DOCTORAL SCHOOL: BIOTECHNOLOGY, CHEMISTRY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

   

1. ACADEMIC PROFILE

This programme is offered jointly by the Department of Biotechnology. Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, the Department of Physics and Nanotechnology, and Esbjerg Department of Technology.

Biotechnology research focuses on molecular aspects of protein and enzyme folding and functionality, gene function and discovery, systems biology, novel and improved enzymes, fermentation technology, and protein and nanotechnologies with a view to introducing new pharmaceutical and industrial products (in Aalborg) and Green biotechnology (Esbjerg).

Chemical Engineering focuses on design of new chemical processes and products within the fields of glass chemistry, applied biotechnology, bioenergy, functional materials og drug delivery. The programme furthermore comprice development of chemical processes e.g. separation processes, as well as, analytical chemistry, chemometrics, industrial sampling and PAT (Process Analytical Technologies).

Environmental Engineering comprises physical, chemical and (micro)biological processes in water, wastewater and waste treatment in cities as well as industry, including cleaner production technology. In addition, processes in soils and sediments, especially in connection with polluted soils and changes of climate, e.g. from greenhouse gases, are covered.

The Doctoral School in Biotechnology, Chemistry and Environmental Engineering offers a variety of dedicated research fields and a number of courses that will support the student in pursuing the PhD degree. Research fields and courses are described briefly in the two following sections. Details can be found at www.bio.aau.dk, www.nanobio.dk, and www.aaue.dk.

2. RESEARCH FIELDS

Molecular Plant Biotechnology

Current research include proteome and SAGE transcriptome profiling of potato and other organisms, development of bioinformatic tools and databases, as well as exploration of chromatin dynamics.

Contact persons: Professors Karen G. Welinder and Klaus D. Grasser and Associate Professor Kåre Lehmann Nielsen.

Protein Biophysics

Research focuses on the mechanisms of protein fibrillation, folding and stability of membrane proteins and protein-detergent interactions. A variety of molecular interactions are studied by solution NMR.

Contact persons: Professor Daniel Otzen and Associate Professor Reinhard Wimmer.  

Bioprocess Technology

Research focuses on optimization of fermentation of bacteria, fungi and algae, and on bioconversion, enzyme catalysed modification and synthesis of carbohydrates.

Contact persons: Associate Professors Lars Haastrup Pedersen and Niels T. Eriksen.  

Nanotechnology -  Biostructure and Protein Engineering

The work includes selfaggregation and structural dynamics of triacylglyceride lipids stability, function and protein engineering of lipid associated proteins, structure and composition of protein surfaces, and interactions between biomolecules and light and biomolecules in bionanosensors

Contact person: Professor Steffen B. Petersen.  

Growth Physiology & Quality of Cultured Aquatic Organisms

Research focuses on biotic and abiotic factors which impact growth performance and specific quality parameters of farmed fish. Special emphasis is given to methods for manipulating the endocrine system to study growth dynamics and how such manipulations may influence end-product quality.

Contact persons: Associate Professor Bent Rønsholdt.

Sublethal Pollution Effects on Fish

The research concentrates on modelling the effect of sublethal oxygen levels on brown trout (Salmo trutta). Quantitative models for these effects are developed through a combination of tank experiments and observations in nature.

Contact person: Associate Professor Jens-Ole Frier.

Microbial Diversity and Activity in Complex Systems

The research focuses on structure and function of microorganisms in natural and engineering systems, and include identification of microorganism using culture-independent molecular methods and in situ characterization of microbial activity by use of radiotracers and confocal laser microscopy.  Example are microorganisms involved in C, N, P and S cycles and transformation of pollutants.

Contact persons: Professor Per Halkjær Nielsen and Associate Professor Jeppe Lund Nielsen.  

Wastewater Transportation

The research activities focus on process studies and system control within the following fields: In-sewer processes with focus on sulfide (health risks, odor and concrete corrosion), sulfide control and process interactions between sewer networks and wastewater treatment plants, sewer network development and performance with focus on e.g. exfiltration from sewer networks, sewer rehabilitation and ventilation, and urban and highway drainage with particular emphasis on chemical and biological process engineering of stormwater runoff, e.g. related to drainage systems for treatment.

Contact persons: Professor Thorkild Hvitved-Jacobsen and Associate Professor Jes Vollertsen.

Wastewater treatment

The research focuses on biological wastewater treatment with focus on biological removal of nitrogen and phosphorus, floc/biofilm structure, composition and properties, settling and dewatering properties, control of  foam and filamentous microorganisms.

Contact person: Professor Per Halkjær Nielsen.  

Environmental Hygiene

The research in environmental hygiene focuses on microbial contamination problems in industry, in surface waters, and in drinking water distribution systems. It includes survival and fate of bacterial pathogens in natural and engineered systems including interactions between pathogens and biofilm. Furthermore, it covers development of microbial methods for tracking bacterial contaminants including enteric pathogens in natural and engineered systems (microbial source tracking).

Contact person: Associate Professor Peter Roslev

Process Hydraulics

Production and treatment processes demand application of reactor and process hydraulics. Research focus on turbulence in inhomogeneous flows. turbulence-particle interaction, flocculation and disintegration, non-Newtonian flows and rheology, separation and dewatering, and numerical and experimental methodologies.

Contact persons: Professors Jens Aage Hansen and Torben Larsen.  

Soil and Sediment Processes

Research focuses on carbon, nitrogen and organic pollutants dynamics in soils and sediments with emphasis on integrated measurements and modeling of microbial, chemical and physical processes. Examples are microscale distribution of microbially mediated nitrogen and carbon transformations in agricultural soils, modeling transport and fate of toxic organic compounds during dynamic water and air flow regime in contaminated soil, and microbial processes in oxic-anoxic gradient environments in soils and sediments.

Contact persons: Associate Professors Kaj Henriksen, Niels Iversen and Per Møldrup.

Environmental management

Environmental problems require both social and technological knowledge in order to establish adequate prevention and remedial action. Areas of research are for examples cleaner technologies, life cycle assessments, and management of water, wastewater and solid wastes. AAU offers unique opportunities for environmental management research across disciplinary and traditional professional borders.

Contact persons: Professors Jens Aage Hansen, Hans Gullestrup and Per Christensen.

Inorganic Glass

The research includes structure, dynamics, relaxation and properties of glass-forming melts and glasses, especially the hyperquenched glasses, rheology of inorganic melts, brittleness of glasses and fibres, diffusion, oxidation, and nucleation and crystallisation processes of glass and glass fibres.

Contact person: Associate Professor Yuanzheng Yue.  

Inorganic Materials

The research includes synthesis and characterization of inorganic materials including nanostructured materials, structure, dynamics, relaxation and properties of glass-forming liquids and glasses, especially the hyperquenched glasses, rheology of inorganic liquids, brittleness of glasses and fibres, diffusion, oxidation, and nucleation and crystallisation processes of glasses.

Contact person: Associate Professor Yuanzheng Yue.

Separation Science

The activities are concentrated around physical chemistry of water and wastewater treatment processes, particle rheology, filter cake properties in dewatering and membrane fouling.

Contact person: Associate Professor Kristian Keiding,

Supramolecular Chemistry

Supramolecular chemistry deals with studies of intermolecular interactions, e.g. how molecular interact by weak intermolecular forces only. This include the design of novel molecules for specific recognition of a target molecule e.g. creating artificial antibodies. The research focuses on the study and development of applications of cyclodextrins.

Contact person: Associate Professor Kim Lambertsen Larsen.

Applied Chemometrics, Analytical Chemistry, and Sampling

The research includes applied chemometrics (multivariabel data analysis), analytical chemistry, sampling, bioenergy & ABC (Anaerob Biotechnological Conversion processes), applied biotechnology, and acustic chemometrics.

Contact person: Professor Kim Esbensen

Chemical Fluid Flow Processes

The research focuses on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis of the flow processes, which are relevant for the chemical process industry and the oil-and gas industry. This includes development of methods, models and computer software as well as Experimental Fluid Dynamics (EFD) using laser based techniques.

Contact person: Professors Bjørn H. Hjertager and Tron Solberg.  

Colloid and Interface Chemistry

The research deals with the problems of technical chemistry related to the  remediation of ground waters, production of drinkable water and purification of water for reuse purposes, bio-geochemistry, geochemistry, analytical chemistry, and colloid and interface chemistry provide the theoretical basis for solving these problems.

Contact person: Associate Professor Erik G.Søgaard.

Catalysis and MicroKinetic Modelling Research

The research include kinetic modelling of industrial catalytic reactions, synthesis and experimental studies of modelcatalysts and quantitative electronmicroscopy studies.

Contact person: Professor Per Stoltze.

Polymers and Engineering Materials

The research include polymer chemistry and –technology, and corrosion.

Contact person: Birgit K. Storm, Associate Professor

3. COURSE ACTIVITIES

Each student must as part of the Doctoral School obtain credits corresponding to 30 ECTS credits. These are usually split in 15 ECTS credits of general research courses programme related courses, and 15 ECTS credits of project related courses.  

Programme related courses
will often have participation of students from other universities. Examples of PhD courses held the past 5 years are presented below. The actual courses offered can be found on the homepage.

• From basic science to applied plant biotechnology

• DNA sequencing and data analysis

• Measuring activity of genes: Transcriptome analysis

• Use of the software MySQL for sequence analysis

• Directed molecular evolution

• Spectroscopy of nanosize particles and surfaces

• Membrane proteins: biophysics and biochemistry

• Biophysical measurements on proteins

• Carbohydrate biotechnology

• Introduction to Entrepreneurship

• Activity and diversity in complex microbial systems

• Activated sludge population dynamics

• Sewer system & processes

• Process engineering of urban and highway runoff

• Chemical/biological experiments: Modelling and communication to experimental set-ups

• Biostatistics

• Structure, dynamics and properties of glasses and liquids

• Novel technologies to overcome drug delivery and formulation barriers; recent developments

• Biosolid separations

• Representative sampling of heterogeneous systems

• Numerical models of chemical reactors

• Population balance methods in computational fluid  dynamics

• Modern methods in chemical engineering

• Computer simulation methods for chemical reactions

Project related courses
A sufficient number of project related courses will be offered at Aalborg University or at other collaborating universities. For project related courses there may be a choice of the PhD student to seek supplementary specific knowledge from either existing M.Sc. or specially designed PhD courses. Particular use will be made of international links already established in the context of on-going research at the departments. This will support the PhD student in acquiring the requested international dimension of the study programme.

The project related courses will be decided upon when settling the goals and the scope of the individual PhD study programme. This will normally take place within the first year of study.

4. PHD STUDENTS AND SCIENTIFIC PERSONNEL The departments and the research units involved in the Doctoral School in Biotechnology, Chemistry and Environmental Engineering are as follows:

Faculty is professors, associate professors and assistant professors      

	Faculty	PhD students
Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Environmental Engineering:            Biotechnoloy Chemistry and Chemical engineering Environmental Engineering	11 5 13	approx. 15 approx. 10 approx. 10
Department of Physics and Nanotechnology	5	approx. 5
Esbjerg Department of Technology Chemical Engineering Biotechnology	10	Approx. 10

5. INTERNATIONAL LINKS  

PhD students may visit other universities or government laboratories as a part of their programme throughout the five continents, where active collaborative programmes exist. "Non-collaborative laboratories" may also be visited through prior arrangement with the host institution and the PhD students supervisor(s).  

Established and active links are many and only a few are listed as examples:

University of Exeter, UK. 

Montana State University , Bozeman , USA .

Chalmers Technical University, Gothenburg, Sweden

University of Vienna, Austria

Lund University, Sweden

University of Queensland, Australia

University of Brighton, UK.

University Wageningen, the Netherlands

University of Teknology MARA, Malaysia

University of Florence, Italy

Arizona State University, USA

Clausthal University of Technology, Germany

Revised: 11.07.2007