PhD - Ceramics materials research

Universidad de Sevilla & École Centrale Paris

Spain & France

Closing date: 15/03/2014

Description 

Title: Study of novel proton conductors for High temperature pressurized electrolysis cells.

Field: Materials for Solid Oxide Cells, hydrogen production, proton conductors.

Context and objective:

Hydrogen will play a more and more important role in a near future for energy applications. Its production, based at 95% on hydrocarbon resources, is still a problem in a general context of low carbon emissions. One of the most promising route for hydrogen production is the water electrolysis coupled to heat sources and clean electricity production. Nevertheless, their main limitation lies in their efficiency losses with time or their breaking under temperature cycling. To explain this degradation, the evolution of mechanical properties play a central role. For now, very few studies have been performed that allow the testing of mechanical properties in real working conditions. Recently, the test of mechanical properties under controlled atmosphere have been developed at Univ. of Sevilla. Parallely, the SPMS lab. at Ecole Centrale Paris has been working on the synthesis of dense nanostructured ceramics and on the measurement of their ion conduction properties. The objective is to synthesize and study the evolution of electro-mechanical properties of materials for high temperature Solid Oxide Cells.

After choosing several compositions adapted to the application, the PhD student will prepare nanosized powder samples through chemical routes (freeze-drying, hydrothermal) and then obtain dense ceramics through classical or Spark Plasma Sintering. Hydration and transport properties will be determined respectively by thermogravimetry and impedance spectroscopy in controlled atmosphere. The student will also participate to the building of a measuring cell that will allow to determine electro-mechanical properties as a function of mechanical strain and controlled atmosphere.

The thesis will be done (and co-supervised) in close collaboration with Prof. Manuel Jímenez-Melendo at University of Sevilla.

PhD - Uranium melting and atomization

Technische Universität München (Germany) & AREVA-CERCA in Romans (France)

Deadline for applications is 2014-02-16.

Description

The neutron source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) aims to convert its operation from usage of highly enriched Uranium (HEU) to lower enriched Uranium. This program is part of world wide efforts to minimize the usage of HEU in research reactors. For this reason, a new nuclear fuel with a very high Uranium density has to be developed. 

In the past years, the working group “Hochdichte Brennstoffe” of FRM II together with its partner AREVA-CERCA in France has constructed a device to produce Uranium powder of small spherical particles with diameters of 50-100 µm. This device, which is currently a prototype, needs Uranium pins for its operation that have to be casted beforehand in a specially designed furnace. 

To enforce our team, we are looking for a Ph.D. Student to continue and expand our work in this field. Large parts of the thesis have to be carried out at AREVA-CERCA in Romans, France. The work consists of two main parts: 

• The optimization and industrialization of the Uranium casting process, or depending on the outcome, the construction of a new furnace which satisfies the pronounced safety requirements of the nuclear industry.

Therefore, a safety plan has to be developed and implement together with the French nuclear authorities.

• The optimization and industrialization of the atomization process. This includes a design review, parameterization of the proto-type, process modelling, automation and more. Again, this has to be carried out in accordance with the French nuclear regulations.

PostDoc - Resource Conservative Manufacturing & Transforming Waste

INSEAD

France

Description

Project: "Resource Conservative Manufacturing – Transforming Waste into High Value

Resource through Closed-Loop Product Systems (ResCoM)".

For this EU project, which has started in November 2013, INSEAD is seeking to fill a

Post-Doc Position ResCoM is a 4 year project with 12 partners, including KTH Stockholm, TU Delft, tedrive, Bugaboo, Gorenje, Loewe, among others.

In a world with growing pressures on resources and the environment, the EU has no choice but to go for the transition to a resource-efficient and ultimately regenerative circular economy. The main objective of the ResCoM project is to develop an innovative framework and a collaborative software platform for the industrial implementation of closed-loop manufacturing systems.

In ResCoM, four manufacturers who are active in B2B and B2C markets (Electrolux, tedrive, Bugaboo and Loewe) will pilot a closed loop product system in their businesses.

These pilots will demonstrate how the collecting, remanufacturing and upcycling of discarded products into new added-value products will be cost-effective, resource efficient and more sustainable than the current linear manufacturing systems.

To support the pilot development, the ResCoM consortium will develop a framework based on methodologies and tools that take in account the complex, dynamic interaction between product design (design for multiple product lifecycles), supply chain management (integrated supply chains), business model development (closed-loop business models) and remanufacturing processes .

To support the pilot operations, the ResCoM consortium will develop a software platform consisting of a closed-loop product lifecycle management module coupled with a materials information module. The platform will help guide design decisions by illustrating the benefits of closed loop product design in terms of resource efficiency, CO2 production and energy use, and will provide business metrics such as lifecycle cost estimates, rapid identification of critical materials, product specific and remanufacturing considerations and legislative requirements. The platform will be tested and evaluated by the manufacturers. The ResCoM project results will be useful within a wide range of businesses and will equip industries and policy-makers with the tools required to support the transition to a closed-loop model.

INSEAD’s main work is on Closed-Loop Supply Chains and Business Models for Multiple Lifecycles.

PhD - Mapping ecosystem service tradeoffs

The Mediterranean Institute for Biodiversity and Ecology (IMBE, Aix-Marseille University)

Aix-en-Provence, France

Closing date: 31st of January 2014

Description

Research Group "Macroecology and Biogeography of Global Change (MacroBio)" has a 36-months PhD position open for applications. The position is funded by the European Commission through the FP7 Research Project OPERAs and affiliated to the French     National Scientific Research Centre (CNRS).

The topic is the broad-scale spatial mapping and quantification of ecosystem service trade-offs following from management of agro-ecosystems in the Mediterranean basin. The context of the

research includes the environment (climate, land use) as well as trends in societal demands for services. Based on scientific literature, spatial databases and the outputs from a process-based ecosystem model, the candidate will analyze, quantify and map ecosystem service trade-offs. Service valuation and indicator representation methods will be developed with the IMBE team. The approach is pan-Mediterranean: a significant part of the work will therefore consist of helping to reduce gaps in data and knowledge for the sum of countries around the Mediterranean basin.

The research group works in close interaction with international programs such as Future Earth (through its project ecoSERVICES) and science-policy interfaces such as IPBES.

PostDoc - Modeling plant biodiversity

The Mediterranean Institute for Biodiversity and Ecology (IMBE, Aix-Marseille University)

Aix-en-Provence, France

Closing date: 31st Januery 2014

Description

Research Group "Conservation Ecology and Biotic Interactions" has a 22-months Post-doc     position open for applications. The position is funded through a European Neigborhood Partnership (ENPI) project on vulnerability of coastal ecosystems, involving research groups from Rome and Cagliari (Italy), Alexandria (Egypt), Beirut (Lebanon) and Sfax (Tunisia).

At IMBE, the project is directed by Arne Saatkamp, Agathe Leriche, and Cecile Albert, in Marseille, France - a region noted for its access to outdoor activities.

The project aims to model the impacts of fragmentation (spatial organization), habitat degradation (land use change) on plant biodiversity of coastal ecosystems around the Mediterranean. We aim to fit to observations and output from plant distribution models (accounting for spatial explicit migration, neutral (stochastic) processes and community assembly rules) in order to assess the impact of spatial configuration on plant diversity. We then aim to simulate potential future changes in spatial configuration of these habitats. This project will benefit from a large data base of plant distributions and co-occurrences as well as extensive environmental  and phylogenetic data gathered in previous projects and will be in     contact with other regional to large scale model project in our institute.

The post-doc should start as soon as possible, dealing with existing GIS and floristic databases, interacting with researchers in our lab working on a broad range of projects in climate/global change impacts, macroecological patterns, phylogeography, functional ecology, landscape ecology and conservation biology.

PostDoc - Position on weak lensing and euclid

CEA Saclay

France

Closing Date: 31st January 2014

Description

Location: CEA Saclay, France.

Position Status: Open.

Dead line for application: Jan 31, 2014.

Web page: http://www.cosmostat.org/job.html

Applications are invited for a postdoctoral position on Weak lensing and Euclid for a period of 2 years.

Requirements

The candidate should have a strong interest in cosmology or/and in image processing and statistical techniques.

Minimum qualifications include an undergraduate degree or higher in astronomy, physics, computer science, statistics, or related field.

More information and applications

PostDoc - Biogeochemistry and salinity remote sensing

Institut Pierre Simon Laplace

Laboratoire d' Oceanographie et du Climate

Paris, France

Description

The Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat - Expérimentation et Approches Numériques (LOCEAN)/ Institut Pierre Simon Laplace (IPSL) invites applications for a 15 months, possibly renewable, postdoctoral position. The position is opened in the frame of the EU FP7 Carbochange (carbochange.b.uib.no) and of the European Space Agency SMOS+SOS (www.smos-sos.org) projects. The successful candidate will join a LOCEAN team which has a lead expertise in salinity remote sensing and air-sea CO2 fluxes. The research project aims at demonstrating the contribution of new satellite sea surface salinity, SSS, to other existing remotely sensed products (sea surface temperature, ocean colour, altimetry) for improving regional air-sea CO2 fluxes estimates.

The SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) mission launched in november 2009 has demonstrated the capability of the satellite L-band radiometry to sense SSS. Almost 4 years of SMOS SSS data are now available. The Aquarius satellite mission delivers SSS since more than 2 years. At 10 days-100x100km2 scale, the precision of the SMOS and Aquarius SSS is on the order of 0.2-0.3 in tropical and subtropical regions.

The estimate of the air-sea CO2 flux at regional scale, based on in situ measurements, is challenging due to the sparse measurements of the CO2 partial pressure at the ocean surface, pCO2. Hence the reliability of the estimated fluxes strongly relies on the methods used to extrapolate the in-situ pCO2 measurements. Satellite sea surface temperature and chlorophyll have been widely used in the past in such methods, as they contain information about physical and biological processes driving pCO2 variability. On another hand, several studies have shown that SSS brings complementary information, that could, in particular, help to understand and identify the processes which control the pCO2 signatures associated with various water masses and biogeochemical provinces. In this project, we propose to use the satellite SSS data, in conjunction with in situ pCO2 (in particular but not exclusively the ones available in the SOCAT data base), in regions well and accurately sampled by SMOS and by ship pCO2, for 1) interpreting the observed pCO2 variability, 2) developing new methodology for extrapolating pCO2 and 3) demonstrating the potential of new satellite SSS at improving air-sea CO2 flux estimates at regional scale.

Requirements 

Applicants should have a background in ocean biogeochemistry, and preferentially in ocean remote sensing. They should have significant experience in data processing.

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PostDoc - Plant molecular biology

INRA Centre

Versailles Cedex, France

Description

Recent data indicate a meristematic role for LFY in addition to its well-known role during flower development (Chahtane et al. 2013). The goal of this project is to evaluate a novel function for the LEAFY (LFY) floral regulator in the development of plant meristems in Arabidopsis. For this, we will determine the link between LFY/UFO and two majors meristematic regulators, SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM) and CUP SHAPED COTYLEDON genes. In many species with dissected leaves, KNOXI and CUC genes are expressed in the leaf primordia and act in concert to generate compound leaves. A. thaliana has simple leaves that do not express KNOX genes, but ectopic KNOX expression in leaves increases their dissection. A LFY-dependent increase leaf dissection in Arabidopsis is also induced by ectopic expression of the LFY coactivator UFO. Leaf dissection which is controlled either by the LFY or the KNOX pathway depending on species requires CUC2 activity (Blein et al., 2010). 

We will identify and compare the targets of these regulators in leaves with those identified in Arabidopsis meristems. For this, three ethanol inducible transgenic lines overexpressing STM, CUC2, and UFO/LFY have been generated. The proteins have been tagged with an HA epitope. Leave margins which are meristematic-like sectors from these lines will be dissected using Laser Assisted Microdissection and their transcriptome will determined. This, combined with ChIP assays and bioinformatics analysis performed in collaboration with the group of François Parcy. These targets will then be compared to those identified in Arabidopsis meristems or Medicago leaves in collaboration with Pascal Ratet and Etienne Delannoy who are involved in the project. A subset of these genes will be further functionally studied to test their importance in leaf dissection and to get new insights into the function of LFY.

This project will be conducted at the INRA of Versailles by Véronique Pautot and Patrick Laufs. This project is part of the broader project coordinated by François Parcy (CNRS Grenoble). 

The position is funded by the French National Agency for Research, to work in the Institut of Jean-Pierre Bourgin located near Versailles (http://www.ijpb.versailles.inra.fr/en/index.htm). 

Requirements

PhD in Plant Molecular Biology. The candidat should have expertise in molecular biology, genetic, biochemistry and bioinformatics. 

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PhD - Geodynamics / Geomorphology / Atmosphere Dynamics

University of Grenoble

Grenoble, France

Description

As part of the iTECC Marie Curie Training Network (http://www.falw.vu/~itecc), we are looking to fill a fully funded 3 year PhD position in the field of computational geomorphology and/or atmospheric dynamics. The successful candidate will help Jean BRAUN (http://isterre.fr) at the University of Grenoble in France to develop and use a numerical model to simulate the interactions between erosion, climate and tectonics in the Himalayas. The main question that will be addressed is how the variability in rainfall along the Himalayan arc affects erosion and potentially feedback into tectonics, both at present and in the geological past.

A good background in numerical modeling or in the Earth Sciences but with a demonstrated ability in using and comprehending numerical models is essential. An MSc degree in a relevant domain of expertise obtained from an institution outside of France is necessary (see iTECC web site http://www.falw.vu/~itecc, for complete information).

iTECC's objectives include the training of scientists with the ability to contribute to multi-disciplinary research ranging from solid-Earth processes to climate, and apply their skills in academia and industry; the integration of research on present-day deformation with information from the geological record to understand how the lithosphere deforms; a significant improvement in the recovery and exploitation of tectonic, erosive, weathering and climatic records from sedimentary sequences; the evaluation of the impact of elevation and exhumation of the Himalayas on climate; the evaluation of the impact of climate, through erosion, on the tectonic evolution of the Himalayan orogen; and the validation of climate models, using them to verify the interconnections between tectonics and climate.

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PostDoc - NMR-based metabolomics

CNRS, High Field NMR Center / Institute for Analytical Sciences

Villeurbanne, France

Description

A postdoctoral position is available at the Center for Very High Field NMR (Institute for Analytical Sciences, Lyon, France) on metabonomic investigations of biological systems. The successful candidate will work on a fundamental and innovative project carried out in collaboration with an industrial partner.

Techniques involving high throughput NMR and chemometric analysis of NMR data will be applied to the investigation of biological material relevant to applications in the domain of biochemistry/biomedicine.

The Center for Very High Field NMR in Lyon, which is affiliated to the CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research), the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, one of the leading Grandes Ecoles in France, and the Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, will provide the ideal interdisciplinary (chemistry – biology - physics) environment and the necessary facilities to carry out the project. The center is equipped with state of the art NMR spectrometers for high throughput solution and HR-MAS NMR spectroscopy at 600 MHz and above. It hosts the world unique 1 GHz spectrometer.

Requirements

The applicant should hold a PhD in the area of biochemistry, chemistry, analytical sciences, or chemometrics/biostatistics. The position requires previous experience in the field of metabolomics. Experience in NMR spectroscopy would be greatly appreciated but is not an absolute requirement. The candidate should be strongly motivated to work in an interdisciplinary environment.

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PostDoc - Geochemical investigations

Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP) and synchrotron SOLEIL

Paris, france

Description

Postdoctoral position available immediately for geochemical investigations of Archean drill cores and modern samples of stromatolites and microbial mats.

The candidate will be based part time at IPGP (downtown Paris, 5th district) and part time at SOLEIL, which is located about 1 hour south of Paris by public transportation. IPGP is large and very diverse scientifically with more than 150 faculty members and 150 PhD's and postdoctorates from various nationalities. SOLEIL is a fully international environment with more than 350 faculty positions and postdocs.

Requirements

Applicants should have a PhD in Earth Sciences (geochemistry, mineralogy, Archean geobiology). A good background in Physics is recommended but not mandatory. This position is funded for one year renewable another year.

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PostDoc - Mathematics research

CIMI LabEx (Centre International de Mathématiques et d’Informatique)

Toulouse, France

Description

CIMI LabEx (Centre International de Mathématiques et d’Informatique) in Toulouse offers two post-doctoral positions to be filled as from October 2014. The positions are funded for one year and may be extended for a second year. The research areas should be developed within the activities at the Institut de Mathématiques de Toulouse (IMT) and the Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse (IRIT).

Requirements

Positions are open to holders of a doctorate in mathematics or computer science obtained in France or in a foreign country. Offers are not theme-based and all mathematical disciplines are welcome. The selection will be based on excellence in scientific accomplishment and the quality of the scientific project. Interactions between mathematics and computer science will be closely examined.

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PostDoc - Venus atmosphere research

Paris Observatory

Meudon, France

Description

The position is available as early as Oct. 1, 2013, and no later than March 1, 2014 for a duration of two years, to work on millimeter-observations of Venus' atmosphere obtained with the ALMA interferometer.

The successful candidate will lead high profile research based on exploitation of ESO/Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of Venus' upper atmosphere chemistry and dynamics. His/her main work will be in the analysis, modeling and interpretation of the upper atmosphere structure, variability of trace species (CO, HDO, SO, SO2), wind measurements and their spatial and temporal variability at different vertical levels. The work will be carried out in Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), a department of Paris Observatory in Meudon in collaboration with Drs T. Encrenaz, R. Moreno, E. Lellouch.

Requirements

Candidates should have a PhD in atmospheric science, with strong background in radiative transfer modeling of planetary atmosphere in the millimeter/submillimeter range. Experience in data-reduction with radio-interferometer is highly desirable. Also essential are experience with scientific computing environments, and a reasonable number of high quality publications commensurate with stage of career.

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PostDoc - Astronomy and geophysics

Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur

Nice, France

Description

The Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur (OCA) offers a postdoctoral fellowship in various research areas related to astronomy and geophysics including: astrometry, coronography, gravitational waves, image and signal processing, observational cosmology, optical interferometry, planetary science, space geodesy, stellar astrophysics, turbulence and space plasmas, geochemistry, geochronology, marine geology, petrology, rock mechanics, seismology and tectonics. 

Requirements

Applicants must have obtained their PhD outside the OCA. Applications are reviewed internally, before a final selection by the Henri Poincaré Committee, comprising representatives of Conseil Général des Alpes-Maritimes, Académie des Sciences, Collège de France and funding agencies. The start date is between September 1, 2013 and December 1, 2014.

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PostDoc - Biochemistry

INSA & ENSCBP

Bordeaux, France

 

Description

 

A Post-doctoral position is available within the frame of a joint project between the Biosystems and Process Engineering Laboratory (LISBP-INSA) in Toulouse, France, and the Chemistry on Organic Polymers Laboratory (LCPO-ENSCBP) in Bordeaux, France. The project will be carried out at the Toulouse White Biotechnology Centre of Excellence (TWB), a pre-industrial demonstrator in the field of industrial biotechnology, located in Toulouse. The successful candidate will be in charge of screening enzyme mutant libraries, purposely designed for polymerization catalysis, and characterizing structure and properties of polymer products. This project aims to develop new sustainable routes to carbohydrate-containing polymers.

 

Requirements

 

We are seeking a highly motivated scientist who has research background and expertise in enzymology, protein production and purification, development of enzymatic assays, as well as skills in organic and polymer chemistry (more especially in controlled free-radical or ring-opening polymerization techniques) under inert atmosphere. The applicant should also be familiar with analytical techniques (HPLC, Mass Spectrometry, NMR, Size Exclusion Chromatography, IRFT, ...). Applicants should have completed a PhD in Biology, Biochemistry or related field. Experience with enzyme engineering and screening as well as polymer chemistry would be a plus. The perspective researcher will have the opportunity to work in a diverse and rich multidisciplinary environment, surrounded by experts in the field of biocatalysis and polymer chemistry. Applicants should enjoy teamwork and have very good communication skills. Good English skills are required and notions of French would be a plus.

 

PhD - New Silicon-based catalysts

Laboratoire Hétérochimie Fondamentale et Appliquée

Toulouse, France

Description

Transition‐metal catalysts are indispensable in actual organic synthesis. However, the principal problem is the highly limited natural resource of precious transition metals. To overcome this problem, in this project, we propose the use of silicon (the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust) which can be found everywhere in the world as sand, rock or quartz. Thus you can expect that you will not have any problem of natural resource to prepare catalysts. In fact, although the importance of its natural abundance is well recognized in material chemistry, as it can be seen by the vast world production of silicon based materials (polymers, rubber, semiconductors), real success has never been achieved in synthetic chemistry. For this purpose, we consider the use of silicon(II) complexes (type 1) which show some particular coordination properties. Indeed, We have very recently reported that the Si(II) complexes show a reactivity and coordination properties similar to those frequently observed for transition metal complexes (reversible addition/elimination reactions of poorly reactive ethylene gas at room temperature or activation of CO2 gas). We propose, in this project, the development of new stable Si(II) complexes with a transition metal like behavior which could be used as “resource‐problem‐free catalysts”. The success of this project should open a new wide research domain in chemistry and could change the vision of catalysis.

PhD - Nanomaterials

Lab. « Hétérochimie Fondamentale et Appliquée », Université Paul Sabatier

Toulouse, France

Description

Designing new nanomaterials with orginal properties and structures hopefully will allow to solve the currrent energy challenge. For energy storage devices (lithium-ion batteries), catalysts for low-cost raw materials refining, nanolabelling and nano-vectors for medecine, researchers need to create new nanomaterials for successful developments in the next decade. For all these potential applications, metal phosphide (MxPy) are actively investigated in the academic word and in the industry. Some of these materials are indeed semi-conductors (InP, GaP, Zn3P2…) or heterogeneous catalysts (MoP, VP, MnP, FeP, Ni2P…). Nanoscaling enhances some properties (such as the reactivity in catalysis) while other are completely transformed (luminescence, lithium ion storage), as illustrated below. Our group works both on the design of new preparation routes for nanoparticles, allowing size and shape control, and on the in depth understanding of the structure-property relationship. This gives rise to nanomaterials with original properties. In 2008, we developed a genuinely new synthetic route, base on the stoichiometric reaction of metal nanoparticles and white phosphorus (P4) in solution. The key of this route is to use P4, which is the most reactive of the phosphorus allotropes. We were recently able to vary the M:P ratio in order to obtain several MxPy phases. These results raised many mechanistic questions that will be further studied in the course of the project. Firstly, we will study how the phosphorus inserts into the metal nanoparticles. Does this step affect the nanoparticle morphology? To test this, nickel nanocubes will be prepared and reacted with P4. Secondly, we noticed that the reaction of nickel nanoparticles with a substoichiometry of P4 triggered a phase segregation (Ni/Ni2P) inside each nanoparticle, provided an unexpected access to core-shell nanoparticles.[6] We will try to generalize this phase segregation mechanism to bimetallic nanoparticle alloys M/M’. Ni/Pd alloys will be specifically studies because they are a good model system and they can be used in catalysis. Thirdly, the reactivity of gold nanoparticles will be probed. Preliminary results are contrasted on this case. They suggests that even though P4 is very reactive, it does not fully converts the gold nanoparticles into gold phosphide ones (Au2P3). A reaction limited to the surface was observed at 250°C and further heating at 320°C allowed to form crystalline Au2P3. In-depth study of this particular case will provide a rationale for gold specificity in this reaction. It will also pave the way for gold-alloyed metal phosphide and their applications in plasmonics. Further perspective deal with the preparation of metal phosphide nanoparticles with less common metals (rare earth) and ternary alloys incorporating other heteroatoms such as sulfur. Depending of the ongoing of the project that is broad because of the variety of metal studied, emphasis will be put on homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis (C-C coupling reactions, selective hydrogenations, etc.) and/or on the use of these nanoparticles as building blocks for incorporation into advanced nanomaterials such as mesoporous oxides or carbon materials.

PostDoc - Millimeter Astronomy

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimetrique

Saint Martin d'Heres, France

 

Description

 

Applications are invited for an astronomer position at IRAM Grenoble. IRAM operates two of the most advanced mm/submm facilities in the world: an interferometer of six antennas located at Plateau de Bure (France) and a single-dish telescope near Granada (Spain). IRAM has now entered the construction phase of NOEMA, an ambitious plan to extend the scientific capabilities of the Plateau de Bure interferometer by doubling the number of antennas and increasing the performances of receivers and correlators. As an interface between NOEMA and the user community, IRAM has established a science support group, with the aim to prepare the arrival of NOEMA and provide support to NOEMA users, both scientifically and technically. As part of IRAM’s science support group, the successful candidate will:

 

1) contribute to the observing support of PHIBSS2, a world-wide, four-year Legacy Program aiming at investigating early galaxy evolution from the perspective of their molecular gas reservoirs. The program is built on the enhanced sensitivity and imaging capabilities of the NOEMA array. The successful candidate will be involved in the planning and preparation of observations, data quality assessment and calibration, data archiving process, and participate in the scientific data analysis,

 

2) contribute, within the limits of competence, expertise and time, to the overall IRAM activities and in particular to the activities of preparation, characterization and commissioning of the NOEMA array. The successful applicant may also take the lead on some aspects of NOEMA array testing based on her/his background and interests,

 

3) be expected and encouraged to actively conduct astronomical research. The current position offers the opportunity for astronomers to work with world-class research facilities and pursue their career in a very dynamic and competitive field of research. IRAM’s research program covers a wide range of subjects including ISM chemistry, planetary science, young stellar objects, late stage stellar evolution, and extragalactic research at low and high redshift.

 

PhD - High-resolution investigation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current over the last 25000 years

Université Lille

Lille, France

Description

The knowledge of the carbon cycle budget is one of the biggest challenge in paleoclimatology, and the relationships between CO2 concentration changes and the modification of deep oceanic circulation over the last climatic cycles are still a matter of debate. Several evidences indicate that most of the changes in CO2 atmosphere-ocean exchanges must have taken place in the southern ocean. At present, the southern ocean acts as a major sink for CO2 of anthropic origin while it appears to have been a source of CO2 during the last deglaciation. It has recently been suggested that modifications of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current pattern (ACC) vigor and position may have been associated with these changes in CO2 exchanges, in particular during the rapid climatic events of the last deglaciation. Some studies around Kerguelen Plateau have actually shown that the characteristics of the ACC during the last glacial period were indeed different compared to the Holocene. The present project proposes to investigate further the modification of the ACC between the last glacial period and the Holocene using the terrigenous fraction of sediments deposited on the Kerguelen Plateau. Fine-grain particles can be advected for thousand of kilometres within deep currents, and changes in particle provenance are thus largely ascribed to modifications of the circulation of deep-water masses. In the proposed project, the mineralogical and geochemical signatures of detrital particles will thus be used in order to (1) track modifications of the terrigenous transfer - provenance and flux- through the ACC and (2) to document deep-current reorganization. A series of cores, collected during the INDIEN-Sud cruise on the Kerguelen Plateau, will be investigated in order to constrain hydrological changes, including the intensity and location of the ACC in the Indian part of the Southern ocean over the last 25000 years. The candidate will focus on characterizing the terrigenous fraction of sediment cores taken off Kerguelen in order to constrain particles provenance, reconstruct the evolution of the ACC over the last climatic cycle, and improve paleoceanographic reconstitutions. A multiproxy approach, including clay mineralogy, grain-size analyses and radiogenic isotopes will be employed. The PhD student working on this project will be trained in a diverse number of state-of-the-art analytical techniques. The PhD student will be responsible for preparing and processing samples for mineralogy, grain- size and radiogenic isotopes analyses.

PostDoc - Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter

LESIA, Observatory of Paris

Paris, France

Description

The successful applicant will carry out research with Dr N. Biver, D. Bockelée-Movan, J. Crovisier and colleagues on the analysis of data obtained by the Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter (MIRO). The Rosetta mission will arrive at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014. The goals of the MIRO instrument are to measure the sub-surface temperature of the nucleus, the production rates, and the relative abundances, velocity and excitation temperature of several gas phase species (CO, NH3, CH3OH, and three isotopologues of H2O), along with their spatial and temporal variability. The successful applicant will focus her/his research on the  development of inverse methods for the analysis of the molecular lines.

Requirements

The position requires a PhD in astronomy/astrophysics, and candidates should have experience on observations and radiative transfer modelling of molecular lines in cometary/planetary or circumstellar atmospheres.