PhD position on stone conservation using micro-organisms (1.0 FTE)

The Department of Earth Sciences is now looking for a highly-motivated candidate to fill a PhD position on the impact of microbial treatment on the weathering behaviour of rocks. 
Physical, chemical and biological weathering has a profound impact on the Earth’s landscape and on its building infrastructure. Rock and masonry are constantly damaged and disaggregated by chemical reactions, water infiltration and temperature changes. Strengthening efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage is one of the United Nations’ Targets for Sustainable Cities and Communities in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Fluids are a major driver of rock weathering: they trigger, among others, dissolution, precipitation, frost and salt weathering. The key to manipulating weathering lies in understanding and controlling fluid flow within the internal pore structure of rocks and thereby influencing the related pore-scale processes. While microbial organisms are generally known to alter rock surfaces, some actually display physiological capabilities that have beneficial effects on rock properties due to their production of bio-cement, gas and acids. Before we can harness these beneficial effects, we must first study how these organisms impact fluid flow at pore scale.

The Dutch Research Council VICI project, led by Prof. Veerle Cnudde, 'Towards protecting and improving building stones through microbial manipulation of pore structure' (short: BugControl), will focus on the understanding of bio-manipulated pore-scale processes inside rocks. The 4-year PhD project aims to steer fluid-rock interaction by applying microbial organisms on and inside stone. The outcomes of this PhD project will be incorporated into a team-effort to predict the impact of microbial organisms on rock properties and develop smart bio-conservation strategies. The PhD project will explore how bacteria can be positively used for stone conservation and develop a protocol for stone conservation. The impact of micro-organisms on stone characteristics and their resistance towards accelerated weathering experiments, will be determined. After lab experiments on small samples (milli- to centimeter scale), the most successful conservation strategies will be applied on larger samples in the lab and in the field.

The PhD candidate will engage in a trans-disciplinary research environment by closely collaborating with two postdoctoral fellows and one other PhD candidate, who are all part of the BugControl project, and numerous PhD students and Postdoctoral fellows working in the field of advanced imaging techniques and pore scale processes. Fieldwork campaigns are planned to take place in The Netherlands and Belgium. Advanced imaging experiments for monitoring the biological activity inside pores, will mainly be planned in Belgium. As such, the PhD candidate will be co-supervised by a Professor of Ghent University Belgium. A minimum research visit of a total of 6 months at Ghent University is anticipated. A personalised training programme will be set up, which will reflect the candidate's training needs and career objectives. As part of this training, up to 10% of the candidate's time will be dedicated to assisting in Bachelor's and Master's teaching programmes.

We are seeking a PhD candidate with a Master's degree (obtained by the time the position starts) in sciences or bioengineering with experience and knowledge in bacteria. You must have good practical lab skills and ideally you are familiar with bacteria and stone. Additionally you should have excellent written and spoken English skills and be highly motivated to work in an international multidisciplinary team.

You will be offered a temporary position (1.0 FTE), initially for one year with an extension to a total of four years upon a successful assessment in the first year, and with the specific intent that it results in a doctorate within this period. The gross salary ranges between €2,434 in the first year and €3,111 in the fourth year of employment (scale P according to the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities) per month for a full-time employment. Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year. In addition, Utrecht University offers excellent secondary conditions, including an attractive retirement scheme, (partly paid) parental leave and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model). More information about working at Utrecht University can be found here.

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major societal themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Sustainability.

Utrecht University's Faculty of Geosciences studies the Earth: from the Earth's core to its surface, including man's spatial and material utilisation of the Earth - always with a focus on sustainability and innovation. With 3,400 students (BSc and MSc) and 720 staff, the faculty is a strong and challenging organisation. The Faculty of Geosciences is organised in four Departments: Earth Sciences, Human Geography & Spatial Planning, Physical Geography, and Sustainable Development.

The Department of Earth Sciences https://www.uu.nl/geo/aw conducts teaching and research across the full range of the solid Earth and environmental Earth sciences, with activities in almost all areas of geology, geochemistry, geophysics, biogeology and hydrogeology. The department hosts a highly international tenured staff of over 45 scientists and more than 110 PhD students and postdoctoral Researchers. Our research programme spans four intertwined themes: Climate & Life, Earth interior, Earth materials, and Environmental Earth Sciences. We house or have access to a wide variety of world-class laboratories.

The PhD project is based within the Environmental Hydrogeology Group. The Environmental Hydrogeology Group performs fundamental and applied research on the transport of fluids, colloids, and reactive chemical components in the shallow and deep subsurface. We apply a combination of theoretical, statistical, computational, and experimental methods to upscale processes from micro (pore) scale to column, and up to the field scale. Our work is related to environment and subsurface remediation, geo resources, and CO2 storage. The generated knowledge on upscaling in porous materials is highly cross disciplinary, fostering collaborations with many scientific groups from (Earth) Science, applied research, as well as industrial partners.