We seek a talented and motivated MSc graduate who has the ambition to do a PhD on the fundamentals of single droplet drying and binary collision behavior of (semi-dried) droplets contributing to development of guidelines for improved particle agglomeration during spray drying processes. Agglomeration in spray dryers is crucial to optimize instant powder properties, such as mechanical stability, bulk density, flowability, and reconstitution behavior. Lack of control of particle stickiness and agglomeration during large scale production continuously leads to product losses due to off-spec product formation, dust formation and fouling. The loss of material has a major impact not only on the economics of the process, but also on the energy consumption and the Greenhouse gas emissions in the entire powder production chain. The PhD project is embedded in a larger project coordinated by the Institute for Sustainable Process Technology (ISPT) and is supported by four industrial partners.

We look for a PhD candidate who has a background in food technology or chemical engineering with preferably experience in research on drying or droplet handling processes. The position will be hosted by a vibrant, growing and collaborative group on Food Process Engineering, currently consisting of three full professors, 2 associate and 3 assistant professors, two lecturers and seven technical and supporting staff, around 35 - 45 PhD students and postdocs, and many BSc and MSc students doing their thesis projects in our group.

We are looking for candidates with completed MSc study in food technology or chemical engineering. You should be creative and able to quantitatively relate the fundamental behaviour of drying, colliding and sticky droplets, to agglomeration behaviour during spray drying.
We are looking for someone who is motivated for coaching and inspiring thesis students, and working together with external partners.
Since all research and most education is in English, proficiency in this language is important. Excellent writing skills, good oral communication skills, and the willingness to explore new fields in collaboration with others, are all essential competences.

We offer a challenging position for a period of 1.5 years with extension of 2.5 years after successful evaluation. The gross salary for the first year is € 2.325 per month, rising to € 2.972 for a fulltime working week of 38 hours, in accordance with scale P of the Collective Labor Agreement Dutch Universities.

In addition, we offer:

• 8% holiday allowance;
• a structural end-of year bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent training opportunities and secondary employment conditions;
• flexible working hours that we determine together in good consultation;
• excellent pension plan through ABP;
• 232 vacation hours, the option to purchase extra and good supplementary leave schemes, e.g. the possibility to work a maximum of 2 hours per week extra for extra leave;
• a flexible model to put together part of your employment conditions yourself, such as a bicycle plan;
• a lively workplace on the Wageningen Campus;
• make use of the sports facilities on campus for a small fee.

Wageningen University & Research stimulates internal career opportunities and mobility with our internal recruitment policy. There are ample opportunities for personal initiative in a learning environment. With us you get a versatile job in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere

Wageningen University & Research

The mission of our University is to explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life. Within Wageningen University & Research, nine specialised research institutes from the Wageningen Research Foundation and Wageningen University have joined forces to help answer the most important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment.

With approximately 30 locations, 6,500 employees, and 12,000 students, it is one of the leading organisations in its domain worldwide. An integrated approach to problems and the cooperation between various disciplines are at the heart of the unique approach of Wageningen. We have been named Best Employer in Education category 2019-2020.

Click here for more information about working at Wageningen University & Research.

We are a group of about 15-20 staff (scientific and technical), 35 - 45 PhD students and postdocs, and typically 50 - 80 BSc and MSc students doing their theses in our group per year. The group is large and growing, is strongly internationally oriented and recognised and works together with scientific groups and industries from all over the world.
We work as team on finding new ways to prepare foods in much more sustainable ways, keeping them fresher and tastier, and healthier for the consumers. As foods are very complex products, we need to obtain deeper insight of their response to treatment, to understand how we could keep them in a fresher state, and how we could help people having a healthier diet. We aim for this at truly new principles for processing, not at improving existing processes. And we have found that there is a lot to explore.
We therefore have the ambition to grow further scientifically by investing in better understanding in 'multi-scale' phenomena, combining phenomena from (supra)molecular properties, mesoscale interactions, towards the prediction of macro-scale properties of foods or food components, under conditions of processing.
We have a long tradition of collaboration with people in other academic groups over the world, within our own University, and with our group.

More information about Wageningen Campus you can find here.

Acquisition regarding this vacancy is not appreciated.