Professor in flavour engineering & technology for the beverage industry

KU Leuven offers a full-time academic vacancy in the area of flavour engineering & technology for the beverage industry at its Ghent Campus. We are looking for internationally oriented candidates with a strong interdisciplinary research record and capable of supporting our educational programmes in engineering technology (chemistry-biochemistry) in the field of biochemistry, biotechnology and biochemical process technology. The successful applicant will be appointed in the Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, Division Food and Microbial Technology, of the Science, Engineering and Technology Group of KU Leuven, and will join the research group Enzyme, Fermentation and Brewing Technology (EFBT) at Ghent Campus. The research group is active in applied scientific research and development and technological services for the beverage, food and feed industry with a strong emphasis on the malting and brewing process (raw materials, beer flavour stability, high-tech hopping, development of specialty beers, industrial proteomics, technological innovations), and it has developed an extensive national and international network. An up-to-date lab and pilot infrastructure is available, including bioreactors for the production of bacteria and fungi, enzymes and other functional proteins as well as high-quality microbial metabolites from side streams. The research group also has a very well equipped analytical centre for microbiological and (bio)chemical monitoring of the processes and for chemical-analytical fingerprinting and sensory profiling of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, food products and packaging materials. You can find more information about the research group on its website: https://iiw.kuleuven.be/onderzoek/efbt

Website unit

Duties

Research

• You develop a research programme at an international level in the field of flavour engineering & technology for the beverage industry. 
• Your research will focus on different aspects of flavour development and stability in beverages, including the role of raw materials, microorganisms and processing, and innovative approaches for the creation of new flavours. The primary focus is on the brewing of beer (including non-alcoholic variants) and associated scientific-technological challenges but the research can also be extended to other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and to (non-beverage) foods.
• You strengthen the existing research and bring in complementary expertise at EFBT and in the division and department.
• We expect your research activities to result in PhDs and scientific publications that meet international standards and lead to broad international recognition. Additionally, you consolidate and expand the existing national and international network, with special emphasis on the development of demand-driven research, services and valorisation activities in collaboration with industrial partners.  To achieve these objectives, you are able to acquire competitive project-based government funding and bilateral industrial funding.
• You strive for excellence and thus contribute to the further development of the research group and the faculty.

Education

• You provide high-quality education for both bachelor and master students in the field of biochemistry, biotechnology and bioprocess technology, with a clear commitment to the quality of the programme of the Faculty of Engineering Technology as a whole. 
• You contribute to the faculty’s and the university’s pedagogical project through the supervision of student projects (for example bachelor’s and master’s theses) and by acting as a supervisor of PhD students.
• You develop your teaching in accordance with KU Leuven’s views on activating and researched-based education and make use of the possibilities for educational professionalization offered by the faculty and the university.

Service

• You are prepared to provide scientific, societal and internal services.
• You maintain close contact with the local industry. As mentioned above, contacts with companies with a view on the valorisation of research results are of great importance.
• You play an active part in promoting the Faculty of Engineering Technology towards new students and the wider professional field by participating in open days and other PR activities, networking events and fairs. In addition, an enthusiastic commitment is expected in the various commissions and working groups of the Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems and the Faculty of Engineering Technology.