PhD on secondary raw materials in sustainable cements

Institute of Geological Sciences

Starting from January 2026 or upon agreement, 3.5-year position

The Competence Center for Secondary Raw Materials at the Institute of Geology (University of Bern) works closely with environmental authorities and industry on applied research projects in the context of recycling of secondary raw materials. The long-term project “Secondary Raw Materials in the Circular Economy” is investigating the chemical and mineralogical characteristics of secondary raw materials available in Switzerland and assessing their potential for use in cement production. As part of the project, we are looking for a motivated scientist for a doctoral or early post-doc position to investigate the thermal / mechanical / chemical activation of secondary raw materials for use as supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) in sustainable and CO2-reduced cements.

Tasks The research focus lies on a) the thermal and mechanical activation of clay-rich secondary raw materials and b) on chemical activation of demolition materials and incineration residues. The investigations focus on the mineral transformations induced by the activation and their influence on reactivity, complemented by thermodynamic modeling.

The main tasks include :

• Geochemical-mineralogical characterization of the secondary raw materials (XRD, XRF, TGA-FTIR, particle analysis (e.g. BET))
• Investigation of mineral reactions induced by thermal and chemical activation with in-situ non-ambient XRD experiments (incl. method development)
• Laboratory experiments on thermal / mechanical / chemical activation and mineralogical characterization of activated materials (XRD, TGA-FTIR, BET)
• R3 reactivity tests to investigate reactivity as SCM
• Thermodynamic modeling of the mineral reactions during activation and hydration
• Assessment of the activation and recycling potential of the different materials and the resulting environmental benefits

The project will be carried out in collaboration with Vigier Ciments SA and Swiss Federal Laboratories for Material Science and Technology EMPA (B. Lothenbach). Requirements

Deadline : November 10, 2025 via email to, containing (as one pdf file) :