15 PhD POSITIONS within the HORIZON / Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. MSCA Doctoral Networks “Human footprint on water from remote cold areas to the tropical belt. INtegrated Approach TO secure water QUAlity by exploiting Sustainable processes” (IN2AQUAS)

A call for 15 PhD positions is open within the context of the recently granted MSCA Doctoral Network (DN/JD) project “Human footprint on water from remote cold areas to the tropical belt. INtegrated Approach TO secure water QUAlity by exploiting Sustainable processes'' (IN2AQUAS), inside a wide consortium involving 10-degree awarding universities, 4 national research centers, 1 associated university, 4 companies and a highly qualified mindfulness-in-the-workplace facilitator. Collaboration within the network is strongly encouraged.

The 15 PhD positions as Doctorate Candidates (DC1 to DC15) are open to applicants of all nationalities, with the limitation that at the time of recruitment, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work and/or studies) in the country of enrolment for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the date of enrolment. The applicants must not have been awarded a doctoral degree at the time of recruitment.

THE SCIENTIFIC AND FORMATIVE CHALLENGE OF THE PROJECT

IN2AQUAS will train 15 doctoral candidates (DCs) for facing the complex challenge of envisaging the pollutant impact on the environment and of tailoring the proper treatments for the production of safe and clean water -also in extreme environments- using green approaches through high quality research, training, management and innovation. This goal will be attained via a structured training-through-research programme, consisting of original individual research projects and education on technical and transferable skills. Experts from 10-degree awarding universities, 4 national research centers, 1 associated university, 4 companies and a highly qualified mindfulness-in-the-workplace facilitator will join forces to facilitate the successful training programme that will allow DCs to be awarded with a double doctoral degree in two different countries. These aims will be pursued by applying different actions, which include the study and development of innovative technologies against the water pollution, paying attention not only to the sustainability of the water management systems (in a circular economy vision), but also to the reuse of water, the recovery of nutrients and the green synthesis of functional materials. The developed technologies will be tailored to variegated scenarios with particular emphasis to three case studies: aquaculture, arid areas and (remote) cold areas. The overall research goals will imply three main steps: 1) the assessment of water quality and the prediction of its response toward the increased environmental stresses; 2) restore water quality while approaching the zero waste discharge and 3) scale up and process integration. The multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and intersectoral network will forge creative entrepreneurial and innovative scientists, who will be equipped with the skills, tools, insights and flexibility that enable them to be the next generation of Urban Water System management innovators.

The scientific activities are organized in three WPs:

• WP2: Water comprehensive analysis and its response to stresses (DCs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12 and 15)
• WP3: New materials developed using green approaches (DCs 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11 and 13)
• WP4: Green water treatment technologies and process integration (DCs 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 14 and 15)

AVAILABLE PHD POSITIONS

We have 15 DC positions available, with the following envisaged research projects:

1. DC1: Use of a passive sampling method coupled with non-target analyses and bioassays to characterize water samples (INERIS, Verneuil-en-Halatte, France) Supervisor: Dr. A. Assoumani;
2. DC2: Assessment of CECs photo-fate and removal by applying an integrated approach (University of Torino, Torino, Italy) Supervisor: Prof. P. Calza;
3. DC3: Non-target and target analyses by HPLC-HRMS and CECs prioritization to assess water quality in extreme conditions and the effect of treatment procedures (University of Piemonte Orientale, Alessandria, Italy) Supervisor: Prof. E. Robotti;
4. DC4: Understanding anthropogenic contamination dispersion in extreme environments (IFE - Institute for Energy Technology, Kjeller, Norway) Supervisor: Dr. L. Ferrando-Climent;
5. DC5: Development of green analytical chemistry methods and materials for the determination of contaminants and their removal (University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece) Supervisor: Prof. V. Sakkas;
6. DC6: Vacuum UV and UV-C based Advanced Oxidation Processes for Water Treatment and Reuse (Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark) Supervisor: Prof. P. Roslev;
7. DC7: Use of sewage sludge biochar and derived products for the removal of wastewater contaminants, (University of Clermont-Auvergne IMT, Clermont-Ferrand, France) Supervisor: Prof. M. Sleiman;
8. DC8: Removal of off-flavour compounds from RAS water by use of UV-AOP (ULTRAAQUA, Aalborg, Denmark) Supervisor: Dr. P. Vittrup Christensen;
9. DC9: Valorisation of wastes by isolating humic-like substances with application in wastewater processes (Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Alcoy, Spain) Supervisor: Prof. A. Arques;
10. DC10: New materials developed using green approaches (University of Torino, Torino, Italy) Supervisor: Prof. M.C. Paganini;
11. DC11: Synthesis, characterization and evaluation of new supported photocatalytic materials for water decontamination/disinfection (Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain) Supervisor: Prof. M. Marin;
12. DC12: Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to address the environmental sustainability of new materials developed and used to treat waste water, at laboratory and pilot scale (University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy) Supervisor: Prof. F. Passarini;
13. DC13: Assessment of waterborne pathogens & antibiotic resistant phenomenon (bacteria and genes) in wastewater: monitoring, inactivation, degradation kinetics & risk assessment (CIEMAT, Plataforma Solar de Almeria, Almeria, Spain) Supervisor: Dr. M. I. Polo Lopez;
14. DC14: Development and upscaling of a 2D photocatalytic membranes for Zero Liquid Discharge (Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark) Supervisor: Prof. V. Boffa;
15. DC15: Assessment and technology integration of new photocatalytic (UF/NF) membranes with Advanced Oxidation Processes for simultaneously eliminate contaminants and pathogens from different target wastewaters (CIEMAT, Plataforma Solar de Almeria, Almeria, Spain) Supervisor: Dr. S. Malato Rodriguez.

 More information on these individual projects can be found at the following link:

https://dott-scm.campusnet.unito.it/do/home.pl/View?doc=PROJECT_IN2AQUAS.html.

DURATION

The positions are offered full-time for 3 years (36 months)

The starting date of the contract is negotiable but ideally it would be 1^st January 2024.