PhD Candidate in Molecular Astrophysics: PAH Spectroscopy for UV Irradiated Environments

Do you want to use advanced spectroscopic techniques to study organic molecules in the gas phase? Would you like to work in a collaborative environment to understand the chemical evolution of the universe? If so, we encourage you to apply as a PhD candidate at the international research infrastructure HFML-FELIX at Radboud University. In your project, you will be working together with other researchers in the Dutch Astrochemical Network (DAN).

You will use advanced infrared spectroscopic techniques to study polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in triplet electronic states and to investigate their fragmentation pathways upon energetic processing. PAHs are important organic molecules observed through their infrared emission in the interstellar medium, and your work will be key to interpret astronomical data obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope. In your work you will use several cryogenic ion-trap and molecular beam instruments coupled to the FELIX infrared free-electron lasers and use different infrared action spectroscopic methods to record vibrational spectra of PAH neutrals, ions and fragments. You will be expected to perform quantum-chemical DFT calculations to aid interpretation of your experimental results. The work will be supervised by Dr. Sandra Brünken (RU), Prof. Jos Oomens (RU), and Prof. Wybren Jan Buma (RU & UvA). You will collaborate closely with other PhD candidates in the Dutch Astrochemical Network (DAN), and you will be expected to spend part of your time in the groups of Wybren Jan Buma and Alessandra Candian at the University of Amsterdam, to complement your research with high-resolution spectroscopy studies and collaborate on theoretical methods. You will actively cooperate with other PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers and staff of HFML-FELIX working on related topics, and you will be involved in collaborations with external users to carry out related experiments. In addition, you will work as a teaching assistant in Radboud University's teaching programme with a teaching load of up to 10% of your working time.

• It concerns an employment for 1.0 FTE.
• The gross starting salary amounts to €2,770 per month based on a 38-hour working week, and will increase to €3,539 in the fourth year (salary scale P).
• You will receive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will be employed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4 year contract).
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services. Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment and help your family settle in Nijmegen.
• Working for us means getting extra days off. In case of full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the legally allotted 20.

Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

The High Field Magnet Laboratory (HFML) and Free-Electron Lasers for Infrared eXperiments (FELIX together form a large-scale research infrastructure. Its in-house research programmes focus on chemistry and physics, fostering interdisciplinary research. HFML-FELIX's mission is to develop and exploit the world's highest magnetic fields and intense infrared and terahertz radiation to enable both external and in-house user groups to carry out pioneering scientific research. HFML-FELIX currently hosts six research groups covering a broad research portfolio ranging from condensed matter science to biomolecular chemistry. In addition, HFML-FELIX has a strong programme in magnet technology and free-electron laser technology. A key asset of HFML-FELIX is the availability of a wide range of experimental techniques for the investigation of gas-phase molecules and molecular ions. HFML-FELIX is run jointly by Radboud University and the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (NWO-I). Its research programme is embedded in the Faculty of Science of Radboud University and is executed in close collaboration with the Faculty's Institute for Molecules and Materials (IMM). The research on molecular astrophysics and astrochemistry is part of the Dutch Astrochemical Network (DAN) programme 'Dutch Astrochemistry in the era of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)', which fosters collaborations between astronomical observers, quantum chemists, modellers, and experimentalists to address fundamental questions in the field of astrochemistry.


Radboud University
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