剑桥大学开设巧克力博士学位
Cambridge University is advertising for a PhD student to examine the qualities of chocolate in hot weather. It could be a sweet job for the right candidate, but demands a good university degree, engineering and physics skills, a track record in scientific experimentation, extensive experience of studying soft solids, and good maths. A sweet tooth might also help: more than three years of full-time chocolate is not a career for the soft-centred. Cambridge University is advertising for a PhD student to tackle a three-and-a-half-year research project, into how chocolate can "remain solid and retain qualities sought by consumers", when stored and sold in warm climates. The problem will be familiar to anyone who has ever put aside a treat to consume later on a warm day and been heartbroken to discover it turned into chocolate sauce: chocolate, the ad points out, "has a melting point close to that of the human body". The job – only open to EU candidates – has an undisclosed sponsor described as having "existing technology in this field". The project, the ad continues, "will develop a fundamental understanding of the area which extends beyond the industrial need". The job, based in the school of chemical engineering and biotechnology, will start on January 2015, so candidates might do well to find a large bar and a cool place, and put in a bit of practical research immediately. |