Applicants are invited for a PhD fellowship/scholarship at Graduate School of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark, within the Biological and Chemical Engineering programme. The position is available 01 March 2026. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.

Title:
PhD position on modelling microbial electrosynthesis

Research area and project description:
Microbial electrosynthesis is an innovative biotechnology to convert CO2 with electric energy into valuable organic molecules using acetogenic bacteria as biocatalysts. Over the past years, we have developed a basic computational model to simulate the processes underlying microbial electrosynthesis.

We are now looking for a doctoral candidate to further extend our computational model for microbial electrosynthesis. The doctoral candidate will first characterize the CO2 utilization kinetics of acetogenic bacteria and will calibrate our model with the resulting parameter values. In addition, our model will be extended towards porous electrodes by including computational fluid dynamics. Moreover, the doctoral candidate will visualize and model the interactions of bacteria with H2 bubbles formed on the electrode through a collaboration with Associate Professor Pourya Forooghi at the Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering at Aarhus University.

The PhD candidate is also expected to fulfill supervision and teaching tasks, contribute to result dissemination through writing publications and conference participation, as well as to complete courses for doctoral training.

This PhD project has received funding from the Novo Nordisk Foundation CO2 Research Center (CORC) and is part of a larger interdisciplinary project with as main aim to improve the predictive power of computational models for microbial electrosynthesis. This project will integrate microbiology, bubble physics, electrochemistry and modelling approaches through a collaboration between Jo Philips (BCE), Jacopo Catalano (BCE), Michael Vedel Wegener Kofoed (BCE) and Pourya Forooghi at the Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering at Aarhus University.

The PhD candidate will be based in the ‘Microbial Electrosynthesis’ research group, headed by Associate Professor Jo Philips. We form an international and interdisciplinary team with strong expertise in microbiology, biotechnology, electrochemistry and computational modelling. Our research group is part of the Section of Industrial Biotechnology at the Department of Biological and chemical Engineering at Aarhus University and is also related to the Novo Nordisk Foundation CO2 Research Center. We offer dedicated supervision and a pleasant workplace characterized by professionalism and equality.

Equal opportunities in terms of diversity will be fully taken into consideration during the recruitment process.

For technical reasons, you must upload a project description. Please simply copy the project description above and upload it as a PDF in the application.

Qualifications and specific competences:

• We are looking for talented and motivated applicants with a Master’s degree in Biotechnology or Microbiology, or another discipline with a relevant specialization.
• Candidates should have a strong interest in combining experimental work with modelling.
• Previous experience with modelling will be considered as a strong plus.
• Analytical and critical thinking and time management are essential skills to pursuit a PhD.
• Further requirements are English fluency, good oral and written communication skills and a collaborative mentality.

Place of employment and place of work:
The place of employment is Aarhus University, and the place of work is Gustav Wieds Vej 10D, 8000 Aarhus C., Denmark.

Contacts:
Applicants seeking further information regarding the PhD position are invited to contact:

• Associate Professor Jo Philips, e-mail: Jo.philips@bce.au.dk

For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide. If answers cannot be found there, please contact:

• admission.gradschool.tech@au.dk

How to apply:
Please follow this link to submit your application.

Application deadline is 4 December 2025 at 23:59 CET.

Preferred starting date is 1 March 2026.

Please note:

• Only documents received prior to the application deadline will be evaluated. Thus, documents sent after deadline will not be taken into account.
• The programme committee may request further information or invite the applicant to attend an interview.
• Shortlisting will be used, which means that the evaluation committee only will evaluate the most relevant applications.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background.