You become part of a world leading research program in which knowledge is developed contributing to physical grease life models. The ultimate goal is to predict relubrication or maintenance intervals. In addition, we analyze degradation mechanisms occurring at surfaces and interfaces. Lubricating grease a is a semi-solid material with complex rheology (visco-elastic, shear thinning, thixotropic). In the running projects, shear degradation, elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication, phase separation, rheology, (micro-) flow, evaporation and the impact of water on lubricity is studied. The competence in terms of grease lubrication lies mainly in the application of physics and chemistry of fluids. This is combined with knowledge on contact mechanics.

The Chair Tribology-Based Maintenance is part of the Department of Solids, Surfaces and Systems (MS3) within the faculty of Engineering Technology.

Teaching: You will teach in the track Maintenance Engineering and Operations (MEO), part of the Master Mechanical Engineering. Furthermore, you will contribute to a new Bachelor program Mechanical Engineering of the University of Twente (UT) and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). This new bachelor program will start in September 2019, mainly at the premises of the VU in Amsterdam. In addition, you will supervise BSc- and MSc-thesis projects. The total teaching load will be about 50%. If you are not yet formally qualified for teaching at universities, we offer a program to obtain this qualification within 2 years (University Teaching Qualification, UTQ).

Research: You will develop methods to characterize semi-solid lubricants (chemistry/micro-structure/rheology). You will act as the authority in rheology, degradation and flow of lubricating grease. In addition, you will develop knowledge and experimental techniques to understand the degradation mechanisms occurring at surfaces and in loaded contacts. You will execute this research by means of the daily supervision of junior researchers (PhD/PDEng candidates and MSc/BSc students) but will also perform your own research.

• a PhD degree in Physical-Chemistry, Physics or Mechanical Engineering (with a strong interest in physics);
• experience with model development and experimental research;
• strong mentoring skills;
• hands-on approach and interested in working in a laboratory for experimental and practical work;
• experience in publishing research results in high quality international refereed journals;
• a positive attitude towards building networks and attracting external funding (national science foundation, EU, government and industry);
• result oriented;
• good communication skills and fluent in English.

For more information, contact prof.dr.ir. P.M. Lugt: p.m.lugt@utwente.nl or dr.ir. M.B. de Rooij: m.b.derooij@utwente.nl. You can upload your application, including a motivation letter, CV and a full publication list before June 2nd, 2019 using the link below.

You will be appointed for two years, with the prospect of a permanent position after a positive evaluation. The university offers a dynamic ecosystem with enthusiastic colleagues in which internationalization is an important part of the strategic agenda.

• A gross salary between € 3.255 and € 5.656,- per month, depending on experience and qualifications;
• A holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary and a year-end bonus of 8.3%;
• A solid pension scheme;
• A minimum of 29 holidays in case of fulltime employment;
• Possibilities to save up holidays for sabbatical leave;
• Professional and personal development programs;
• A high degree of responsibility and independence, while collaborating with close colleagues, researchers and other university staff is strongly encouraged.

The University of Twente. We stand for life sciences and technology. High tech and human touch. Education and research that matter. New technology which leads change, innovation and progress in society. The University of Twente is the only campus university of the Netherlands; divided over five faculties we provide more than fifty educational programmes. We have a strong focus on personal development and talented researchers are given scope for carrying out groundbreaking research.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Because of our diversity values we do particularly support women to apply.

The Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET) is one of the five faculties of the University of Twente. ET combines Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Industrial Design Engineering. Our faculty has approximately 1800 bachelor and master students, 400 employees and 150 PhD candidates. The departments of the faculty cooperatively conduct the educational programmes and participate in interdisciplinary research projects, programmes and the research institutes: Mesa+ Institute, TechMed Centra and Digital Society Institute.