4-year Postdoc position: 3D-printing of polymer foams for drones (resin formulation)

Job description

In the context of a NWO-KIC grant “Materials for defense”, we will investigate fluidic/chemical routes enabling a new generation of porous, graded, and composite materials. We are assembling a team of excellent and highly motivated scientists, who will together investigate and advance the fluid mechanics, the resin formulation, the mechanical properties, and process integration during Direct Bubble Writing. This novel additive manufacturing process for polymer foams was recently invented and patented by the University of Twente. The team will closely interact with ten project partners, including National Dutch Research Institutes (NLR and MARIN), the Ministry of Defense, and globally leading industry partners specializing in the chemistry, the methods (design, printing, composites), or key applications (sailing/flying drones). In the final stage of the project, the printed materials will be tested in unmanned airborne/seaborne vehicles.

We are looking for a chemist/chemical engineer/materials scientist (4-year Post-doc; this vacancy), leading the formulation challenges of the foam printing resins. You will focus on formulating resins (rather than synthesis), enabling e.g. printing of stiff, light, and dampening parts with minimal post-processing. An understanding of photo-curable systems, resin formulation, fluid mechanics, and/or soft matter is beneficial. The position is hosted at the University of Twente, starting 1 Jan 2027 or as soon as possible after that date.

You will closely collaborate with two PhD/PD-level team members who will (1) lead the understanding and development of the fluidic print process, and (2) lead the integration of printed foams with composites and subsequent upscaling. Together, you will fundamentally change how foams are made: From uniform blocks to precisely graded materials at cell level. Based on this understanding, the team will systematically develop methods for integration, scaling, and application of advanced foams and composites.

PhD position on explainable DeepFake detection using Foundation models

The challenge:
In the past decades, photographs and videos of events were regarded as reliable evidence for both news media and forensic investigations. However, recent developments in AI technology now make it possible, with minimal technological knowledge or skills, to create extremely convincing manipulated or synthesised images, audio and video data, often called DeepFakes.

This fact is a serious threat to the trustworthiness of news in the media and forensic processes in criminal investigations. Therefore, development of reliable methods to detect manipulations and distinguish bonafide from synthesised data is of utmost importance. In addition, especially for forensic investigations, simple detection is not sufficient. An explanation of the traces of manipulation and tools used for the synthesis or
manipulation should be produced as well.

In the EU project DEFORM, 14 research institutes, universities and companies from 6 different countries aim to develop methods and tools for explainable detection of DeepFakes using Foundation models and other techniques.

At the University of Twente, we are looking for a PhD
researcher who will work in close collaboration with the
other partners on detection of fake videos using
inconsistencies in video as well as audio.

Projectleider Zorg Innovatie Plein

Als projectleider van het regiodeal-project ‘Zorg Innovatie Plein’ draag je vanuit het team van het TechMed Centre bij aan het ontwikkelen van een regionale innovatie-infrastructuur voor de gezondheidszorg waarin regionale kennisinstellingen, zorgpartijen en het bedrijfsleven samenwerken om gezamenlijk te bouwen aan een duurzame werkwijze voor de zorg. De UT is penvoerder van dit regiodeal-project en beoogt hiermee samen met haar partners een fundament te ontwikkelen voor de uiteindelijke realisatie van het Moonshot ‘Ziekenhuis van de Toekomst’.

Je bent als projectleider verantwoordelijk voor de realisatie en uitvoering van het projectplan en de coördinatie van activiteiten met verschillende partijen. Je dient zorg te dragen voor het samenstellen van periodieke rapportages alsmede de uiteindelijke eindrapportage.

Je werkt nauw samen met collega’s binnen het TechMed Centre team, de afdeling Contractoffice, en de medewerkers die door de projectpartners worden ingezet voor de uitvoering van de werkzaamheden binnen het project. Ook zult u betrokken worden bij aanpalende projecten zoals het Moonshot Ziekenhuis van de Toekomst, en de impact focus area’s binnen het health domein van de UT voor een goede afstemming tussen deze initiatieven.

Tot jouw takenpakket behoort o.a.:

• Nader uitwerken en continu bijstellen van projectopdracht in operationeel projectplan;
• Realiseren van de uitvoering van het projectplan, inclusief coördineren van verschillende partijen, alsmede zorgdragen voor periodieke rapportages;
• Aansturen van de uitvoering van projectwerkzaamheden door derde partijen;
• Doen van voorstellen tot proces- en productverbetering;
• Voeren van overleg met stuurgroep van het project en diverse betrokken stakeholders inzake uit te voeren werkzaamheden.

PhD position in “Water Footprint Assessment and Water Credit Design in Egypt’s Horticulture Sector”

The Challenge

Egypt’s horticulture sector operates under growing pressure from limited water availability, salinity, and rising competition over finite water resources. At the same time, the sector is economically important for food security, rural livelihoods, and export earnings, which means that improving water productivity is not only an environmental protection measure but also a strategic development and trade challenge.

These pressures call for better evidence on current and future water use, stronger metrics for identifying good performance, and more robust ways to link farm-level improvements to wider policy and investment decisions. They also raise questions about how private-sector actors can support and scale water-smart change, including through credible incentive and financing mechanisms.

The position
You will join the Water Footprint in Action programme, a multi-partner initiative funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and focused on advancing water-smart agriculture in Egypt’s horticulture sector. The programme brings together three complementary lines of work: building a strong scientific and evidence base, strengthening advisory and knowledge systems, and supporting business innovation and investment in water-smart solutions. Within this wider setting, your PhD work will mainly sit in the research and knowledge component, while also helping connect scientific insights to shared knowledge resources, decision-support tools, stakeholder learning, and new financing approaches.

A preliminary research plan looks as follows.

First, you will develop and apply quantitative approaches to analyse the present and future water consumption (i.e., the water footprint) of Egypt’s horticulture sector. This includes crop modelling using our in-house ACEA model, designing climate and socio-economic scenarios, and linking analyses across scales to local intervention settings, national policy priorities, and trade dynamics.

Next, you will work on water footprint benchmarks and performance indicators. In this part of the PhD, you will compare different ways of defining good performance, for example by looking at producer performance based on Best Available Technology and Best Available Practice, and relate these to broader sustainability and efficiency indicators.

A third part of your research will focus on how water savings and other water-smart improvements can be measured in a way that is credible, transparent, and useful in practice. You will help develop a science-based method that can underpin incentive or finance mechanisms for improved water performance, working closely with project partners and engaging with wider debates around environmental credits and integrity.

You will be embedded in an international consortium and work closely with partners in the Netherlands and Egypt, including Egyptian water and agricultural research centres. The position includes intensive interaction with stakeholders, frequent visits to project locations and case-study sites in Egypt, and an active role in a broader knowledge exchange programme through joint research, data exchange, publications, and learning activities.

PhD position in-Operando Neuromorphic OptoElectronics

As a PhD student, you will work on a project focused on developing in-situ optical sensing for polymer-based electronics: using light to non-invasively inspect, understand, and improve their stability and performance, with the aim to develop energy-efficient optoelectronic devices. You’ll select and design conductive polymers, fabricate electronics devices, then build in-situ UV-Vis/Raman/surface enhanced Raman spectroscopies platform to reveal hidden processes such as interfacial charge transfer, redox switching, doping and dedoping, morphology dynamics, and local electric field effects. You’ll model electrical and optical inputs and responses for energy-efficient computing as a proof of concept.

What sets this opportunity apart:

World-class facilities: Conduct your research at the University of Twente, a vibrant campus in the east of the Netherlands equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.

Expert guidance: Work alongside leading experts Dr. Ivana Qianqi Lin and Prof. Christian Nijhuis in the Hybrid Materials for Opto-electronics group, as well as renowned expert Prof. Frederik Wurm in the Sustainable Polymer Chemistry group, all within the Department of Molecules and Materials.

Interdisciplinary collaboration: You’ll be part of the MESA+ Institute embedded in the world-class NanoLab infrastructure, and collaborate closely with Department of Applied NanoPhotonics, and Centre for Brain-Inspired Computing.

This is your chance to contribute to a more sustainable future while advancing your research career at a leading European university. Join us in shaping the future of hybrid materials and forefront technologies!