The document describes a call for applications from experienced researchers interested in developing collaborative Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (MSCA-IF) proposals to be hosted at the University of Ljubljana. Prof. Marko Petrič is seeking candidates of any nationality for the MSCA-IF European and Global fellowships. Eligible candidates must have a doctoral degree or at least 4 years of research experience and not have resided in Slovenia for more than 12 months in the past 3 years. Successful candidates will receive a monthly salary and allowances. Researchers interested should express interest by 18 March 2016 including a CV and 2-page research proposal summary for consideration. The University of Ljubljana

1. p.p. 362, Kongresni trg 12
1001 Ljubljana Slovenija
telephone: 01 241 85 00
fax: 01 241 86 60
http://w w w.uni-lj.si/en
Expressionof supervisor’sinteresttohost
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowsatthe UniversityofLjubljana (UL)
Prof. dr. Marko Petrič from University of Ljubljana issearchingfor a top-class
experienced researcher of any nationality interested in developing collaborative MSCA IF
application for the following EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation
Horizon 2020 actions:
 MarieSkłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships –European (MSCA-IF-2016-EF)
 MarieSkłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships –Global (MSCA-IF-2016-GF)
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR MSC FELLOWS
 The researcher must, at the deadlinefor the submission of proposals,bein possession of a doctoral degree or have at least
four years of full-timeequivalentresearch experience. The researcher may be of any nationality.
 Mobility rule:the researcher must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies) in the country of the
host organisation for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the deadlinefor submission of proposals.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR POTENTIAL CANDIDATES – RESEARCHER’S CAREER DEVELOPMENT
The goal of MSCA Individual Fellowships is to enhance the creative and innovative potential of experienced researchers (post-
doctoral or with 4 years of equivalent research experience) wishing to diversify thei r individual competence in terms of skill
acquisition through advanced training, international and intersectoral mobility. The researcher and supervisor will develop the
application jointly. The project proposals will be submitted by the host organization. If the application will be successful, the IF
researcher will berecruited under an employment contractwith a monthly salary of 4.650 €* coefficient of the country where the
researcher is hosted (livingallowance) + 600 € (mobility allowance) + 500 € (fa mily allowance) per month. More information may
be found here.
University of Ljubljana offers stimulating environment for postdoctoral res earch providing modern core facilities in a supported
environment with on-the-job training and supervision. In addition, postdoctoral researchers will have access to the generic and
transferableskillstrainings,they will havethepossibility to beinvolved in educational process and if suitable,they will beseconded
to industry all with the purpose for further development of their careers in the academic and non-academic sector.
Researchers who wish to cooperate with UL for the submission of a project proposal under the aforementioned Actions should
check that they fulfil the respective eligibility criteria and then send an expression of interest, consisting of a CV and a two-page
summary presentation of their research proposal by 18 March 2016. Proposals will bepre-selected based on internal evaluation
and the availability of suitable supervision. Candidates will be informed of the results of the pre-selection by 25 March 2016.
Selected candidates will be invited to meet the supervisor and visit the research environment of the university within the 2-
day MSCA-IF proposal writing workshop in Ljubljana organised by the UL at the end of May 2016.
UNIVERSITY OF LJUBLJANA
University of Ljubljana (Univerza v Ljubljani,UL) was founded in 1919 and is the oldest and largesthigher education and sci entific
research institution in Slovenia. It encompasses 23 faculties and 3 art academies and has more than 40.000 undergraduate and
postgraduate students and approximately 5.600 employees. UL is listed amongst the top 500 universities in the world according
to the ARWU Shanghai, Times THES-QS and WEBOMETRICS rankings. UL is very active in national and international R&D and
educational programmes, and creates almost half of the research results of Slovenia. In the period 2007-2013 UL cooperated in
745 EU projects, including 163 FP7 projects, which places UL on the first place among the organisations in the EU 13 member
states. The University of Ljubljana hascloseties with many excellent Slovenian and foreign companies. In May 2015, UL founded
the Slovenian Innovation Hub, which will operate mainly as a facilitator and promoter of development and research teams in th e
academic and business sphere.UL is also founder of the University incubator,the Institute for Research and Innovation,and very
recently the SMUL network - a global alumni and associates network. From 2008 UL is committed to respect the principles of the
University of Ljubljana
Call H2020-MSCA-IF-2016
Planned opening date: 12 April 2016
Deadline: 14 September 2016
More info H2020-MSCA-IF-2016

2. 1
European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for Recruitment of Researchers, which led to the EC given UL the right
to use the logo 'HR Excellence in Research' in 2013.
PROFILE OF THE SUPERVISOR
NAME OF THE SUPERVISOR: Prof. dr. Marko Petrič
MAIN RESEARCH FIELD: Wood Science and Technology – surface finishing of wood; liquefaction of lignocellulosics; nanoparticles
E-MAIL address: marko.petric@bf.uni-lj.si
LINK to SUPERVISOR’s CV: http://les.bf.uni-lj.si/en/about-us/employees-new/show/marko-petric/
DESCRIPTION OF THE SUPERVISOR
Marko PETRIČ, PhD, full professor
University of Ljubljana,Biotechnical Faculty,Department of Wood Science and
Technology, Jamnikarjeva ulica 101, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; tel.: +386 (0)1
320 36 20, fax: +386 (0)1 257 22 85
e-mail: marko.petric@bf.uni-lj.si
EDUCATION, ACADEMIC DEGREES, PEDAGOGICAL WORK
Marko Petrič, BSc (1987), MSc (1990), PhD (1994) – all in Chemistry; full
professor for “Wood working and wood processing technologies”. On
undergraduate and postgraduate levels he gives courses on surfaceproperties
and finishing of wood, and on materials; supervisor to many undergraduate
and to 6 PhD students (5 finished,1 in progress).He has been supervisor to 3
post-doc researchers (2 from India, 1 from France/Cameroun).
EMPLOYMENTS
1987 – 1990, Department of technical ceramics, Jožef Stefan Institute,
Ljubljana,Slovenia:junior researcher;from November 1990:current affiliation
(from March 2000 university professor).
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Research of wood coatings for interior and exterior,their interactionswith various substrates (solid,modified and densified wood),
wood liquefaction and preparation of wood coatings based on liquefied wood, applications of nanomaterials in wood coatings
and in treatment of wood. Surface characteristics of wood – wettability, surface free energy.
In addition, he has studied new environmentally friendly wood preservatives and all aspects of exposure of wood in exterior.
RESEARCH FIELD OF THE SUPERVISOR
Main research field: Wood Science and Technology
Sub-fields:
- Surface finishing of wood and lignocellulose materials with coatings, paints, lacquers, oils, …
- Surface properties of wood (wettability, surface free energy)
- Surface properties of coated wood
- Performance of wood and wooden materials in interior and exterior use
- Influence of weathering and artificial accelerated ageing on un-finished and coated wood and wood based materials
- Liquefaction of wood and lignocellulose materials (biorefineries)
- Preparation of bio-based coatings made of liquefied wood and lignocellulosematerials;performance/properties of bio-
based coatings
- Application of nano-particles in wood coatings
- Deposition of nano-particles on wood surfaces by sol-gel methods
- Hydrophobisation of wood and wood based materials

3. 2
RECENT TRACK-RECORD and other SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS
KUMAR, Anuj, PETRIČ, Marko, KRIČEJ, Borut, ŽIGON, Jure, TYWONIAK, Jan, HÁJEK, Petr, SEVER ŠKAPIN, Andrijana,PAVLIČ, Matjaž.
Liquefied wood based polyurethane-nanosilica hybrid coatings and hydrophobization by self-assembled monolayers of
orthotrichlorosilane (OTS). ACS sustainable chemistry & engineering, ISSN 2168-0485, 2015, vol. 3, in press, pp. 1-32, ilustr.
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acssuschemeng.5b00723 , doi: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.5b00723.
CHEUMANI-YONA, Arnaud Maxime, BUDIJA, Franc, HRASTNIK, David, PAVLIČ, Matjaž, PORI, Pavel, TAVZES, Črtomir, PETRIČ,
Marko. Preparation of two-component polyurethanecoatings frombleached liquefied wood.Bioresources,ISSN1930-2126,2015,
vol. 10, iss. 2, pp. 3347-3363.
http://ojs.cnr.ncsu.edu/index.php/BioRes/article/view/BioRes_10_2_3347_Cheumani_Yona_Polyurethane_Coatings_Liquefied_
Wood .
MIKLEČIĆ, Josip,LUČIĆ BLAGOJEVIĆ, Sanja, PETRIČ, Marko, JIROUŠ-RAJKOVIĆ, Vlatka. Influenceof TiO2 and ZnO nanoparticles on
properties of waterbornepolyacrylatecoatingexposed to outdoor conditions.Progress in organic coatings,ISSN0300 -9440.[Print
ed.], 2015, vol. 89, no. dec., pp. 67-74, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030094401530059X .
KUTNAR, Andreja, KRIČEJ, Borut, PAVLIČ, Matjaž, PETRIČ, Marko. Influence of treatment temperature on wettability of Norway
sprucethermally modified in vacuum. Journal of adhesion scienceand technology, ISSN 0169-4243,2013,vol. 27, no. 9, pp. 963-
972, doi: 10.1080/01694243.2012.727168 .
PETRIČ, Marko, OVEN, Primož.Determination of wettability of wood and its significancein wood scienceand technology :a critical
review. Reviews of adhesion and adhesives, ISSN 2168-0973, 2015, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 121-187.
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/scrivener/raa/2015/00000003/00000002/art00001;jsessionid=fvmi82guxcc7.victoria
RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT
FACULTY/DEPARTMENT/LABORATORY
Department of Wood Science& Technology is partof Biotechnical Faculty (BF),Ljubljana,Slovenia.BF is among thelargestfaculties
of the University of Ljubljana, with more than 540 employees and over 2300 students per year. It consists of 7 departments,
including the Department of Wood Science & Technology (47 employees organised in 7 Chairs or Working Groups, around 250
students).
The primary activity of the Department of Wood Science & Technology is education on BSc/MSc/PhD levels.At the same time, it
is the only research and development institution in the field of wood science and technology in Slovenia, with a strong co -
operation with Slovenian wood-processing industry. Research activities cover wood technology (anatomy, dendrochronology,
wood drying);wood pathology and preservation,wood coatings,wooden constructions,saw-milling,wood chemistry,wood based
materials and products, wood machining and economic investigations in wood processing sector.
Surface wood finishinglaboratory/group,where the fellow is supposed to carry out majority of her/his work, is partof the Chair
for wood bonding, wood-based composites and surfacefinishingof wood. In the wood finishinglaboratory,only three employees
have a permanent position: the head, Prof. Dr. Marko Petrič,the assistant,Dr.Matjaž Pavlič,and thetechnical assistant,Mr. Jure
Žigon. The lab covers all aspects of surfacefinishingof wood and is specialised for standard and non-standard characterisation of
wood surfaces and coated wood. It has a well established collaboration with Slovenian furniture producers and some other
companies from the wood based industrial sector.
RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE
Selected relevant equipment, availableatthe Department of Wood Science & Technology:
- Equipment for standard determination of properties of liquid and cured coatings ,
- theta (Optical Tensiometer) contact anglegoniometer (Biolin Scientific Oy,Espoo – Finland),
- tensiometer Kruss K100,
- colorimeter (X-Rite SP60 Sphere Spectrophotometer),
- AcuGloss TRI Gloss Meter,
- artificial weatheringinstrument (Suntest® XXL),
- FTIR spectrometer with attached microscope,Spectrum one, Perkin Elmer,
- X-ray fluorescencespectrometer (Twin X), Oxford instruments,
- rheometer ARES with a system for curinganalyses,
- system for dielectric analysis(DEA),
- high pressureDSC,
- SEM (in the process of purchasing,will beavailablefromJune/July 2016),
- universal testingmachines Zwick,

4. 3
- UV/vis spectrometer,
- lightmicroscopeNikon Eclipse+ Lucia image analysissystem,wood anatomy laboratory
- various wood conditioningchambers,
- ordinary laboratory equipment for “wet chemistry” experiments,
- several vacuum/pressurechambers for impregnation and thermal modification of wood
- microbiological laboratory for work in sterileconditions (for determination of resistanceagainstwood decay fungi)
- rich bank of fungal cultures,
- laboratory for wood working
- laboratory for standard testingof furniture
- Research equipment, accessiblein the partner institutions:SEM, TEM, ESR (EPR), NMR, elemental analysissystems
ACADEMIC AND NON-ACADEMIC COLLABORATION
The leader of the surfacefinishinggroup,Prof.Dr. M. Petrič was a supervisor of two post-doc trainingof researchers fromabroad,
financed by the Slovene Human Resources Development and Scholarship Fund:dr.Manabendra Deka fromIndia and of dr.Arnaud
Maxime Cheumani Yona from France/ Cameroun. He is currently collaboratingwith the post-doc Dr. Anuj Kumar (Czech Technical
University in Prague) who has visited the labs in Ljubljana for several times in the lastperiod. At the Biotechnical faculty,as well
as at the Dept. of Wood Science & Technology, international staff and students exchange is very active, especially in the frame of
European Erasmus and Erasmus+ exchange programmes. At GF, we have approximately 50-60 incoming students from various
European countries and aslo aboutthe same number of outgoing students. At least1-2 of incomingstudents per year work in the
Wood surfacefinishinglaboratory.In addition,in thelastyears,every year we hosted at leastonestudent per year, for the summer
training,from ENSTIB, Ecole National Superieur des techniques et industries du bois,Epinal, which is thepart of the University of
Lorraine, Nancy, France.
The Dept. of Wood Science& Technology is well internationally known and established.Thesameis truealso for theWood Surface
finishinggroup.This can be well illustrated by some selected international activities of the leader of the group, prof. Dr. M. Petrič:
leader of the Section 3 (Wood Protecting Chemicals) in the International Research Group for Wood Protection (IRG/WP),
Stockholm, Sweden and member of the Scientific Programme committee (SPC) in IRG/WP (till including 2009); Member of the
editorial board of the journal “Drvna industrija”(Wood industry) (Zagreb, Croatia); member of the editorial board of the jou rnal
“Journal of adhesion science and technology” (2012-2013), member of the editorial board of the journal “Reviews of adhesion
and adhesives” (2013-); member of scientific programme committees of the conferences ICECFOP (2004) and Ecowood (2006,
2008, 2010, 2012), Porto Portugal; member of the committee of the ECWM6 conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia; Invited external
examiner at University of Eldoret, Eldoret, Kenya, 2012-2015, etc.
The department of Wood Science& Technology has been participatingin many national and European research programmes.Just
to name some selected ones: COST FP1006 - Bringing new functions to wood through surface modification; COST FP 1303 -
Performance of bio-based building materials; COST FP 1205 - Innovative applications of regenerated wood cellulose fibres
innovation; ERA-NET WoodWisdom-Net - Bark valorisation into insulating foams and bioenergy; ERA-NET WoodWisdom -Net2 -
Pinosylvins as novel bioactive agents for food applications; ERA-NET Plus Wood Wisdom –Net+ - Mobilisation and utilisation of
recycled wood for lignocellulosic biorefinery processes; etc.
The Department of Wood Science & technology has developed collaboration with various stakeholders fromthe Sector. So, also
the Wood Surface Finishing group permanently collaborate (research, development, testing) with various furniture producing
companies (for instance the joinery producer M-Sora, Žiri), producers and retailers of wooden floorings, paint and
preservative/modified wood producers (e.g. Helios,d.d., or Chemcolor, d.o.o., and for instanceSilvaprodukt, d.o.o., respectively),
where there the secondment arrangement for MSC fellows could be organised.
SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS/PREFERENCES
- Required language: good to excellent knowledge of English language; ability to fluently communicate in English fluent;
ability to write in a proper English written language
- PhD in a relevant field,ideally in one of the followingcategories:(i) chemistry – preferably in polymer chemistry or with
a focus on application of nanomaterials;(ii) materialsscience;(iii) surfacescience;(iv) wood science and technology; or
(v) building/architectural science and technology related to wooden structures
- If PhD of the candidate was not related to wood and wood-based and other lignocellulosic materials, some basic
knowledge / experience on wood-related topics is advantageous
- Research experience after PhD is not a prerequisite, but it is highly advantageous
- If the candidate has a research experience, the following areas are beneficial: polymer chemistry / mater ials; surface
coatings (paints,varnishes,lacquers,…);physico-chemical instrumental methods of characterisation of materials and/or
surfaces;bio-based materials(includingwood and other lignocellulosicsubstances);(bio-based) composites;application
of nanoparticles in order to improve material/surface characteristics
- Ability to exercise original and critical thought

5. 4
- Outstandingresearch potential or experience, exhibited by a letter of motivation, papers of a high quality in established
international scientific journals, various awards (for instance for excellent study achievements, student poster /
presentation awards, and similar)
- Established research interests
- Excellent communication skills
- Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively
OTHER
Itis expected thatthe fellowwill duringher/his research stay atthehostinstitution gain or improveor complement her/his existing
knowledge that would help her/him in her/his development of the research career. Such new/complementary areas are
knowledge on wood surfacecoatings,their interaction with wood-based materials,liquefaction of wood and other ligno-cellulosic
materials, experimental techniques to characterise properties of liquid and cured surface finishes, weathering of wood -based
(with or without a surfacefinish) materials,etc. The specific topic will bechosen in accordancewith the fellow’s interests in such
a way that itwould be complementary to the existingknowledge atthe host institution.The research will beorganised and led by
the fellow her/himself, under supervision. This will contribute to his development into a leading independent researcher.
A two-way transfer of knowledge is expected as the result of the work at the host institution. In addition, the fellow will be
introduced into the international research network of the host.