Scientific Researcher (Brussels, Belgium)

Scientific Researcher (M/F) for working in the field of stratospheric aerosols

The candidate will have a Master or PhD in Sciences (Physical, Mathematical or Chemical) or Applied Sciences, and will be integrated into the Limb Sounding Group. He/She will work on the characterization and modeling of stratospheric aerosols, and fulfill the tasks devoted to the group in the frame of the PROMOTE project. In this frame, he/she will be in charge of the updating of an aerosol database and web user interface, and will report to the PROMOTE team. Beside the capability to conduct independent research, the candidate will have a good knowledge of UNIX and FORTRAN 90. We will appreciate candidates having an experience in one or more of the following fields: data analysis, numerical modeling, physico-chemistry of the atmosphere, matlab or IDL, php, shell programming and parallelization using OpenMP. Further, the candidate will have a sufficient knowledge of English to present communications during European work meetings and scientific conferences and to write reports in the frame of PROMOTE. Therefore, he/she must be willing to travel occasionally for a short period. The IASB-BIRA is a Belgian Federal Institute situated in the southern green outskirts of Brussels on the beautiful site of the Royal Observatory and Royal Meteorological Office. French and Dutch are the baseline languages in the group. Salary, social security and pension schemes are according to Belgian civil servant rules. This job is open as of February 2007. More information about this vacancy and the project can be obtained from Dr. Christine Bingen (e-mail: Christine.Bingen@aeronomie.be; tel.: +32 (0)2 373 04 10). Applicants should sent a complete CV with eventual list of publications, together with their letter of motivation to Philippe Iterbeke, Human Ressources Manager, Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (IASB-BIRA), Avenue Circulaire 3, 1180 Brussels, or by e-mail to Philippe.Iterbeke@aeronomie.be with the reference " Promote/aerosols ".

L’Institut d’Aéronomie Spatiale de Belgique Het Belgisch Instituut voor Ruimte-Aeronomie (IASB-BIRA) is looking for a Scientific collaborator (M/W) in the field of atmospheric chemistry modelling

Who we are

IASB-BIRA is one of the three federal scientific institutions of the Space Pole at Uccle. The goals of the missions of IASB-BIRA are to build scientific and technological expertise and to spread information in the field of space aeronomy. This interdisciplinary science focuses on planetary atmospheric physics and chemistry. It deals with problems like the ozone hole, global warming, air quality, the effects of volcanism on the atmosphere, the magnetic storms that perturb the electricity network and telecommunications, the radiation belts that could harm astronauts and damage the electronics on board of spacecrafts, Martian atmosphere etc. Project description The research will be conducted as a support to the IBOOT (Impact of Biogenic Emissions on Organic aerosols and Oxidants) project supported by the Belgian Science Policy Office and coordinated by IASB-BIRA (see http://www.oma.be/TROPO/IBOOT/Home.html). The objective of the research will be to elucidate, by numerical modelling, the role of specific gas-phase and particle-phase processes in the formation of Secondary Organic Aerosols (SOA). Our team has a longstanding experience in tropospheric chemistry modelling and more specifically in the field of biogenic terpenes oxidation mechanisms. SOA from terpenes are recognized as a key component for air quality studies as well as for the climate system. Their precise formation mechanisms, however, are still poorly understood. In collaboration with teams in Leuven and in Mainz, we are currently developing explicit terpene oxidation mechanisms and confronting their results to laboratory studies. We aim to parameterize these processes in a 3-dimensional global chemistry model in order to quantify the impact of terpenes and other organics on the global tropospheric composition.

Your tasks

In a first phase of the project (duration: 9 months) financed by a grant of the Belgian Policy Office, the candidate will work in support to IBOOT in the following aspects:

• Web publication of the explicit terpene oxidation mechanism developed at IASB
• Review of global and regional SOA model studies, aiming at the determination of the best strategies for describing SOA formation in a global model, based on our expertise
• Other tasks related to chemical mechanism development and numerical implementation In a conditional second phase (duration: several years), the candidate would apply for a Doctoral grant (e.g. FRIA) and pursue the above-described research in the framework of a PhD Thesis, with a possible focus on heterogeneous reactions (e.g. oligomerization) occurring in organic aerosols. Your profile
• University diploma (MSc, Engineer) in Physics or Chemistry
• Willing to start a PhD
• Good knowledge of English (both oral and written)
• Good knowledge in one of the following: web publication, fortran (or C) programming, atmospheric chemistry, numerical modeling Conditions
• Salary according to federal scientific employee standards
• Possibility to follow training
• Good working atmosphere in an internationally renowned institute located in the luxuriant Observatory of Uccle
• Complete (SNCB, STIB, De Lijn, TEC) refund of transport costs
• Allowance for cycling to work
• Attractive system of annual holidays and several solutions allowing to meet professional and private obligations
• Flexible schedule and possibility to work from home
• Access to special advantages reserved for the members of the federal scientific institutions: collective hospital insurance, sport fee reductions, free access to the permanent collections of the federal museums

If you are interested, send application including the reference “IBOOT’ to Mr. Philippe ITERBEKE
IASB-BIRA
HR department
Avenue Circulaire 3
1180 Bruxelles
philippe.iterbeke@aeronomie.be
More information on IASB-BIRA at www.aeronomie.be
For more information, please contact
J.-F. Müller
IASB-BIRA
Tel: 02 373 0366
jfm@aeronomie.be

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