Researcher at Division of Building Materials on fungal degradation of wood Full-time

Researcher at Division of Building Materials on Fungal Degradation of Wood

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world's top universities. The University has around 46,000 students and 8,500 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg, and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain, and improve our world and the human condition.

The Department of Building and Environmental Technology has a stimulating and international environment consisting of PhD students, postdocs, teachers, and researchers from many parts of the world. Here, research and teaching take place in an open and progressive climate with challenges and collaborations both within academia and with industry partners, both nationally and internationally. The work environment is characterized by commitment, collaboration, creativity, and personal responsibility. The work environment is also characterized by an open and friendly attitude among all members of staff with the intention that all shall be given the opportunity to grow personally and professionally.

The department consists of nine divisions, and this position is in the Division of Building Materials. The research and teaching at the division mainly concern materials that are used in the construction sector with the aim of studying and understanding processes in materials, often related to moisture and durability aspects. The division has a large laboratory infrastructure and has a high focus on experimental work.

Wood is an increasingly important material in the construction sector, but it is susceptible to fungal decomposition in moist environments. Water is essential for fungal degradation of wood, but the exact mechanisms are not yet understood. The researcher will work within a project with the purpose of providing a fundamental understanding of how amount, location, and state of water affect the degradability of wood. This will be done in degradation experiments, where external moisture conditions are precisely controlled using custom-built pressure plate chambers. The degradation experiments will be performed on wood which have been modified to alter the wood-water interactions in different locations in the wood structure.

The work duties include:

• To perform research in relation to the project described above. You will be responsible for and perform fungal degradation experiments as well as characterization of the degraded and undegraded materials and the evaluation related to these experiments.
• Contribute to the spread of results from the project by scientific publications, presentations at conferences, and popular science publications.

Some laboratory work will be performed in the labs of our collaboration partners at the University of Copenhagen. The position thus includes travel to Copenhagen (1 hour by train from Lund). In addition, research visits to NIBIO, Norway may also be included. The position, therefore, gives you experience in and contacts within different research environments.

The work duties may also include applying for external funding and to a limited extent, teaching.

Appointment to a position as a researcher requires that the applicant has a PhD. Required qualifications:

• PhD degree in a topic related to the subject of this position, e.g., microbiology, wood science, biotechnology, biochemistry, or a closely related discipline.
• Experience of planning and performing laboratory work within microbiology or a closely related discipline.
• Experience and very good ability in evaluating and presenting data.
• Ability to work in a structured and autonomous way.
• The ability to independently plan, perform, and evaluate research studies.
• Very good oral and written proficiency in English.
• Experience in publishing in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Additional qualifications:

It is an additional qualification if you have:

• Strong microbiological competence, particularly in areas related to fungal degradation of wood.
• Experience in chemical characterization of degradation products.
• Experience in characterization techniques of wood chemistry (e.g., FTIR) or wood-water interactions.
• Experience in acquiring research funding.

Lund University is a public authority which means that employees get particular benefits, generous annual leave, and an advantageous occupational pension scheme. It is advisable to enter information on what your unit specifically can offer as a workplace. Read more on the University website about being a Lund University employee.

The position is a fixed term employment during a period of 1 year starting 17 August 2026 or by agreement at 100 per cent of full time.

Researchers are covered by a local collective agreement on annual working hours for researchers and assistant researchers. The planning of annual working hours is done in dialogue between the manager and the employee.

Applications are to be submitted via the University's recruitment system. The application should include a CV and a personal letter justifying your interest in the position and how it matches your qualifications. The application should also include a degree certificate or equivalent and any other document to which you would like to draw attention (copies of grade transcripts, details of referees, letters of recommendation, etc.)

Welcome to apply!