Associate Professor in Physics with specialization in Applied Nuclear Physics - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Uppsala University’s tenure track system grants associate professors the possibility to be assessed for promotion to the position as professor. The university provides support in various areas, such as scientific and educational development, leadership development as well as patent and innovation support.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is one of Uppsala University's largest, with nearly 400 employees, including about 125 doctoral students. The department conducts world-class research and education in theoretical and experimental physics and extensively collaborates with the outside world. The research is carried out at ten research divisions and concerns everything from the unimaginably small to the large in areas such as energy supply, climate change, new materials, and the universe. The department's courses and educational programs also reflect this entire spectrum. Around 2500 students study undergraduate and graduate-level courses at the department every year. Read more at www.physics.uu.se.

Description of subject area of the employment
The position is located in the Division of Applied Nuclear Physics at the Department of Physics and Astronomy and will be attached to one of the division's well-established groups with research activities in experimental fusion plasma physics with a focus on neutron diagnostics; experimental nuclear data and nuclear data evaluation; as well as fuel diagnostics and technical aspects of nuclear non-proliferation and safeguards.

More information on the relevant research activities can be found at https://www.physics.uu.se/research/applied-nuclear-physics/groups/ under the headings Nuclear Data, Nuclear Fuel Diagnostics and Safeguards, and Fusion Diagnostics.

The research activities are conducted in a number of national and international networks and collaborations. The experimental part is linked to leading international existing and planned research facilities. Examples include ITER, GANIL-NFS, GSI-FRS, MYRRHA and CERN-n_TOF. The division has national and international collaborations within the framework of Euratom and EUROfusion and with, for example, the IAEA, PSI, SSM, SKB and the Swedish and Finnish nuclear industry.

The department conducts education at all levels, with a central activity being the teaching and developing education within the Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering program and contract education for the Swedish nuclear industry. The employee will teach in, e.g., one or more of the areas of reactor physics and future reactor systems, thermal hydraulics, radiation physics, and radiation protection.

We are looking for a person who fits well into the existing research and education activities and can contribute to successfully conducting and developing them in one or more of the mentioned research areas.

Duties 

• Teaching, research, and administration. Teaching includes course responsibility and course administration, as well as supervision of doctoral and undergraduate students. A particularly important task is to conduct teaching in Swedish in the Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering program and in contract education targeting the nuclear industry. Research should be conducted in at least one of the following areas: experimental fusion plasma physics, including instrumentation, experimental nuclear data and nuclear data evaluation, fuel diagnostics, and technical aspects of nuclear non-proliferation and safeguards.
• Follow developments within the subject area and the development of society in general that is important for the work at the university.
• The position may involve management tasks within the department, institution and/or university.
• The position also includes developing an attractive research environment and actively seeking and applying for external funding. It also includes initiating and participating in collaboration, information and knowledge dissemination to the surrounding community about the group's, division's, and department's activities.

Qualifications Required

• PhD in physics 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 and English is a requirement.
• Personal capabilities necessary to carry out fully the duties of the appointment.

Assessment Criteria/Ranking of applicants that fulfill 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 the scientific excellence, particular attention will be paid to research merits in one or more of the following areas: experimental fusion plasma physics with a focus on neutron diagnostics; experimental nuclear data and nuclear data evaluation; or fuel diagnostics, nuclear non-proliferation, and safeguards. Common denominators include instrument development, modeling and simulation, advanced analytical methods, and machine learning. In fusion plasma physics with neutron diagnostics, competence to develop instrumentation and data analysis methods and to develop, characterize, and model data from neutron diagnostics for fusion experiments is meritorious. In nuclear data research, competence in experimental studies of the fission process and neutron-induced light ion production or competence in method development for nuclear data evaluation and uncertainty quantification is meritorious. Competence in modeling measurements, analysis, and evaluation of nuclear and radioactive materials is meritorious in the area of fuel diagnostics, non-proliferation, and safeguards.

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. When assessing the pedagogical skills, particular emphasis will be placed on the experience of teaching physics and nuclear technology at both basic and advanced levels, as well as on the ability to be responsible for and carry out teaching of entire courses. Great importance is attached to experience in the teaching towards industry and authorities, and society in general.

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.

Administrative Expertise is important for the employment and will be given consideration.

Collaboration Expertise is important and will be given high consideration.

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
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

About the employment
Permanent position, probationary period may be applied. Scope of employment 100%. Starting date as agreed. Placement: Uppsala

For further information about the position, please contact: Head of Division, Associate Professor Henrik Sjöstrand, henrik.sjostrand@physics.uu.se or Head of research program, Professor Stephan Pomp, stephan.pomp@physics.uu.se.

Please submit your application by 22 January 2024, UFV-PA 2023/3961.

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