PhD Student in Occupational Health and Safety Engineering: Human-Technology-Organization in Nuclear Power

Lunds Universitet · Full-time

Box 118, Lund, Sweden

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is consistently ranked among the world's leading universities. Here, approximately 46,000 students and 8,500 employees work in Lund, Helsingborg, and Malmö. We are united in our mission to understand, explain, and improve our world and people's conditions. Description of the Activities The PhD position is affiliated with the Division of Ergonomics and Aerosol Technology, which has approximately 50 employees, of whom 20 are PhD students. The division's research focus is the interaction between humans, technology, and organization (HTO) and what this interaction means for the design of working conditions, technical systems, and organizations. Research with a focus on risk and safety management (HTO - Human Factors) aims to identify and manage risk and safety challenges in both work environments and in larger safety-critical complex systems such as nuclear power and radiation safety. The goal is to gain knowledge that leads to increased system safety and reduced risks, as well as to achieve healthy and efficient environments. Our research is often multidisciplinary and is conducted in close collaboration with industry and authorities. The PhD position is also strongly connected to the new multidisciplinary research environment "Radiation Safety and Society: Building Sweden's Interdisciplinary Capacity for the Future of Nuclear Power," where we are now seeking a skilled and motivated PhD student. Being a PhD Student As a PhD student, you are both admitted as a student and employed by Lund University. As a research student, you are trained in a scientific approach. This can briefly be described as gaining practice in critical and analytical thinking, solving problems independently with the help of appropriate methodology selection, and developing research ethics awareness. Additionally, as a PhD student, you have the opportunity to work on projects, develop your leadership skills, and your pedagogical abilities. Throughout your studies, you are guided by supervisors. Research studies conclude with a dissertation and a doctoral degree. More about being a PhD student at LTH on lth.se. Project Description The recently established research environment "Radiation Safety and Society: Building Sweden's Interdisciplinary Capacity for the Future of Nuclear Power" (https://www.particle-nuclear.lu.se/radiation-safety-and-society-building-swedens-interdisciplinary-capacity-nuclear-futures) - which encompasses various aspects of existing and new nuclear power - brings together researchers from four faculties at Lund University (Natural Sciences, Medicine, Engineering, Social Sciences) as well as expertise in linguistics and discourse analysis from Karlstad University. The research environment constitutes a multidisciplinary community of knowledge and practice around radiation safety and nuclear energy in the fields of physics, occupational health and safety engineering/HTO, medical radiation physics, strategic communication, and Swedish language. We are now recruiting three PhD students in three areas related to safety and societal aspects of nuclear power: 1) environmental impact from existing and new nuclear power; 2) radiation safety and personal radiation protection in existing and new nuclear power (this announcement: occupational health and safety engineering); and 3) communication for inclusion and understanding of radiation and nuclear technology risks. The three PhD students will collaborate during specific phases of their education, which promotes multidisciplinary exchange. Work Tasks You will primarily engage in your research education, which includes participation in research projects as well as research education courses, seminars, and conferences. The work may periodically involve domestic travel for data collection. Radiation protection within nuclear power plays a crucial role in safe working conditions and work environments. However, potentially an overly conservative approach to personal radiation protection could introduce new occupational health and safety risks or safety-related incidents and hinder technical development. The overall purpose of the PhD project is to gain more knowledge about preventive work on radiation safety and personal radiation protection in nuclear technical work environments and suggest development and improvement opportunities. Read more and apply for the position here: https://lu.varbi.com/se/what:job/jobID:962292/