Postdoctoral Research Fellow (f/m/d) in the field of Mineralogy and geochemistry of geotechnical barriers for radioactive waste repositories

Organizational unit

Institute of Concrete Structures and Building Materials - Building materials and concrete construction (IMB)

Job description

The Institute of Concrete Structures and Building Material, Department of Building Materials and Concrete Construction, and the associated Materials Testing and Research Institute (MPA Karlsruhe) as well as the associated Competence Center for Material Moisture (CMM) are headed by Prof. Dr. Frank Dehn and are among the leading German institutions in the field of materials testing, research into building materials, building products and mineral materials. The Applied Clay Mineralogy working group is headed by Prof. Dr. Katja Emmerich.

As part of the BMUV-funded Sandwich Main Project, Phase 2 (Sandwich-HP2), the hydraulic Sandwich sealing system developed by KIT is being tested on a large scale in the Mont Terri rock laboratory (CH). Sandwich-HP2 is a joint project with the participation of international partners. The in-situ experiment is accompanied by laboratory tests to optimize the materials and parameterization for hydro-mechanical-chemical modelling. Mineral materials (especially bentonites) and pore solutions are to be characterized mineralogically and chemically from laboratory experiments at different scales. From the results, laws of cation exchange at high solid:fluid ratios are to be derived and modeled geochemically, taking into account dissolution and precipitation processes. Supplementary laboratory investigations are to be developed independently.

Starting date

1. Januar 2025

Personal qualification

• You must have a university degree in geosciences, soil science, environmental engineering or a comparable course of study with sound mineralogical and chemical knowledge as well as a completed PhD.
• Knowledge of chemical analysis is desirable.
• A sound knowledge of mineralogy and a very good command of written and spoken English is required.
• We expect a keen interest in experimental work.
• Documenting, presenting and publishing scientific results is your strength.
• Working on this international project requires a willingness to cooperate with other working groups and intercultural skills.

Salary

Salary category 13 TV-L, depending on the fulfillment of professional and personal requirements.