Within the MIND project, there is a PhD opportunity at SCK•CEN (Mol, Belgium). The aim of this project is to unravel the impact of microbial processes on cement in repository-like conditions and on bitumen (derivatives) at a high, cement-derived, pH. The expected outcome of both parts of the project is a detailed characterisation of microbial community dynamics and of the process kinetics, end-products and boundary conditions of those microbial metabolisms acting specifically on cementitious repository components and on bitumen derivatives.

As the project is part of the MIND project, the PhD candidate will have ample opportunity to exchange experiences and samples with European colleagues, to relate the lab scale experiments to complementary in situ experiments and to follow the first steps towards the validation of the experimental results towards modelling and performance assessment.

More information about the project and application can be found at the website of the SCK•CEN Academy:

http://academy.sckcen.be/en/Your_thesis_internship/AllTopics/Microbial-processes-in-geological-disposal-of-radioactive-waste-1045

The deadline for application is September 30^th 2016.

A new section has been introduced on the website – Exchange Opportunities. In this section you will find the exchange opportunities in microbiology and nuclear waste that is available within the MIND-project. You will reach the new section via a new headline in the topmenu.

Exchange opportunities

Miguel Angel Ruiz Fresneda, PhD student working in the MIND Project, was awarded by Carl- Zeiss Company with the excellent presentation at the 10th International Biometals Symposium 2016 in Dresden, Germany. He presented the results obtained in the MIND Project.

Biometals certificate and abstract (pdf)

The course is initiated by two pan-European programmes, Petrus-III and Microbiology In Nuclear waste Disposal (MIND). One important aim of the MIND project, granted by European Commission, is to raise awareness of the relevance of microbial issues in otherwise typically abiotic fields of ex-pertise, and to dissipate the knowledge gained in the MIND project to stu-dents and professionals within and beyond the known geomicrobiology expert circles. Similarly PETRUS is a project granted by European Commis-sion whose objective is to promote education and training in geological disposal of radioactive waste.

For more information see:
Basic course in microbiology and nuclear waste disposal

Deliverable D3.2-1 Intermediate report on the methodology for the development of guidelines for risk communication is now available under Deliverables.

PETRUS-OPERA announcement_20160502

The EU-project MIND (Microbiology In Nuclear waste Disposal) will have its first Project Annual Meeting (PAM) which is scheduled to take place in Granada on the 2^nd to 4^th of May at the University of Granada. The meeting include a pre-meeting workshop covering key technical aspects of working with nucleic acids and clays intended as buffers and backfills.

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The aim of the project is to unravel the impact of microbial processes on cement in repository-like conditions and on bitumen (derivatives) at a high, cement-derived, pH. The two parts of the project, one on cement and one on bitumen, will be complementary and will overlap mostly in the experimental set-up and methodology used.

The PhD project will be part of an international project. The PhD candidate will have ample opportunity to exchange experiences and samples with European colleagues, to relate the lab scale experiments to complementary in situ experiments and to follow the first steps towards the validation of the experimental results towards modelling and performance assessment.

(more…)