Are you interested to contribute to a more circular society in terms developing methods for evaluating circularity and sustainability of handling of excavated materials in roads and railways? Do you have an interest in developing your analytical, writing , and pedagogical skills in an academic environment? Are you willing to communicate with various stakeholders to understand society's needs and to present new ideas that can improve current practices? Project description The building and construction sector is responsible for 32% of carbon dioxide emissions, 25% of the waste generated in Europe, where excavated masses constitute the largest source of waste in terms of volume. Infrastructure projects are responsible for 50% of the total material resource use in the world, and the global material demand continues to increase. Construction, reconstruction, and maintenance of transport infrastructure involves handling masses with different technical and environmental properties. Together with a multi-faceted legislation this makes recycling of masses complex. In addition, legal requirements on the clients' responsibility regarding reporting and recycling are expected to increase. The overall aim of the PhD project is to develop, verify and test a method and tool with indicators that can be used to set requirements and provide incentives in the Swedish Transport Administration's procurements to improve mass management in road and railway projects, and to contribute to a better understanding of socioeconomic effects and how tender models can be designed to direct mass management in projects in a desired direction. The long-term objective is to improve the mass management by making it more circular and sustainable, both in the planning and design of projects as well as in the actual execution and reporting. The work has a number of specific goals: to further develop a prototype previously developed into a functional tool and to test and prepare for implementation for reporting mass handling in the Swedish Transport Administration's project based on specific indicators; to expand the prototype with socio-economic and sustainability indicators; to develop a broader functional tool that includes indicators relevant on a societal level; evaluate the socio-economic effects of mass management at the project scale and at the societal scale respectively; and evaluate how tenders can be designed to steer in desired direction. The project is expected to result in increased knowledge about sustainable and circular mass management, regarding environmental, social and economic aspects. Information about the division and the department This PhD-position is advertised within the research group Engineering geology at the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology at the Division of Geology and Geotechnics. The research group covers several major areas of applied sciences, such as protection and management of drinking water resources, applied hydrogeology, management of contaminated land and soil, and management of underground resources and have close collaboration with neighbouring sciences, such as mathematics, statistics, and economics. An explicit goal of the Engineering Geology research area is to develop and provide theory and methods that will improve the capabilities and basis for decisions in society to manage geological and hydrogeological resources and risks. Major responsibilities Your major responsibility is to pursue your own doctoral studies. Together with your supervisors you are expected to develop your own scientific concepts and communicate the results of your research verbally and in writing. The position includes research at an 80-100% level where the remaining part is teaching and departmental work. The applicants are expected to contribute to the education at undergraduate or MSc level and/or other activities within the Division (up to 20% of their time). Read more about doctoral studies at Chalmers here. Qualifications The candidate should have: 1) An engineering background of civil engineering and/or engineering geology; 2) Preferably experience from studies and/or activities linked to road and railway engineering, contaminated land or mass management; 3) A Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering, Engineering Geology, Road Engineering or Environmental Engineering; 4) Excellent analytical skills and communication skills in written and spoken English at an academic level; 5) Preferably experience from the construction sector; 6) Ability to read and speak Swedish is a merit; 7) Ability to work independently and take responsibility for progress and quality of the PhD-project. To qualify as a PhD student, you must have a master's level degree corresponding to at least 240 higher education credits in a relevant field. The position requires sound verbal and written communication skills in English. If Swedish is not your native language, Chalmers offers Swedish courses. Contract terms The position is a full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of four years of studies and to a maximum of five years including teaching and departmental work. For more information about what we offer, please visit Chalmers website. *** Chalmers declines to consider all offers of further announcement publishing or other types of support for the recruiting process in connection with this position. ***      Chalmers University of Technology conducts research and education in engineering sciences, architecture, technology-related mathematical sciences, natural and nautical sciences, working in close collaboration with industry and society. The strategy for scientific excellence focuses on our six Areas of Advance; Energy, Health Engineering, Information and Communication Technology, Materials Science, Production and Transport. The aim is to make an active contribution to a sustainable future using the basic sciences as a foundation and innovation and entrepreneurship as the central driving forces. Chalmers has around 11,000 students and 3,000 employees. New knowledge and improved technology have characterised Chalmers since its foundation in 1829, completely in accordance with the will of William Chalmers and his motto: Avancez!