The heavy use of pesticides and fertilizers in agriculture is nowadays still crucial for the food supply. However, this practice leads to significant environmental and health issues, including poisoning, environmental degradation, and the development of insecticide resistance. EU policies and the UN Sustainable Development Goals advocate for safer, more sustainable alternatives like biopesticides. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie doctoral network BIOMAC-BP (Bio-Stabilized Multi-Phase Materials as Carriers for Biopesticides) sets out to address the issue of synthetic pesticide use by developing sustainable biopesticide formulations, bringing together experts from soft-matter physics, physical chemistry, chemical engineering, microbiology, biophysics, and agricultural science, and combining industrial and academic perspectives. The project’s main objective is to develop and optimize novel bio-sourced materials to incorporate bacteria capable of producing biopesticides, enhancing the benefits and sustainability of the formulations. This effort aims to reduce synthetic pesticide emissions, improve agricultural practices, and support a greener future for the chemical industry. One of the doctoral projects within the BIOMAC-BP program will be carried out at the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (IET-2) in Erlangen.
We are offering
This computational doctoral project focuses on a theoretical understanding of emulsions stabilized by colloidal particles. Mesoscale simulation methods combining a Lattice Boltzmann solver for the involved fluids and a discrete element solver for the suspended colloidal particles shall be developed and applied on state-of-the-art supercomputers. These simulations will be combined with systematic coarse graining in order to resolve the dynamics and stability of bijels on all relevant timescales. We aim to understand how these emulsions form and which physical effects influence their stability and rheology. With the overall goal of using particle-stabilized emulsions as biopesticides, the candidate shall perform simulations of nutrient transport and the growth of bacteria in numerically optimized emulsion systems. The outcome of your work will be combined with the results of your peers in the doctoral network to improve the performance of bio-pesticide formulations.
Being part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie doctoral network BIOMAC-BP, you will benefit from:
Additionally, Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg / Forschungszentrum Jülich offers to all its PhD students:
The position is for a fixed term of three years. Pay will be in accordance with the rules of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2021–2022, 2. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2021-2022/wp-2-msca-actions_horizon-2021-2022_en.pdf), and German tax and social security regulations.
Place of employment: Erlangen
We welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds, e.g., in terms of age, gender, disability, sexual orientation / identity, and social, ethnic, and religious origin. A diverse and inclusive working environment with equal opportunities, in which everyone can realize their potential, is important to us.
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