Post-doctoral position : ZEPHIRS | French national synchrotron facility
Apr 26 2023
SOLEIL is the French national synchrotron facility, located on the Saclay Plateau near Paris. It is a multi-disciplinary instrument and research laboratory whose mission is to conduct research using synchrotron radiation, to develop cutting edge instrumentation on the beamlines, and to make these developments available to the scientific community. SOLEIL synchrotron, a unique tool for both academic research and industrial applications across a wide range of disciplines including physics, biology, chemistry etc., opened in 2008. It is used annually by thousands researchers from France and abroad. SOLEIL is based on a synchrotron source that is state-of-the-art both in terms of brilliance and stability. This large scale facility, a partner of the Université Paris Saclay, is a “publically owned” private company, founded by the CNRS and the CEA.
A postdoctoral fellowship funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) under the ZEPHIRS project is available for one year, renewable once upon mutual agreement, starting from October 2023 at Synchrotron SOLEIL (located in Saint Aubin, 25 km southwest of Paris).
The ZEPHIRS project consortium (ISMO, SOLEIL and ISM) aims at combining synchrotron- and laser-based VUV photoionization to spectroscopically characterise, detect and quantify—in real time and in-situ—reactive intermediates in complex gas-phase chemical reactions using photoelectron spectroscopy as a structural fingerprint. •
The candidate will be working at the DESIRS VUV beamline of SOLEIL, and will be in charge of three main tasks: • • strong implication in the commissioning of an upgraded double imaging photoelectron photoion coincidence (i2PEPICO) spectrometer and in charge of improvements to the existing flow-tube reactor; • internal research related to the photoelectron spectroscopy for the characterisation and identification of species of interest in astrochemical and combustion media, such as small hydrocarbon and polyoxygenated radicals, or the study of molecule–radical reactions involving polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; • participation in collaborative research dealing with chemical reactions in the fields of combustion and catalysis. The candidate must hold a PhD in experimental Chemistry, Physical Chemistry or closely related field for no more than 4 years. Knowledge of French is not mandatory, but a fluent level of spoken and written English is necessary. The candidate is expected to work at the interface of chemistry (combustion, astrochemistry, catalysis) and physics (photoionization dynamics) and disseminate the results through scientific publications and conferences. Therefore, a solid background in either gas phase molecular dynamics/spectroscopy or gas phase chemical reactivity / combustion processes is required. Hands-on experience with mass spectrometry, photoelectron spectroscopy or particle coincidence detection will be positively evaluated. Programming abilities and familiarity with quantum chemistry computer programs will also be considered.
Applications should be sent by email before the 31st of May 2023 providing a cover/motivation letter, CV and list of publications and contact details of at least two referees.
Selected candidates will be interviewed online in June 2023.