Associate Professor in in Physics with focus on nuclear instrumentation, analysis and methodology for nuclear disarmament - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament (AMC) was founded in 2021 on government initiatives to serve as an interdisciplinary national knowledge centre for research, education and outreach activities with the aim of contributing to a safer world. The centre comprises both non-technical and technical working groups with competences that include peace and conflict research, nuclear physics, artificial intelligence and political science.

As part of AMC, the Department of Physics and Astronomy, department of applied nuclear physics, provides a comprehensive research environment that is well equipped to deal with technical and physical aspects of nuclear disarmament. The research at the Division of Applied Nuclear Physics is based on the development of detection techniques and analytical methods where the focus is on current and future nuclear energy systems. In particular, research on nuclear safeguards, studies of fission mechanisms, studies of fusion plasmas and material research using fast ions.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is one of Uppsala University's largest with almost 400 employees, of which about 125 are doctoral students. The department conducts world-class research and education in both theoretical and experimental physics and has extensive collaboration with the outside world. The research is carried out at 10 research departments and concerns everything from the unimaginably small to the large in areas such as energy supply, climate development, new materials and the universe. This whole spectrum is also reflected in the department's courses and degree programmes. Around 2,500 students take courses at first and second cycle level at the department each year. Read more at www.physics.uu.se.

The Division of Applied Nuclear Physics, consisting of approx. 40 employees, is financed largely through national and international external financiers, authorities and the Swedish nuclear industry. The department is located at the Ångström Laboratory and constitutes a strong research environment in engineering and natural sciences at Uppsala University. The department has infrastructures such as computer clusters, nuclear physics laboratories and from 2022 the neutron irradiation facility NESSA, which will be one of northern Europe's most intense neutron sources intended for both research and educational purposes. The department also has access to the Tandem Laboratory at Uppsala University.

Description of subject area of the employment:
The lectorate is established within the Department of Physics and Astronomy and is placed at the Division of Applied Nuclear Physics. The technical aspects in the areas of non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament are important because they provide the technical means (approaches, concepts and tools) necessary to evaluate compliance with agreements and treaties. The development of technical aids also increases the likelihood that future negotiations on agreements and treaties will be successful.

The holder of the position is expected to be research leader for the technical and physical aspects of nuclear disarmament at UU and build a new research group with this focus, as well as in harmony and collaboration with existing research groups at the department.

The holder of the position is also expected to be the leader of the technical operations of AMC and to interact with the other working groups within AMC as well as with international experts and partners.

The main research area is the development of strategies and means to support the global nuclear disarmament process. The detection of ionizing radiation is central in this context and therefore research is expected to include the development of non-destructive measurement and analysis methods. Furthermore, the holder of the position is expected to formulate specific research fields with regard to collaboration with the research at the department and within AMC.

Duties:

• Teaching, research and administration. Teaching includes course responsibility and course administration, as well as supervision of doctoral students, degree and project work. The position includes leading and developing the department's operations within AMC and includes administrative tasks such as budget planning and the development of research and education strategies in cooperation with the department's management team.
• Follow developments within the subject area and the development of society in general that is important for the work at the university.
• The position also includes developing a research environment attractive to external financiers and actively seeking and applying for external funding. This also includes initiating and participating in collaboration, information and knowledge dissemination to the surrounding society around the department's activities

Qualifications Required:

• PhD in physics, nuclear engineering or equivalent scientific competence.
• Research Expertise and Teaching Expertise. It is necessary that the pedagogical skills, the research expertise and the professional skills are relevant to the content of the employment and the tasks that will be included in the employment.
• Applicants must have completed teacher training of relevance to operations at the University, comprising ten weeks, or have acquired the equivalent knowledge. If special circumstances apply, this training for teachers in higher education may be completed during the first two years of employment.
• Documented ability to teach in Swedish or English is a requirement unless special reasons prevail. The holder is expected to be able to teach in Swedish within two years.
• Personal capabilities necessary to carry out fully the duties of the appointment.

Assessment Criteria/Ranking of applicants that fulfil the above-mentioned qualifications required

The ranking of eligible applicants will be based primarily on research and teaching expertise, which will be given equal weight.

Research Expertise comprises research merits. In addition to academic merits, research merits from other activities, including technology development, may also be taken into account including research merits obtained outside the academy, which includes for example technology development and innovation ability. In assessing research expertise research quality must be the prime consideration. The scope of research, primarily in regard to depth and breadth, must also be afforded consideration. In assessing research expertise special weight will be attached to research merits in in the technical and physical aspects of nuclear disarmament. Great emphasis will be placed on experience in instrument development and experience with various simulation tools. Experience in advanced analytical methods, e.g. machine learning and artificial intelligence are given importance.

Furthermore, consideration must be given to the capacity to plan, initiate, lead, and develop research and education in the third cycle, the ability to acquire funding for research in competition, as well as the demonstrated capacity to interact with others both within academia and in the wider community.

Teaching Expertise comprises educational and teaching qualifications. This expertise can have been achieved outside the academy through supervision, internal training, mentoring programs, etc. In assessing teaching expertise teaching quality must be the prime consideration. The scope of teaching experience, in terms of both breadth and depth, must also be afforded consideration. In assessing teaching expertise special weight will be attached to merits on experience of teaching at both basic and advanced levels as well as experience in developing, planning and implementing entire courses in physics. Experience of lifelong learning is given importance.

Furthermore, consideration must be given to the capacity to plan, initiate, lead, and develop teaching and instruction, as well as the ability to connect research to teaching in respect to research in the subject at hand, subject didactics, as well as teaching and learning in higher education. The ability to interact concerning issues of teaching and learning in higher education with actors inside and outside the University is also included in teaching expertise.

Management Expertise is important and will be afforded consideration

Collaboration Expertise is important and will be afforded consideration. Experience of cooperating/cooperating with international actors in disarmament and non-proliferation is thus a merit.

All merits must be documented in a manner that makes it possible to assess both quality and scope.

In filling this position the university aims to appoint the applicant who, following a qualitative holistic assessment of her/his competence and expertise, is judged to have the best potential to carry out and develop the relevant duties and to help advance operations.

Further information
An applicant who is offered an employment as Associate Professor can be promoted to Professor if he/she has applied for this, is qualified for such a post, and moreover has been deemed suitable on the basis of the specific criteria established by the faculty board.

In an overall assessment of the applicant’s qualifications, parental leave, part-time work relating to care of children, union assignments, military service, or the like are to be regarded as work experience.

University appointment regulations

Faculty appointment regulations

Instructions for application

For further information about the position, please contact Adm. head of division, Dr. Michael Österlund, e-mail: michael.osterlund@physics.uu.se; Professor Stephan Pomp, e-mail: stephan.pomp@physics.uu.se

Type of position: Permanent full-time position, probationary period may be applied.

Salary: Individually negotiated salary.

Number of positions: 1

Starting date: 01-10-2022 or as otherwise agreed

Working hours: 100%

Town: Uppsala

Please submit your application by 29 July 2022, UFV-PA 2022/1211.

In the event of any disagreement between the English and the Swedish versions of this announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.

If you are an international candidate, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at www.uu.se/joinus.