PhD student in petrology

PhD student in petrology
Are you interested in working with mineralogical and petrological protocols, with the support of competent and friendly colleagues in an international environment? Are you looking for an employer that invests in sustainable employeeship and offers safe, favourable working conditions? We welcome you to apply for a PhD position in petrology at Uppsala University.

The Department of Earth Sciences at Uppsala University is Sweden's largest and most versatile department of its kind with approximately 280 employees. The activities are interdisciplinary and combine natural science and technology with social science. The Department has research programs in air, water and landscape science; geophysics; natural resources and sustainable development; petrology, mineralogy and tectonics; paleobiology, and wind energy. Investigating the history of Earth increases the knowledge of how the planet has developed over time and contribute to achieve a sustainable development.

The department coordinates a nationwide research centre for the exploration of critical raw materials (for 2024-2029), supported by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF) and global players in this field. While the focus will be on new solutions covering a wide range of topics and scales from geology, geophysics, geochemistry, mineral economy, drilling, tech-type solutions for effective exploration, to nanotech for geometallurgical applications, there are also aspects related to ESGs (environmental, social and governance). The centre has a number of core partners from Stockholm University, Lund University and University of Gothenburg as well as Tyréns, Epiroc, Smarkand2015, Amkvo, BitSim, Nordic Iron Ore, Eurobattery Minerals and First Quantum Minerals and is supported by Nordic Geological Surveys and several global exploration and mining companies. The doctoral position will be placed within the Mineralogy, Petrology and Tectonics program of the Department.

Duties
The PhD candidate will conduct research within a series of planned projects applying innovative work methods conducted both within and outside Sweden, sponsored by a number of industry and research funding organizations (e.g., the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, SSF) and within the recently established Smart Exploration Research Center for sustainable and responsible exploration of critical raw materials. While the topic of the PhD is broad, we are looking for candidates with an interest in petrological investigations of mineralized systems, mineralogy of mine waste and tailings, and lithospheric characteristics of ore forming processes. The PhD candidate will work within a larger research team, including experts from different institutions and companies partnered in the Research Center. A major component of the work will be on mineralogical and petrological protocols from methodological to experimental approaches and will include joint interpretations with other geological and geophysical data.

Requirements
To meet the entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must

• hold a Master’s (second-cycle) degree in geology, mineralogy, petrology, Earth sciences, or
• have completed at least 240 credits in higher education, with at least 60 credits at Master’s level including an independent project worth at least 15 credits, or
• have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way.

• be able to demonstrate excellent communication skills in English as well as excellent academic records;

• have the personal capabilities necessary to carry out fully the duties of the appointment.

Additional qualifications
Experience in acquiring and analysing geochemical data, practical knowledge with electron probe microanalyzer, Raman spectroscopy, and phase equilibrium modeling are important and will be considered a merit. A driving license is a merit as this may be needed for field campaigns.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date 2025-01-01 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala

For further information about the position, please contact: Prof. Jaroslaw Majka, +46 18-471 25 51, jaroslaw.majka@geo.uu.se 

Please submit your application by 5 December 2024, UFV-PA 2024/3768.

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