2-year postdoctoral position in soil organic matter characterization using scattering and electron microscopy techniques - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Background
Soil organic matter (SOM) stores a large part of the Earth’s carbon. Yet, our understanding of the molecular processes that control the stability and mobility of SOM is limited. This, in turn, limits our ability to predict how SOM will respond to environmental changes. The fate of SOM is influenced by the complex microbial, chemical and physical interactions in soils, which calls for a cross-disciplinary approach to advance this area of science. One area of particular interest is the interactions among SOM components and SOM-mineral interactions that ultimately control the  availability to microbial processes.

Tasks
We are seeking to recruit a highly motivated postdoctoral scholar to a cross-disciplinary research environment, with the formal placement at the Centre for Environmental and Climate research (https://www.cec.lu.se ), Lund University. Your main task will be to characterize the colloidal structure and dynamics of soil organic matter using small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) along with Cryo-Transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM). Complementary techniques will be also employed such as static and dynamic light scattering (SLS and DLS). A majority of the samples will be collected at the Skogaryd Research Catchment and basic geochemical parameters such as concentrations of the main elements, pH, redox, etc, will be used to rationalize the results.

You will be a member of Professors Anders Tunlid´s and Per Persson´s research groups and be part of the cross-disciplinary research environment “Molecular Interactions Controlling soil Carbon Sequestration – MICCS” (http://miccs.info/). A significant part of the experimental work will be performed at the Division of Physical Chemistry (www.physchem.lu.se), in close collaboration with professor Ulf Olsson.

Qualifications
The successful candidate must have the following qualifications:

• PhD in the area of physical chemistry, soft matter physics or equivalent, completed not more than three years before the date of application
• Ability to conduct research both independently, and as a member of a team
• Fluent in English (written and spoken).
• Excellent written and oral communication skills to allow for presentation to specialists as well as to scientists outside the area of research.

Additional desirable skills

• Documented experience in characterizing soft matter using scattering methods, in particular small angle scattering.
• Documented experience in cryo-TEM experiments, including tomography, and data analysis.
• Documented experience in programming in Matlab, Python or a similar language.

Application
The application shall be written in English and must contain the following parts:

1. A CV, including date of public PhD thesis defense or equivalent, title of thesis, previous appointments, current position and academic distinctions (max. two pages)
2. A full list of publications.
3. A brief outline of current research (max. one page)
4. Names and contact information of at least 3 professional references.
5. A cover letter where you also outline why you find this cross-disciplinary research area interesting, and how you believe you can contribute to the progress in this area of research.

The salary is set according to the regulations at Lund University and is related to the time since PhD exam and the skills and performance in the given research area.