Portland cement is a pre-eminent construction material; world production exceeds 1000 million tonnes per annum. Despite this success, the industry faces challenges related to improved durability and enhanced performance while at the same time improving the sustainability of production. These challenges can only be met by application of advanced materials science and engineering and for that reason, research on cementitious materials is currently experiencing a renaissance. The Commission of the European Communities has announced support for an integrated European research and training Fellowships scheme on cementitious materials. This will be delivered through the Nanocem consortium. The recruitment process is scheduled to enable a start commencing in September 2006.

Ten Fellowships are offered to PhD candidate researchers. The Fellowships provide generous stipend as well as tuition fees and mobility allowances. The precise value of the stipend varies with cost of living in the host member state; details are given on http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/fp6/mariecurie-actions/action/training_en.html. Fellowship are tenable for three years and successful applicants will register at the host University and pursue studies leading to the PhD degree under the relevant degree regulations. Candidates will also be required to spend time at another designated host(s), industrial, academic or institute to enable access to specialised facilities. The Fellowships are available from Sept. 2006 and applications are invited from suitably qualified female or male candidates. Two application rounds have been fixed with closing dates of 20 Feb and 01 April 2006, with prospective interviews in mid-March and mid-April respectively. A third round may be heldsubsequently with a closing date yet to be fixed.

Applicants should note that the construction of the programme of studies is unique. Six leading Universities, 4 research Institutes and 7 industrial partners have joined to provide research guidance and specialised training. While each student will have a “home” University- not normally in the applicants country of citizenship- the research will be transnational and undertaken partly at another partner(s). The selection of partners has been tailored to the objectives of the research; details are at http://www.nanocem.org. All 10 Fellows, together with other selected students, will be brought together twice a year for lectures and seminars on relevant enabling sciences. These will be conducted by invited specialists. Applicants will have a range of backgrounds, possibly in materials science, engineering sciences, chemistry, physics, geosciences, etc. Work experience may also be relevant.

Candidates will need to demonstratematurity and the ability to work productively in a multicultural environment. Also, that they have leadership potential. For this reason, only exceptional applicants can be considered. We expect that the cohort will provide future leaders in industry and academia, hence the rigorous selection criteria. Applicants are invited to read the Commission rules on eligibility and, should they wish, contact the “home” partner for further technical details. It would be helpful if, in the course of application, applicants expressed a preference for topics and described what they could contribute (details about the application at http://www.nanocem.org). Please also note that the Curie programme will support post doctoral Fellows in addition to the studentships: subsequent announcements will give details but preliminary expressions of interest are welcome for Fellowships tenable mainly in 2007 and 2008.