Post-Doctoral Fellow for Improvement of Cassava Processing Efficiency Job at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

Job Title: Post-Doctoral Fellow for Improvement of Cassava Processing Efficiency (R4D/PDF-ICPE/11/13)
Employer: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)

Background: The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) invites applications for the position of Post-Doctoral Fellow for Improvement of Cassava Processing Efficiency.

IITA is an international non-profit research-for-development (R4D) organization created in 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR. Our R4D is anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tackle hunger and poverty by reducing producer and consumer risks, enhancing crop quality and productivity, and generating wealth from agriculture. We have more than 100 internationally recruited scientists from about 35 countries and 900 nationally recruited staff based in various stations across Africa. Please visit http://www.iita.org/ for more information on IITA. RTB is a CGIAR Research Program on Root, Tubers and Bananas involving four CGIAR Centers (IITA, Bioversity, CIP and CIAT) and CIRAD.

Position description: The post doctoral fellow will serve as part of the RTB project team to improvement the efficiency of cassava processing. The general objective of the position is to develop a multi-objective model to predict the performance of peelers and driers of cassava roots under different scales of production and operating conditions. The model will include technical (energy efficiency, products quality), economic (operating costs, investment costs) and environmental criteria (carbon footprint, use of renewable energies). To this end, the post-doctoral fellow will manage the following activities:
1. Interact with the RTB project team to build a database of machinery used for cassava processing especially peelers and driers (literature review).
2. Characterize the performance of selected peelers and driers, based on experimental trials and surveys.
3. Develop physical models predicting the technical performance of selected drying operations (e.g. flash drying, tunnel drying, etc.).
4. Develop a multi-objective model of selected drying operations, including technical, economic and environmental criteria.
5. Adapt existing tools for multi-objective optimization to peeling, drying and other operations for cassava in collaboration with the RTB project team.
6. Interact with a team of consumer preference experts to analyze effects of changes in process technologies on consumer acceptance of products from processing.
7. Communicate the results in the form of reports, peer-reviewed publications and oral presentations at conferences or seminars.
8. Any other duties as may be assigned by the supervisor

Educational Qualifications: PhD in Agricultural engineering, mechanical engineering, process engineering or related field with specialized skill in post harvest technologies and evaluation of drying systems.

Core Competencies:
• Modeling of unit operations and/or processes
• Energy balance analysis in evaluation of post harvest machinery
• Matlab or other modeling software
• Simulation of drying systems using CFD for process optimization
• Experience in pilot-scale experimental trials
• English language essential (spoken and written)
• Previous experience of post harvest engineering work in Africa or Asia is desirable
• Ability to integrate and work with a diverse team (culture, language) based in several countries is appreciated.

Duty station: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, but will involve extensive travel in Africa, Asia and Latin America

General information: Initial appointment is for two years. IITA offers a competitive remuneration package paid in US dollars.

Applications: Applications including covering letter, curriculum vitae, names and addresses of three referees should be addressed to the Head, Human Resources Service.

Closing Date: 15th December 2013 or until a suitable candidate is found.

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