Professor in the Production of Chemicals by the “Safe and Sustainable by design” principle

Research

• You will strengthen our activities in chemical reactor engineering, with a clear emphasis on experimentally driven research. The research should focus on reactor, process and safety engineering for the production of chemicals that are safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD), within an evolving economic landscape. The research targets, therefore, safe and sustainable molecules while specifically prioritizing safety, circularity, and environmental performance from the earliest stages of reaction, reactor and process engineering.
• The position bridges mechanistic understanding of reaction pathways with the experimental design of innovative reactors and processes. This includes coupling reaction kinetics, catalysis, heat management, and selectivity control to reactor performance, as well as leveraging advanced experimental methods and data-rich workflows, always prioritizing safety and sustainability. The main aim should be selecting and engineering reactors and processes that inherently reduce risk, energy demand, waste, and emissions, while considering their full lifecycle implications.
• Generally, the application domains include innovative, safer, and more sustainable production routes to established commodity or specialty chemicals. Additionally, the development of new synthesis routes to alternative safe and sustainable chemicals with similar functionalities is targeted. This also includes redesigning reaction pathways (e.g., oxidation, reduction, functionalization, or catalytic transformations) to avoid hazardous reagents or solvents and reduce waste. Biorefinery and biomass valorization is not in the scope of this vacancy. The SSbD reaction pathways are the starting point for the research for this vacancy, where selectivity and robustness are critical.
• You conduct targeted scientific research, resulting in PhDs and publications that meet international standards and garner broad recognition.
• You support or initiate a network of companies through the valorisation of research results and by delivering industrial services, aimed at strengthening industrial innovation.
• As part of your research programme, you develop international partnerships, within the academic world as well as with industrial partners.
• You can secure competitive funding, both project-based government funding as well as industrial funding.
• You contribute to the international reputation of the research group and the faculty.
• You pay close attention to technology transfer and to the application of the results of your research in industry/government/society.

Teaching

• You provide high-quality education for both bachelor’s and master’s students in the field of Chemical Engineering, more specific in the domains of Process Design and Engineering, General chemistry and Industrial Processes, both at De Nayer Campus (Sint-Katelijne-Waver) and Group T Campus (Leuven) and with a clear commitment to the quality of the programme as a whole. All professors are expected to teach a few basic undergraduate courses.
• You contribute to the faculty’s and the university’s pedagogical project through the supervision of student projects (for example bachelor’s and master’s theses) and by acting as a supervisor of PhD students.
• You develop your teaching in accordance with KU Leuven’s views on activating and research-based education and make use of the possibilities for educational professionalization offered by the faculty and the university.
• Your teaching duties are determined in agreement and are based on your specific profile. The scope is limited in the first years of your appointment. In your future career, the faculty will also pay close attention to the balance between research and teaching time.

Service

• You are prepared to provide services to the scientific community, to society, and to the university in response to the needs and your personal interests.
• You maintain close contact with the local industry.
• You play an active part in promoting the Faculty of Engineering Technology towards new students and the wider professional field by participating in open days, networking events and fairs, ...

Job requirements

• You have a degree in chemical engineering, bioscience engineering, chemistry, or an equivalent degree, and a PhD where the subject of your (post)doctoral research relates to the field of the vacancy.
• You have a strong research track record in chemical reaction/reactor engineering and experience in safety and risk considerations for reactor/process design, evidenced by your publications or by your research experience in industry. You have the ambition to contribute to the valorisation of research in industry and in society. International experience is an important advantage.
• You have verifiable qualities related to academic education.