PhD student in active neutron interrogation for nuclear disarmament verification Full-time NEW

PhD Student In Active Neutron Interrogation For Nuclear Disarmament Verification

Do you want to become an expert in applied nuclear physics? Do you want to work with the support of competent and friendly colleagues in an international environment? We welcome you to apply for a PhD position at Uppsala University.

The Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament (AMC) conducts research, teaching, and public outreach on the topic of nuclear disarmament. This PhD position is in a technical working group of AMC, placed at the division of Applied Nuclear Physics, department of Physics and Astronomy. The division has a broad research scope covering several topics related to nuclear fission and fusion. The Department of Physics and Astronomy is located in the Ångström Laboratory and employs nearly 400 people, around 100 of whom are doctoral students. It offers a broad physics curriculum to undergraduate and graduate students, participation in nationally and internationally leading projects for researchers, and opportunities for partnership with industry and various outreach activities.

The doctoral candidate will conduct research in the field of technical verification of nuclear disarmament. Future international agreements may regulate different aspects of nuclear weapons programmes, and since the benefit for a disarming state largely depends on other parties fulfilling their commitments, effective and reliable verification is of crucial importance for such negotiations and agreements to be successful.

Future disarmament agreements are likely to require verification of nuclear warheads, in which radiation measurements are expected to play a central role. The measurement instruments considered are primarily gamma-ray and neutron detectors. Both passive and active measurement techniques are considered.

In particular, the doctoral candidate will participate in the development and evaluation of active methods, including measurements during different phases of pulsed neutron irradiation of nuclear material, with the aim of analysing induced signatures from various nuclear materials. Special emphasis is placed on identifying robust signatures for the detection of highly enriched uranium, even in measurement environments where shielding is present and where background from natural or depleted uranium may be significant.

Experimental work will be conducted at the neutron generator laboratory NESSA at Uppsala University. Modelling using Monte Carlo simulations will be employed to study and evaluate different measurement techniques. The overarching goal is to propose and analyse methods that are practically applicable to future verification of nuclear disarmament.

The doctoral candidate is also expected to work constructively with other members of the research group in technical verification and monitoring, interact with other working groups within AMC, and collaborate with international partners within the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification (IPNDV).

The doctoral candidate is furthermore encouraged to interact with related projects within the research group, for example in radionuclide monitoring, nuclear fuel cycle analysis, and nuclear archaeology.

To meet the entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must hold a Master's (second-cycle) degree in Physics, Engineering or equivalent, or have completed at least 240 credits in higher education, with at least 60 credits at Master's level including an independent project worth at least 15 credits, or have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way. Good oral and written proficiency in English is a requirement for the position. Experience in programming, spectrometry and radiation detection, and with codes for modelling radiation physics or neutron transport are considered advantageous.

The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100%. Starting date autumn semester 2026 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala.

For further information about the position, please contact: Peter Andersson, +46702256963.

Please submit your application by 27 May 2026, UFV-PA 2026/1489.