Postdoctoral position in Biomedical Engineering with a focus on Artificial Intelligence for Additive Manufacturing - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Full-time temporary position for two years starting as soon as possible or as agreed upon

BioMaterial Systems (BmS) is a research group in the Division of Biomedical Engineering at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Uppsala University. The focus of the group is on the use of additive manufacturing (AM, or 3D-printing) to develop new biomaterials and implant designs. There are currently approximately 20 people in the research group. More information on the profile of the research group can be found at:

(http://www.materialvetenskap.uu.se/bms/).

The position includes work within AM4Life, which is a VINNOVA Competence Centre that gathers 25 partners in academia, industry and the public sector to support competence development in additive manufacturing for the life sciences. The centre is led by BmS group leader Prof. Persson and runs between 2020-2025 in a first instance, and engages experts within academia and industry with a passion for 3D-printing with the ultimate goal of developing new technologies to improve people’s lives. https://www3.uu.se/en/research/am4life

Project description: Additive manufacturing, or 3D-printing, is a disruptive technology enabling the manufacturing of complex structures as well as new material combinations and tailored material microstructures. However, process parameter development to enable printing of new materials with the desired properties may be extremely costly, time- and material consuming. To speed up the development, as well as to achieve a better understanding of the relationship between process parameters and the resulting material microstructure and hence its macroscopic properties, this project will focus on the use of advanced statistical models and machine learning for the additive manufacturing process. The methods will be applied to experimental data derived from powder bed fusion with laser beam (PBF-LB) of biodegradable alloys (Mg- and Zn-based), as these are particularly challenging to process and the microstructures achieved can be very complex. These alloys are promising biomaterials for bone-healing implants due to their ability to be replaced by bone tissue while degrading within the human body. However, for degradable alloys, there is limited knowledge of how to manufacture these materials using additive manufacturing.

Work duties: The work duties within this interdisciplinary research project include conducting high-quality research, in collaboration with other team members, from the design and implementation of methods to analyze existing and new experimental data derived from powder bed fusion with laser beam (PBF-LB) of biodegradable alloys, to results analysis and finally publication of the work. The work involves, among other things, to choose, adapt and implement numerical models to predict a printed material’s properties as well as to develop processing parameters for additive manufacturing of improved materials. The focus will be on the numerical modelling part of the project, and experimental testing will be done with colleagues. The work also includes analyzing the results and, through scientific articles and presentations at international conferences, spread the new knowledge.

The position may include some supervision of students in undergraduate and postgraduate education.

Qualification requirements:

To qualify for an employment as a postdoc, you must have a PhD degree, or equivalent. The degree needs to be obtained by the time of the decision of employment. Those who have obtained a PhD degree three years prior to the application deadline are primarily considered for the employment. The starting point of the three-year frame period is the application deadline. Due to special circumstances, the degree may have been obtained earlier. The three-year period can be extended due to circumstances such as sick leave, parental leave, duties in labour unions, etc.

For this position, a PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Engineering Physics, Computational Engineering, Machine learning, Control engineering, Signal processing, Computational statistics, or related fields is required. We require documented knowledge and a strong interest in numerical modelling and materials science.

We require very good written and oral skills in English as well as very good scientific writing skills.

We require the ability to work in a focused and structured manner within given time frames, both individually and in a team, and to be able to collaborate in an interdisciplinary environment with colleagues both within and outside the department.

Additional qualifications: Documented knowledge and experience of the application of artificial intelligence to materials science and/or metallurgical processes is a very good merit. Documented knowledge and experience in additive manufacturing of metals and/or modelling of the same is also considered a very good merit, in particular using powder bed fusion methods. Documented knowledge and experience in image analysis is a good merit. Experience in obtaining external research grants is a very good merit.

When assessing applications, special emphasis will be placed on applicants' documented experience of publishing scientific work in high-quality journals and giving presentations at scientific meetings.  

Application procedure: 

The application shall include:

• Cover letter including a short description of yourself and why you are suitable for the position (max 2 pages)
• CV (max 2 pages)
• List of publications
• Copies of 3 publications of particular relevance
• Copy of your PhD and MSc degree, grades and other merits of relevance. Translations into English or Swedish if the original documents have not been issued in any of these languages.
• Name and contact information to at least two reference persons (e-mail address and phone no.).

The application shall be written in English.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position of 2 years according to central collective agreement. Full time position. Starting date as soon as possible or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala.

For further information about the position please contact: Prof. Cecilia Persson, cecilia.persson@angstrom.uu.se , or Assoc. Prof. Jonas Lindh, jonas.lindh@angstrom.uu.se

Please submit your application by February 7th, 2024, UFV-PA 2023/4470

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