Postdoctoral Fellow for the PROTOS Project

Naturalis has a job opening for a postdoc to study Preservation of organic compounds in silica under early Earth conditions

Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden is the Dutch national research institute for biodiversity and systematics. With our collection of 42 million specimens, one of the world's largest natural history collections, and our state-of-the-art research facilities, we offer the (inter)national research infrastructure for species identification and monitoring (for example in the ARISE and DiSSCo projects). We closely collaborate with many Dutch universities, research institutes, industry, and government. We host over 120 researchers, including 15 academia-embedded professors and 40 PhD students. We present the history of our planet and the diversity of life on Earth through permanent and temporary museum exhibitions, educational programmes, and online presence, with more than 500,000 visitors per year. All in all, a unique combination of science and culture in the Netherlands and elsewhere in the world!

The research department is organised into 9 research groups comprising researchers and their postdocs and PhD students. The current position will be in the research group Marine Biodiversity, led by Prof. Willem Renema. Naturalis has a completely new lab building, including state-of-the-art molecular facilities, microCT scanners, and electron microscopy (SEM and TEM).

Position
In this position, you will focus on the fate of organic compounds during silicification and diagenesis under early Earth conditions. For this purpose, you will study experimentally the alteration of a range of prebiotic organic molecules (various reaction products from Miller-Urey experiments, organic biomorphs, PAHs) as they are exposed to UV-radiation, entombment in silica, and progressive increase in pressure and temperature. These experiments will be carried out at the GeoLab and the Earth Simulation Laboratory (ESL) at Utrecht University. The resulting organo-mineral mixtures will be characterized using a variety of analytical tools, including SEM, Raman spectroscopy, FTIR, and micro-CT (Naturalis, Leiden), as well as GC-MS, TEM, and NanoSIMS (Utrecht University). This study will contribute to our general understanding of the first steps towards the origin of life on Earth.

The postdoc project is part of ERC Synergy Grant ‘PROTOS: The role of silica in the dawn of life on our planet’, and in this position, you will be part of the research team of Dr. Mark van Zuilen in the Marine Biodiversity Group, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden. You will also be integrated into the Petrology Group (led by Prof. Paul Mason) at the Faculty of Earth Sciences at Utrecht University.

You are expected to work synergistically within project PROTOS, co-designing experimental conditions with other teams, and using research facilities and materials synthesized in laboratories in Bremen, Donostia-San Sebastian, Plouzané, and Hannover.

The Postdoc project will be partly carried out at Naturalis in the Marine Biodiversity group (Leiden), and partly at the GeoLab at Utrecht University (Utrecht).

General Requirements and Skills
Do you have a PhD in a relevant field (such as Earth Sciences or Chemistry) and a keen interest in early Earth processes, early life, and diagenetic processes? If so, we’d love to hear from you! The ideal candidate should have:

• General (geo)chemical laboratory skills.
• Experience with high-pressure and temperature experiments, as well as analytical techniques such as micro-CT, SEM, and TEM is an advantage.
• Excellent knowledge of the English language (written and verbal), as well as a scientific and critical attitude, outstanding time management and organisational skills, and the ability to work independently as well as collaboratively within the project consortium and the Naturalis research group.
• Good communication skills and enthusiasm to contribute to knowledge dissemination and outreach activities within the project.

Experience with supervising student projects is an advantage. There will be the possibility of joining field excursions/fieldwork in geothermal terrains.

Procedure
Applicants are invited to submit their application in one pdf, including a cover/motivation letter (max. 1 page) and CV (max. 2 pages) and the names and contact details of two referees. Please use the form for your application no later than May 20th, 2025 CEST. Interviews are foreseen to take place in June.

Naturalis endorses the Diversity & Inclusion Code. In the case of equal suitability, preference is given to the candidate who reinforces diversity within the team.

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