Professor in the Production of Chemicals by the “Safe and Sustainable by design” principle

• You have a degree in chemical engineering, bioscience engineering, chemistry, or an equivalent degree, and a PhD where the subject of your (post)doctoral research relates to the field of the vacancy.
• You have a strong research track record in chemical reaction/reactor engineering and experience in safety and risk considerations for reactor/process design, evidenced by your publications or by your research experience in industry. You have the ambition to contribute to the valorisation of research in industry and in society. International experience is an important advantage.
• You have verifiable qualities related to academic education. Teaching experience is an advantage.
• You possess organisational skills and have a cooperative attitude. You also possess leadership competencies in a university or industry context.
• The official language used at KU Leuven is Dutch. If you do not speak Dutch (or do not speak it well) at the start of employment, KU Leuven will provide language training to enable you to take part in meetings. Before teaching courses in Dutch or English, you will be given the opportunity to learn Dutch, respectively English, to the required standard.
• A good command of English is required. KU Leuven offers courses in Academic English. Before you begin teaching in English, we provide you with the opportunity to acquire the necessary English language skills.

KU Leuven has a full-time academic vacancy in Chemical Engineering at the De Nayer (Sint-Katelijne-Waver) Campus. We are seeking internationally oriented candidates with an excellent interdisciplinary research record and educational competencies in Sustainable Chemical Engineering, fully focused on extending the safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD) paradigm to reactor engineering. The successful applicant will be appointed to the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Faculty of Engineering Technology within the Science, Engineering and Technology Group of KU Leuven.The Faculty of Engineering Technology has an extensive national and international network, both in the academic and business worlds. The Chemical and Biochemical Reactor Engineering and Safety section (CREaS) builds upon a solid research infrastructure, an extensive international network, connections with companies and non-profit organisations, a stable offer of highly talented PhD students, and a supportive work environment. The mission of CREaS is to harness the power of biochemical and chemical process technologies to improve the performance, circularity, and safety of societal and/or industrial processes. To this end, CREaS integrates expertise, methodologies, and techniques from different (bio)chemical reactor and process engineering domains, ranging from macro- and microscopic analysis and monitoring of (bio)chemical processes, through modeling and design, to process optimization and control. To accomplish its mission, the current research at CREaS focuses on (bio)reactor engineering, which produces a considerable diversity of products (including fine chemicals and biopharmaceuticals), treatment and valorization of organic waste and wastewater streams using combinations of (physico)chemical, aerobic and anaerobic technologies, human health and care applications (such as biomolecules, drug delivery and regenerative medicine) and the modeling and optimization of these (bio)chemical reactions and processes.We offer full time employment in an intellectually challenging environment.KU Leuven is a research-intensive, internationally oriented university that carries out both fundamental and applied scientific research. Our university is highly focused on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research and strives for international excellence. In this regard, the university actively collaborates with research partners in Belgium and abroad and provides its students with an academic education grounded in high-quality scientific research.You will work at the KU Leuven Campus De Nayer, an academic campus located about 45 km from Leuven and centred on technology and industry focused research and education. You also collaborate closely with the colleagues of Group T, Leuven Campus. Other campuses will also be able to make use of your expertise in teaching.Depending on your record and qualifications, you will be appointed to or tenured in one of the grades of the senior academic staff: assistant professor, associate professor, professor or full professor. In principle, junior researchers are appointed as assistant professor on a tenure-track for 5 years. At the end of this period and a positive evaluation, they are permanently appointed (or tenured) as associate professor.To facilitate scientific integration and research in the first phase, a 4-year research position equivalent to a PhD fellowship is made available. In addition, you can also apply for a start-up grant of EUR 110,000, on the condition that you are appointed for at least 50%.KU Leuven is well set to welcome foreign professors and their family and provides practical support with regard to immigration & administration, housing, childcare, learning Dutch, …