Post-doctoral position in Atmospheric Chemistry en CDD 12 month at IMT Nord Europe

Discipline: Atmospheric Chemistry

Line Manager: Alexandre TOMAS / Sébastien DUSANTER

Workplace: Bourseul site, Marie Curie building

Type of contract and duration: fixed-term contract, 12 months

CONTEXT:

Public establishment belonging to IMT (Institut Mines-Télécom), placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, IMT Nord Europe has three main objectives: providing our students with ethically responsible engineering practice enabling them to solve 21st century issues, carrying out our R&D activities leading to outstanding innovations and supporting territorial development through innovation and entrepreneurship. Ideally positioned at the heart of Europe, 1 hour away from Paris, 30 min from Brussels and 1h30 from London, IMT Nord Europe has strong ambitions to become a main actor of the current industrial transitions, digital and environmental, by combining education and research on engineering and digital technologies.

Located on two main campuses dedicated to research and education in Douai and Lille, IMT Nord Europe offers research facilities of almost 20,000m² in the following areas:

•              Digital science,

•              Processes for industry and services,

•              Energy and Environment,

•              Materials and Processes

For more details, visit the School’s website: https://imt-nord-europe.fr/en/

The position is vacant within the Centre for Education, Research and Innovation in Energy and Environment (CERI EE) of IMT Nord Europe. The CERI’s website can be accessed here: https://research.imt-nord-europe.fr/energy-and-environment/

The post-doctoral work will be carried out in the frame of a collaboration between the Atmospheric Sciences and Environmental Engineering research unit (SAGE) of CERI EE and the department of Atmospheric Sciences of the National Central University (NCU) in Taiwan.

SAGE has ongoing research activities focusing on atmospheric chemistry, air quality and the impacts of human activities on the composition of the atmosphere. It has currently a staff of about 50 people including 17 full-time faculty members. Research projects aim at a better understanding of the physical and chemical processes involved in the formation, transport and aging/transformation of gaseous and particulate pollutants in outdoor and indoor atmospheres.

BRIEF:

The activities that will be carried out during this post-doctoral 1-year period at CERI EE, IMT Nord Europe, are part of the French-Taiwanese bilateral project ‘Tropospheric Ozone in South East Asia: Budget and Mitigation Strategies (OSEAMS)’ funded by the French national research agency (ANR) and the National Science and Technology Council from Taiwan (NSTC). This project aims at understanding ozone sources and sinks in the South-East Asia region and developing mitigation strategies to reduce ozone concentrations and impacts.

The candidate will work on a specific task dedicated to atmospheric simulation chamber experiments, with the following key objectives:

1. Provide a detailed description of the ozone-forming chemistry occurring in Taiwan,

2. Investigate how this chemistry has evolved over the past three decades in response to mitigation measures.

Experiments will be performed in a large atmospheric simulation chamber (9 m3) equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation (PTR-ToF-MS, online GC-MS/FID, O3 and NOx analyzers, …). The chemical composition of representative urban & suburban air masses observed in Taiwan over the past 3 decades will be reproduced in the chamber. The ozone-forming chemistry will be thoroughly investigated, with a focus on assessing the sensitivity of ozone production to NOx and determining the ozone formation regime (whether NOx-limited or NOx-saturated). These chamber experiments will be interpreted using 0-D models, implementing current state-of-the-art chemical mechanisms such as the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM), to evaluate the reliability of these mechanisms to describe O3 formation in Taiwan.

The recruited post-doctoral fellow will be supported by an engineer who will assist with the operation of the chamber and instrumentation. This work is expected to result in both a scientific publication and a presentation at an international conference.

REQUIRED PROFILE: PhD in atmospheric chemistry

Skills

Environmental simulation chambers

Gas mixture analysis by mass spectrometry and gas chromatography

0-D modelling

Communication and interpersonal skills

Knowledge 

Atmospheric chemistry

Analytical chemistry

CONDITIONS:

The job is to be filled by 1 april 2025 for a period of 12 months (fixed-term contract).

Possibility of partial teleworking (maximum of 2 days per week, adjustable according to service requirements)

Many days of leave

Collective catering available

Public transport to and from work covered (50%), free in the city of Douai

Sustainable mobility package (for carpooling or cycling)

Family supplement depending on family structure

Wide range of social benefits

INFORMATION AND APPLICATION METHODS:

For any information on the missions, please contact Prof. A. Tomas (alexandre.tomas@imt-nord-europe.fr; +33 327 712 651) & Dr. S. Dusanter (sebastien.dusanter@imt-nord-europe.fr; +33 327 712 623).

For any administrative information, please contact the Human Resources Department: jobs@imt-nord-europe.fr

In addition, the position can be adapted for a disabled person.

DEADLINE DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS: 28 February 2025