporting documents, indicating Dr Ewa Marek as the prospective supervisor and note the vacancy reference number, NQ42394, in the research proposal field. For further information about the full entry requirements, application process, and a link to the on-line application please see: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/egcepdcng

We are unable to consider late or incomplete applications for this studentship, so applicants should ensure that they apply in good time for references to be provided. Please note that the applicant portal will close after 31 July, and you will not be able to apply for this studentship. Applicants are encouraged to apply well ahead of the deadline, as staff may not be able to address last minute queries/assist with problems.

Informal enquiries can be addressed to Dr Ewa Marek, ejm94@cam.ac.uk

Please quote reference NQ42394 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

The Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology is seeking to recruit a dedicated, versatile and proactive Finance Co-ordinator. This is an exciting position which will support the Finance Manager in providing specialist financial administration, reporting and grant-costing services to research and academic staff across the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology.

The ideal candidate will have relevant practical experience of finance planning and analysis work within an Accounts setting. You will have the ability to prioritise work, maintain accuracy, excellent analytical skills, organisation skills and attention to detail and work to tight deadlines. You will have excellent Accounting skills including competence in IT packages such as Word, Excel and Outlook.

You will be expected to: Manage and monitor staff time requirements for research grants via timesheets and trackers, ensuring regular completion, which complies with the funder's terms and conditions.

Raise complex research grant applications via the University's costing tool.

Carry out Accounts Payable and purchasing duties including approval of supplier invoices, receiving requisitions from staff and students and placing orders on iProcurement.

Carry out Accounts Receivable duties including raising any customer invoices, credit notes and resolving queries Month end procedures.

Process student and non-staff expense claims.

Benefits of working at University of Cambridge include: Competitive rates of pay with automatic service-related pay progression and annual cost of living increases;

Generous annual leave allowance of 36 days paid leave inclusive of bank holidays for full time employees, pro rata'd for part time employees;

Generous maternity, adoption and shared parental leave entitlement and other family friendly schemes (e.g. workplace nurseries and salary exchange schemes for childcare);

An auto-enrolment pension scheme, with a generous employer contribution; Travel benefits and retail discounts at over 2,000 local and national stores.

The closing date for applications is Friday 2nd of August 2024. Interviews will take place soon after.

Informal enquiries can be directed to Vito Candela (HR Administrator) at email: hr@ceb.cam.ac.uk

Once an offer of employment has been accepted, the successful candidate will be required to undergo a health assessment.

We welcome applications from individuals who wish to be considered for part-time working or other flexible/hybrid working arrangements.

We welcome applications from individuals who wish to be considered for part-time working or other flexible working arrangements.

We particularly welcome applications from women and /or candidates from a BME background for this vacancy as they are currently under-represented at this level in our department/institution/Faculty/School/University.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Informal enquiries are welcomed and should be directed to Mr Vito Candela, HR Administrator, at hr@ceb.cam.ac.uk.

Applications closing dates 2nd of August 2024

Please quote reference NQ42234 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.