ICREA Professor Joan Rosell-Llompart, established at the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Tarragona, Spain), is interested in receiving Expressions of Interest of potential candidates for the Marie Sklodowska – Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSCA-PF-2022) call. Selected candidates will receive dedicated support from my group to write a successful proposal.

Currently, our research is broadly focused on the behaviour and manipulation of liquid micro-jets produced by electrostatic forces to make nanofibers (electrospinning). Our research aims, by experiment and by computer modelling, to (i) understand the underlying fluid dynamic mechanisms, (ii) devise different strategies (e.g. high resolution electrohydrodynamic printing) to create meso-organized materials with functionalities for applications (e.g., heterogenous photocatalysts; active films for energy devices; or nanofibrous scaffolds for growing cells into living tissues), and, ultimately, to (iii) scale up these processes industrially. We are currently interested, for example, in how the trajectories on the nanofibers can be manipulated using electrostatic fields, so they can be arranged in certain ways on the collector. We have a fully equipped laboratory for conducting such research, as well as funding for several years. In addition, we make extensive use of the university technical services, which include a broad battery of material characterization techniques, including Focussed Ion Beam, Field-Effect Scanning Electron Microscopy, High resolution TEM, XRD, AFM, micro-RAMAN, and many others.

For the Marie Curie PD call of 2022, we are looking for junior scientists with a keen interest in developing their research careers around the general topic of nanofibers made by electrospinning (and other means), with research experience in electrospinning (fundamentals and/or applications) or closely related fields, and with their own proposal for a research idea which can be developed within the context of our research group’s goals interests described above. Strong technical and research skills, leadership, communication (oral and written), organization skills, safety skills, strong ethical values, and enthusiasm are desired virtues. This call is very competitive, so it is necessary that candidates can demonstrate an outstanding record of research achievements and publications in top-quality journals.

Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) is well positioned both nationally and internationally due to the Excellence of its research and the commitment and internationally recognised staff. URV is made up of 12 Faculties and Schools, with 24 Departments, which welcome annually 11.400 undergraduate, 1.500 master and 1.200 PhD students (20% of them full time employees). In 2019, it was named World’s 78th Best Young University aged under 50 years and 401-500 Best University in the World (by Times Higher Education World University Rankings), and 501-600 by Academic Ranking of world Universities. Being within the top 10% universities in number and impact of its publications is a clear measure of the quality of the research we can offer to prospective MSCA-PF fellows.

Testament to the quality of its research is the fact that URV is currently hosting around 100 MSCA fellows, in different programmes (COFUND, ITN, IF), displaying a strong bond to the principles of the MSCA programme.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

At the deadline for the submission of the proposals (14/09/2022), researchers:

• Experienced Researchers: In possession of doctoral degree. At the call deadline, supported researchers must have a maximum of 8 years fulltime equivalent experience in research, measured from the date that the researcher was in a possession of a doctoral degree and certified by appropriate documents.
• Nationality: Any.
• Mobility: The researcher must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the host organization for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the deadline for submission of proposals (a relaxed rule for CAR and RI).
• Resubmissions: Proposals involving the same recruiting organisation (and for Global Postdoctoral Fellowships also the associated partner hosting the outgoing phase) and individual researcher submitted to the previous call of MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships under Horizon Europe and having received a score of less than 70% should not be resubmitted the following year.
• Must be fluent in English (both written and spoken).

SELECTION PROCESS

Researchers willing to apply should check that they fulfil the eligibility criteria and then send an expression of interest, consisting of:

• A Curriculum Vitae
• A summary presentation of their research proposal / A motivation letter

Expressions of interest must be submitted to uspir@urv.cat (Title of the e-mail “URV - MSCA-2022-PF Prof. Rosell-Llompart”).

Proposals will be pre-selected on the basis of internal evaluation. Candidates will be informed of the results of the pre-selection a week after the deadline.