PhD student for the project

Leipzig, 30.11.2018

We are a research institute of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Science Association e.V. and seek to hire a


PhD student for the project


"Modelling of tropospheric heterogenous chemistry: Chemical mechanism and model development "


The troposphere is a complex multiphase oxidizing environment containing chemical processes in (i) the gas phase, (ii) on available interfaces and (iii) in the bulk of aerosol particles. Heterogeneous reactions on available interfaces are expected to alter the chemical gas and aerosol composition and, thus, to have an impact on air quality and human health.

The primary goal of the projected PhD work is to thoroughly investigate heterogenous chemical processes and their interactions/impacts by means of complex chemical modelling. The projected model development and simulation studies aim at the identification of potentially important heterogenous processes and the quantification of their impacts in order to evaluate their importance to be considered in higher-scale air quality models.

The hired PhD student will be tasked with

  • (i) the development of an integrated model framework including the treatment of complex gas and aqueous phase chemistry, and newly heterogeneous reactions on surfaces
  • (ii) the development of a chemical mechanism module describing heterogeneous reactions on different surfaces based on available laboratory data, kinetics and mechanisms
  • (iii) the simulation of complex modelling studies.

The tasks require good programming skills (preferably FORTRAN) and thorough knowledge of atmospheric chemistry.

We are the Atmospheric Chemistry Department (ACD) of the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) in Leipzig - please see www.tropos.de.

Priority will be given to severely handicapped persons with equal professional and medical suitability. TROPOS seeks to increase the proportion of women in the scientific sector. Women are therefore strongly encouraged to apply, and will be given preference in cases of equal professional suitability.

Pay: EG 13 TV-L with a 65% PhD student salary

Please send your application to:

Prof. Dr. Hartmut Herrmann

herrmann[at]tropos.de


Requirements

  • Degree (diploma, master) in chemistry, meteorology or related geosciences
  • Strong motivation and ability to carry out model development and studies
  • Strong motivation to graduate as PhD
  • Motivation and willingness to present project results on national and international conferences and to publish results in scientific journals
  • Fluent in English (written and spoken)
  • Programming skills and scientific data analysis software are highly required (Fortran, R)
  • Skills in atmospheric aerosol chemistry are of advantage


Employment conditions

  • The position is offered for 3 years.
  • Payment will be in accordance with German public service positions (65 % TV-L E13)


Application

Please submit:

  1. A motivation letter
  2. A detailed curriculum vitae
  3. A list of the courses you attended successfully
  4. In case of previous academic employments, provide the name, address, and telephone number of a reference


Further information on this position

Please contact by email Prof. Dr. Hartmut Herrmann herrmann[at]tropos.de for questions or application.