FEUP - Research Grant - ThermoQuantum -BOLS-FEUP-26-52

FEUP; Portugal; On-site; EUR 15,000 - 16,000; Part time

Job summary

FEUP, the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, invites applications for a 1 Research Grant Announcement within the LSRE‑LCM and Catalysis and Materials units. The project focuses on characterising phase equilibria in chemical systems and performing DFT calculations to support thermophysical correlations.

The grant runs initially for 6 months, commencing November 2026, with possible renewal. The stipend ranges from €1,359.64 to €1,399.64 monthly, with FEUP topping up if needed.

Qualifications

• Requires a Master’s degree in chemical engineering or related field.
• Candidates must be enrolled in a doctoral program in chemical engineering or in a related non-academic degree course associated with an R&D unit.
• If the degree is from a foreign institution, it must comply with applicable regulations and be validated at contract signing.

Responsibilities

• Characterise phase equilibria for liquid–vapour and liquid–liquid systems as part of the project.
• Perform quantum mechanical calculations using density functional theory (DFT) to correlate thermophysical properties.
• Work under the supervision of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at FEUP and contribute to the project goals.

Education

Master’s degree in chemical engineering or related field

Job description

Organisation/Company FEUP Department Human Resources Division Research Field Engineering » Chemical engineering Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Master Positions Application Deadline 26 Oct 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Lisbon) Country Portugal Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

1 Research Grant Announcement (M/F)

Call open for applications for a research grant within the framework of the Funding UID/50020/2025 of the of the Research Unit LSRE-LCM – Laboratory of Separation and Reaction Processes – Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials, and DOI https://doi.org/10.54499/UID/50020/2025 , funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. /MECI through national funds, under the following conditions:

Scientific Area: Chemical engineering

Admission requirements: Candidates who cumulatively meet the following requirements may apply for this grant:

Requirement 1:

- Be a student enrolled in a doctoral programme in the area of chemical engineering, a requirement to be duly proven at the time of signing the contract.

or

- Holder of an academic degree enrolled in a non-academic degree course integrated in the educational project of a higher education institution, developed in association or cooperation with one or more R&D units, a requirement to be duly proven at the time of signing the contract.

Note: In the case of masters who are enrolled in non-academic degree courses, the scholarship can only be awarded to those who do not exceed, with this scholarship contract, including possible renewals, an accumulated period of two years in that typology of the scholarship, followed or interpolated.

and

Requirement 2:

- Hold a master’s degree in chemical engineering or in a related field.

If the degree has been awarded by a foreign higher education institution, it must comply with the provisions of the Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of august 16th, and any formalities established there must be fulfilled until the time of signing the contract.

Activity Outline: The aim of this project is to characterise phase equilibria for: liquid-vapour systems, particularly strong electrolytes in binary and mixed-solvent systems; liquid-liquid systems, specifically aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) based on solvents with low environmental impact. In addition, quantum mechanical calculations will be performed using density functional theory (DFT) to assist in correlating the thermophysical properties of the studied systems.

Legislation and regulations: Law Nº.40/2004, of 18th August, in its current wording (Statutes of Scientific Research Fellow) and Regulation of Research Grants of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, in force and Regulation of Research Grants of University of Porto, in force.

Workplace: The work will be developed at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), under the scientific supervision of Doctor Pedro Velho Ferreira.

Grant duration: Initial duration of 6 months, with the predicted starting date in November 2026, on an exclusive basis eventually renewable but never exceeding the project duration.

If it is not possible to ensure the duration of 6 months estimated in the previous paragraph, this duration will be adjusted according to the end date of the project, and provided that the minimum duration of 3 consecutive months is guaranteed, in accordance with paragraph 3 of article 6 of the Research Grant Regulations of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P.

The eventual renewal of the scholarship will be carried out as determined in article 6 of the Research Grants Regulation of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P.

Stipend: The monthly grant stipend ranges from €1,359.64, according to the table of grant values awarded by FCT, I.P. to €1,399.64, depending on the candidate’s profile and previous experience in the project area. Should it exceed €1,359.64, the remaining amount will be covered by FEUP funds not originating from the aforementioned funding. The payment will be made by bank transfer.

Selection procedure:

The curricula of the candidates (60%) will be evaluated based on their merit and the following factors will be weighted:

a) Academic training (Master’s in chemical engineering–10 points; Master’s in related fields – 2points; Other Masters’ – 0 points)

b) Scientific articles in relevant journals (In the area of vapour pressure osmometry – 5points; In related fields – 2points; In other areas – 0points);

c) Research experience (Proven experience in the project area – 5 points; In related areas – 2 points; In other areas – 0 points).

The curriculum of each candidate will be evaluated in a 1-20 points scale. Candidates with less than 15 points in the curricular evaluation will not be invited for the interview.

In the interview (40%) topics related to the work plan, experience and the candidate’s CV will be discussed with the invited candidates.

If none of the candidates achieves a minimum final score of 16 points, the scholarship will not be awarded.

Selection Jury:

Advertisement of final decision: The results of the evaluation will be released to the candidates

by e-mailto the e-mail address indicated in the application process.

Deadline for applications and form of presentation of the applications:

The call is open from 13/10/2026 to 26/10/2026 (until 23:59 local time).