BEHAVIOR OF MAJOR ROCK-FORMING MINERALS AND VOLATILES DURING THE GIANT IMPACT
PhD or postdoctoral openings – starting September 2018
Lyon, France – ERC IMPACT group
Two openings at the level of PhD or postdoctoral are available for the IMPACT ERC project based in Lyon, France, starting with September 1st, 2018. IMPACT aims to retrace the thermodynamic path of the condensation of the protolunar disk, to bring physical and chemical constraints on the impact model, and to characterize the formation of the Moon and of the Earth.
The position is to study the behavior of major rock-forming minerals during the Giant Impact. Immediately after the impact, the largest parts of both the proto-Earth and the impactor melted and vaporized. They accumulated into a large protolunar disk. Everything inside the Roche radius fell down and condensed to form the early
Earth. The outer parts partly fell onto the Earth, partly condensed to form the moon and partly were lost to space.
The aim of the doctoral work is to determine the physical properties and the chemical behavior of the corresponding mineral melts at conditions characteristic to the Giant Impact. For this, the successful candidate(s) will use ab initio molecular-dynamics simulations. He/she will compute the equations of state of the liquid, gas and supercritical states, position the supercritical points and/or surfaces, determine the chemical speciation in the fluids, and predict isotope partitioning factors.
For the PhD applicant(s): A master degree in Earth sciences, solid-state physics and/or chemistry or materials science is preferred. Computing skills are highly appreciated. Proficiency in written and spoken English is mandatory. The PhD program in France takes 36 months.
For the postdoctoral applicant(s): A PhD degree in computational solid-state physics and/or chemistry or materials science is required. Computing skills are highly appreciated. Proficiency in written and spoken English is mandatory, as proven also in the publication record. The postdoctoral position is for one year renewable once.
He/she will be financed and be part of the Impact group funded by the European Research Council (a bit of information is at: (https://moonimpact.eu/). The group is hosted in the brand new offices of the Centre Blaise Pascal, the broad numerical and computing center at the Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, which is a small but elite institution.
The application should be adressed to Dr. Razvan Caracas (razvan.caracas@ens-lyon.fr). The package will include CV, names of references, motivation letter, including specific interests and prior experience in areas related to mineral physics. Applications will be considered until the position is filled.
Please mention in your application where you found the offer and the reference Position3.
Desired skills and experience
For the PhD applicant(s): A master degree in Earth sciences, solid-state physics and/or chemistry or materials science is preferred. Computing skills are highly appreciated. Proficiency in written and spoken English is mandatory. The PhD program in France takes 36 months.
For the postdoctoral applicant(s): A PhD degree in computational solid-state physics and/or chemistry or materials science is required. Computing skills are highly appreciated. Proficiency in written and spoken English is mandatory, as proven also in the publication record. The postdoctoral position is for one year renewable once.
About the employer
He/she will hired by the CNRS (http://www.cnrs.fr/index.html), which is the largest French public research instution. A competitive package of salary and employee benefits are offered according to the public French legislation.
The positions are financed by the European Research Council (https://erc.europa.eu/). He/she will be part of the Impact group (a bit of information is at: (https://moonimpact.eu/). The group is hosted in the brand new offices of the Centre Blaise Pascal, the broad numerical and computing center at the Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon (http://www.ens-lyon.fr/en/), which is a small but elite institution.
Areas of Research
Earth Geosciences
Geochemistry
Mineralogy & Petrology