Internship, Postdoc, & Career Opportunities
August 3, 2023: Postdoc position - RESTORE Research Group, Western University
From Dr. Yolanda Hedberg, CREATE CORRECT director: We are looking for a postdoc in one of our MITACS projects on road salt. This role is more the environmental side of it, but at this stage, we would be fine with a corrosion engineer as well, willing to do field work with road salt studies and getting new knowledge on environmental testing. We are searching for someone allowed to work in Canada, willing to work at Western Unversity, and willing to conduct field studies (which can be cold and off-hours). Due to immigration requirements, this position has been vacant for a year already, so at this stage we'd prefer someone already in Canada. This project is in collaboration with Cypher Environmental.
Postdoctoral position advertisement: The RESTORE Research Group in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Western University is seeking a post-doctoral research associate to conduct research on a two-year project evaluating the performance of different road salts, including two new proprietary salts, in terms of their environmental impact and ice-melting performance. This is achieved by laboratory and field tests on the performance of salts in various settings (e.g., sidewalks, parking lots, streets) along with the behaviour and impacts of these salts as they interact with the adjacent environment. This research will provide 1) industry with an in-depth, multidisciplinary state-of-the art summary on the performance and adverse impacts of existing de-icers in Canada, 2) insights on equitable access to public space and the importance of road salts, and 3) the general public and scientific community with potential benefits of non-toxic road salt alternatives, encouraging greater steps to-wards their deployment across Canada. The impacts of this partnership will be direct and long-term, in terms of economic, environmental, and traffic safety.
The two-year project is funded by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Mitacs. The selected candidate will join a project research team that includes Drs. Yolanda Hedberg (Department of Chemistry) and Sridhar Ramamurthy (Surface Science Western) and graduate students, and technical experts from the partner organization Cypher Environmental, who developed the new road salts, and Facilities Management at Western, who manage winter maintenance across university campus. Responsibilities for the position include designing and executing laboratory experiments and field monitoring, coordinating with the research team, and communicating research outcomes through presentations and publications.
Applicants should have a strong background in geochemistry and contaminant hydrology, with expertise in environmental contaminant fate and transport. Preference will be given to applicants with experience in (a) batch and column experiments, (b) design and execution of field monitoring, and (c) stormwater management practices. Postdoctoral fellow applicants must have obtained their PhD in the past five years in a relevant discipline, and have publications in highly respected international journals. The successful candidate will be an independent researcher that excels at leading their own research within a highly collaborative, well-resourced environment. Due to time restrictions, the candidate must already be in Canada on a valid work permit, or be able to obtain one and be ready to start by November 1.
Please send your CV, a list of two references (along with contact phone and email), unofficial university transcripts and a cover letter summarizing qualifications and research interests to Dr. Christopher Power (cpower24@uwo.ca). Applications will be reviewed as they are received and will continue until the position is filled.
