Umeå University announces…
Umeå University - with its 29,000 students and over 4,000 employees – is an organisation in constant change and development. The university’s researchers carry out excellence within several areas of research, and many of them are among the world’s elite. We are one of Sweden’s largest providers of education and offer a broad and attractive range of courses and programmes. Our campus constitutes an inspiring environment for everyone that studies and works here. We wish to co-operate with companies and organisations throughout the Umeå region and all over the world.
PhD student position in chemistry with a focus on NMR Spectroscopy in environmental science Announced by the Department of Chemistry, Biological Chemistry, in collaboration with Department of Forest Ecology and Management, SLU.
The Department of Chemistry at Umeå University today has approximately 200 members and offers a stimulating environment with a commitment to excellence in teaching and research, and provides a valuable service to society. The department offers degrees at B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. levels, and our graduate- and postgraduate students are attractive for employment in both academic institutions and industry. The Department of Chemistry now announces.
The project is oriented towards the development and application of NMR based methods aimed to understand the environmental behavior of organic P released from the terrestrial environment and its microbial availability. The soil P cycle is a key issue both for climate-related effects on high-latitude ecosystems and in combating P-restriction in food/forestry production, especially in tropical third world countries.
This study is a part of an interdisciplinary project between Chemistry, Medical Biophysics, Ecology and Soil Science with focus on: Molecular understanding of phosphorous dynamics in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The project includes NMR-based analysis of soil samples, characterization and identification of various organic phosphorous species, embedded in an interdisciplinary view on microbial activity and complex processes in the environment. Your task - in close collaboration with ecology and soil scientists - will be to:
* Develop biologically meaningful new methods in organic P specification in agricultural and forest soils as well as fresh water systems based on solid state/solution 31P NMR techniques.
* Sample preparation for solid-state / solution NMR, NMR measurements and data analysis on a range of biological samples.
* Analysis of the speciation of organic P from terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
* Improve the understanding of the coupling between P availability in relation to P fixation, i.e. determine which biophysico-chemical processes govern P availability (adsorption versus release processes).
* Estimate the contribution of different organic P species in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and how these relate to plant and microbial growth.
The recruitment procedure will follow the Higher Education Ordinance (“Högskoleförordningen” Chapters 5 and 7). Prerequisites include either i)240 ECTS credits (swe. Högskolepoäng) of higher education studies of which 60 should be on an advanced level (Master level) with focus on chemistry, or ii) 120 Swedish (old) credits (swe. Poäng; corresponding to 180 ECTS credits) of higher education studies if they were taken before July 1, 2007 or equivalent competence.
Advanced course(s) or other experience in NMR and/or Ecology, soil science and statistics are of advantage, as well as evidence of proficiency in written and oral communication in English.
The application should contain a CV, including academic grades and relevant documentation, and a personal letter of one A4 sheet describing yourself and your reasons for applying to this position.
For more information, contact Prof. Gerhard Gröbner, phone +46-(0)90-786 63 46, e-mail: gerhard.grobner@chem.umu.se. or Dr. Ulrik Ilstedt, phone + 46-(0)90-786 83 90, e-mail: ulrik.ilstedt@sek.slu.se
Union information is available from SACO, +46-(0)90-786 53 65, SEKO, +46-(0)90-786 52 96 and ST, +46-(0)90-786 54 31.
Your complete application, marked with reference number 313-317-09, should be sent to jobb@umu.se or to the Registrar, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden to arrive April 30, 2009 at the latest.
We look forward receiving your application!