Job Information
- Organisation/Company
- KU Leuven
- Research Field
- Medical sciences
- Researcher Profile
- First Stage Researcher (R1)
- Country
- Belgium
- Application Deadline
- Type of Contract
- Temporary
- Job Status
- Full-time
- Hours Per Week
- 38 hours/week
- Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?
- Not funded by an EU programme
- Reference Number
- BAP-2024-76
- Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?
- No
Offer Description
Unlike for Newtonian fluids (water, honey), yield stress fluids such as tomato ketchup and toothpaste keep their shape when a small stress is applied. It is only when a sufficiently high stress is applied that these systems yield and begin to flow. Yield stress fluids are divided into two categories. For colloidal glasses (toothpaste), the densely distributed building blocks obstruct motion. For colloidal gels (yogurt), the building blocks form open percolated structures that resist stress. While the yield stress in glasses is linked to the volume fraction of particles, the yielding in colloidal gels is linked to the structure and strength of the interactions. Understanding the yielding of gels is particularly difficult as it is based on a few, localized events that are difficult to trace. The main goal of this research proposal is to find a connection between microscopic precursors and macroscopic yielding, which so far has not been achieved, even for model systems. A percolated network of red blood cells (RBCs), which forms seconds after cessation of flow with clear medical implications, provides an ideal model system to study the influence of structure and interactions on yielding of colloidal gels. Using a system of spherical linkers and RBCs, we can directly introduce pre-programmed yield points to separately vary key parameters via simultaneous measurements of the structure and mechanical response.
Requirements
- Research Field
- Medical sciences
- Education Level
- Master Degree or equivalent
- Languages
- ENGLISH
- Level
- Good
- Languages
- DUTCH
- Level
- Basic
Additional Information
- We offer a full-time doctoral position for 1 year. After a positive evaluation, the contract can be extended (2 years in total).
- Excellent guidance by our young, dynamic and multidisciplinary team.
- State of the art research infrastructure.
- A challenging job in a young, dynamic environment
- High level scientific training at a top-ranked university
- Remuneration according to the KU Leuven salary scales: https://www.kuleuven.be/english/research/associatienet/phd
Are you an energetic person, able to both think critically and creatively in scientific terms while also being effective at resolving technical challenges? Are you keen on working at the crossroads of several disciplines (from chemical engineering to biomedicine)? Then you may be the perfect scientist to join our team.
The ideal candidate will possess the following skill set:
- Candidates should have a strong experimental and theoretical background in suspensions and rheology.
- On-hands experience in particle networks and gels. Familiarity with analytical techniques for experimental characterization of particle assemblies.
- Candidates should have recently obtained a PhD in Chemical Engineering, Bio-Engineering, Materials Science, or related fields with outstanding grades.
- Language skills: ENGLISH: Excellent; DUTCH: of advantage for the interaction within the University, however not required.
- Candidates have to be hard working, enthusiastic and intelligent with a strong interest in understanding the fundamentals of materials behavior, as well as its implications for engineering applications.
- You have a talent for conceiving advanced experimental set-ups and can realize them in a target-oriented manner.
For more information please contact Prof. dr. Erin Koos, tel.: +32 16 37 63 47, mail: erin.koos@kuleuven.be or Prof. dr. Pavlik Lettinga, tel.: +32 16 32 25 70, mail: pavlik.lettinga@kuleuven.be.
You can apply for this job no later than 22/02/2024 via the online application tool
Work Location(s)
- Number of offers available
- 1
- Company/Institute
- KU Leuven
- Country
- Belgium
- State/Province
- Vlaams Brabant
- City
- Leuven
- Postal Code
- 3000
- Street
- Leuven
- Geofield
Where to apply
- Website
Contact
- State/Province
- Leuven
- City
- Vlaams Brabant
- Street
- Leuven
- Postal Code
- 3000