Postdoctoral position in Environmental Chemistry of Biodegradable Polymers

The Environmental Chemistry Group in the Department of Environmental Systems Science (D-USYS) studies the fate of organic chemicals and macromolecules – both anthropogenic and of natural origin – in natural and engineered systems. A focus area lies on the environmental chemistry of synthetic biodegradable polymers which are designed to undergo complete microbial degradation in specific receiving environments (e.g., soils, compost, water). These polymers help to overcome environmental pollution by persistent (micro-)plastic. Methodologically, we combine fundamental in-laboratory studies with more applied, in-field experiments. We collaborate with interdisciplinary research partners from both academia and industry.

The project aims at assessing the biodegradability of novel biobased and biodegradable polyesters that contain furane dicarboxylate as a central building block. More specifically, we aim at assessing the enzymatic hydrolyzability of these polyesters —because enzymatic breakdown is a key step in biodegradation— as well as their microbial biodegradation in agricultural soils, both in the laboratory and the field. The focus on soils reflects that agricultural plastics will be a central application domain of these polyesters. The project is part of a larger EU-funded academic-industry consortium and will be conducted with these partners as well as academic collaborators at ETH and Eawag.

You will conduct research on the biodegradation of the novel polyesters, with a focus on agricultural soils but, in collaboration with colleagues, also in compost and lake sediments. The goal is to obtain a fundamental, mechanistic understanding of the biodegradation process and to identify critical system variables (e.g., polymer structure, soil temperature, pH, and microbial community composition) that control biodegradation rates and extents. You will publish your results in peer-reviewed scientific journals and prepare reports for consortia meetings.

Specific responsibilities are:

• Conduct systematic studies on the enzymatic hydrolysis of novel polyesters and establish polyester structure-hydrolyzability relationships.
• Run laboratory soil incubations coupled to respirometric analysis of polyester-derived CO2 - with the possibility to use stable carbon isotope labelling of polymers. 
• Conduct polymer incubation experiments in soils at the laboratory, mesocosm, and field scale and monitor residual polymer amounts over time.
• Advance analytical methodologies to extract polymers from soils and microscopy techniques to parameterize microbial colonization of the polymer surface.

You should hold a PhD degree in Environmental Sciences, Environmental Microbiology, Biogeochemistry, Analytical and Organic Chemistry or related fields.

Essential skills are:

• Interest in combining fundamental process research with applied work. 
• Strong teamwork and communication skills.
• Proficiency in English (spoken and written).
• Good track record of publications in international journals.
• Interest in working in a larger consortium with academic and industrial partners.
• Interest in advising master and bachelor students on their practical thesis work.

We offer excellent working conditions with highly competitive salaries. Your office and the laboratory will be in downtown Zurich. The working language is English. The initial appointment is for two years but can be renewed. The start date is the Dec 2023 or the earliest possible thereafter.