A postdoctoral research associate position is available under the Programme Grant ‘New Directions in Molecular Scattering: Multiple Pathways and Products’, held jointly by Heriot-Watt University (HWU) and University of Oxford (OXF). The PDRA will join the group of Dr Stuart Greaves at HWU, and the position will involve close collaboration with the other investigators at HWU and at OXF, with the possibility for research visits to OXF.
This Programme Grant is an initiative supported by £5.9 M funding from EPSRC, held jointly by the investigators at HWU & OXF. It aims to dramatically advance the field of molecular collisions, progressing from a core of fundamental, benchmark studies to previously intractable problems that are relevant to real-world applications in the atmosphere, combustion and plasma science, and catalysis.
Find out more about the Programme Grant at: https://molecularscattering.com/
and about Dr Greaves’ research group at: http://dynamics.eps.hw.ac.uk/SJG/index.php
Applicants must hold or be close to completion of a PhD in Chemistry or a relevant subject area, prior to taking up the appointment. The research requires experience in high vacuum systems, lasers, molecular beams, charged particle optics, velocity-map imaging detection, and the associated data processing and analysis. The successful candidate will be expected to manage their own academic research and administrative activities, demonstrating the ability to coordinate multiple aspects of work in order to meet deadlines.
The post will be based in the Institute of Chemical Sciences at Heriot-Watt University and is available from 3 January 2023. A delayed start date would be considered for a suitably qualified candidate. The post is available for 2 years in the first instance with the possibility of renewal up to the end of the grant funded period.
Applications should be made via the HWU career site, position number 2415: https://enzj.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX/job/2415/?utm_medium=jobshare
More details of the post follow below. The deadline for applications is 30 October 2022.
Informal enquiries can be made to Dr Stuart Greaves at s.j.greaves@hw.ac.uk
The post covers the programme grant research area: Scattering for the Atmosphere
The chemistry of the atmosphere is driven by reactions of radicals with stable molecules, both in the homogeneous gas phase and at the gas-liquid interface. We will study gas-liquid processes in experiments based on molecular-beam scattering and advanced forms of optical detection.
Crucial reactions take place at the surfaces of atmospheric aerosol particles, ‘ageing’ adsorbed organic species with important climatic consequences. We will study collisions of the important oxidant Cl with representative proxy liquids, using techniques exploiting our recent advances in REMPI-VMI measurements. Mechanistic interpretation will be enhanced through molecular dynamics simulations of the liquid surfaces.
GEFAM 