Postdoctoral Positions Reaction Dynamics, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA
The Reaction Dynamics Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, invites applications for four postdoctoral positions. The appointment period is initially for one year, but can be renewed annually based on avail¬a¬b¬ility of funds and satisfactory progress. The salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. Successful applicants should have a strong background in one or more of the following: experimental reaction dynamics, molecular beams, combustion chemistry, low temperature condensed phase, UHV tech¬nology, pulsed laser systems.
2 Positions: Reaction Dynamics & Combustion Chemistry (Gas Phase). The prime directive of the experiments is to investigate the formation of carbonaceous molecules (PAHs) in combustion systems exploiting crossed molecular beams along with mass spectrometry and ion imaging (Hawaii) and a pyrolytic micro reactor (Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory).
2 Positions: Planetary Chemistry & Astrobiology (Condensed Phase). The goal of these experiments is to probe the formation of alkylphosphonic acids via interaction of ionizing radiation with low temperature interstellar and cometary analog ices. Reaction products will be probed via tunable vacuum ultraviolet photoionization of the subliming molecules.
Solid communication skills in English (written, oral), a publication record in internationally circulated, peer-reviewed journals, and willingness to work in a team are man¬da¬to¬ry. Only self-motivated and energetic candidates are encouraged to apply. Please send a letter of interest, three letters of recommendation, CV, and publication list to Prof. Ralf I. Kaiser, De¬partment of Chemistry, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822-2275, USA [ralfk@hawaii.edu]. Applicants must demonstrate their capability to prepare manuscripts for publications independently. The review of applications will start December 15, 2015, and continues until the position is filled. A description of our current research group can be found at http://www.chem.hawaii.edu/Bil301/welcome.html. Examples of recent publicaitions can be seen at
Int. Rev. Phys. Chem. 34, 461-514 (2015).
Annu. Rev. Physical Chemistry 66, 43-67 (2015).
The Astrophysical Journal 814, 45 (2015).
Chemical Communications 51, 11305-11308 (2015).
Angewandte Chemie – International Edition 54, 5421-5424 (2015).
Angewandte Chemie – International Edition 54, 195-200 (2015).
Angewandte Chemie – International Edition 53, 4608-4613 (2014).
Angewandte Chemie – International Edition 53, 7440-7444 (2014).
The Journal of the American Chemical Society (2014).
Chem. Soc. Rev. 43, 2701-2713 (2014).
The Hydride Toolbox. Paris December 12 - 15, 2016
Hydrides are among the first molecules detected in Astronomy, outside the solar system. Hydrides are defined as molecules, radicals and
molecular ions containing only one ''heavy atom'' (e.g., C, N, O, F, S, Cl, Ar, etc.) bound with hydrogen atoms. Such molecules are therefore relatively chemically simple. They lie at the root of interstellar chemistry, as hydrides are among the first species to form in initially atomic gas, together with molecular hydrogen and its associated ions. Despite this relative simplicity, building chemical models explaining the astronomical data on hydrides has required
several decades. Several independent factors contributed to enhancing the difficulty. The relative scarcity of astronomical data due to the
limited number of spectral lines accessible from the ground, the specific thermodynamic and chemical properties of hydrides of
astrophysical interest, leading to slow formation processes for key species like CH+ in average interstellar conditions, and the need for
advanced modeling approaches combining fluid dynamics, gas phase and solid phase chemistries, and including radiative and chemical formation pumping. Thanks to the development of submillimeter astronomy, especially the Herschel satellite and the SOFIA stratospheric airplane, the knowledge of astronomical hydrides has rapidly progressed. Advances in astronomical observations have been matched by similar progresses in theory and in laboratory data. Several hydrides are now accessible either from space or from the ground, including distant objects at high redshift, as well as protoplanetary disks and exoplanet atmospheres. Hydrides are now
detected in a wide range of environments, from the low density diffuse matter with mostly atomic hydrogen, up to the dense FUV illuminated interfaces of molecular gas and HII regions, to cold and dense prestellar cores, and to molecular shocks. Because water is the main ice constituent, hydrides are also important probes of the planet formation process, including the role of the snow line in the growth of planet embryos, and the emergence of planet atmospheres. Hydride
spectral lines bear interesting diagnostics of important properties of interstellar medium, be it local or at cosmological distances. This
includes the molecular hydrogen content, the ionization rate due to cosmic rays, the dissipation rate of turbulence, the kinetic
temperature, the magnetic field intensity, as well as the ice condensation and evaporation processes, and the evolutionary time
scale of the matter through for instance the abundance ratio of spin symmetry states of H2 and hydrides like NH3.
The goal of this 4-day meeting is to bring together the molecular physics (gas phase and solid phase; theory and experiments) and
astrophysical community interested in hydrides, and to benchmark the hydride diagnostic capabilities, to expand the validation domain from the local universe to distant systems. The sessions will be organized with introductory review talks, and ample time for contributed talks and poster presentations.
Main Topics:
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* Hydrides as probes of the diffuse ISM and of the CO-Dark gas.
* Hydrides as probes of PDRs and star forming regions, from local
regions to the high redshift universe.
* Hydrides in shocks, probing the stellar feedback
* Hydrides as probes of the interaction of cosmic rays with matter,
and relation with magnetic field structure.
* Hydrides as probes of energetic processes XDRs, and AGN activity
diagnostics (across redshift).
* Hydrides as probes of the planet formation process, hydrides in
exoplanets.
* Molecular physics of hydrides: formation, excitation, reactivity
including the role of the spin symmetries .
* Hydrides in solid phase : physical processes and chemistry.
Scientific Organizing Committee: : Yuri Aikawa (Japan), Edwin Bergin (USA), John Black (Sweden), Paola Caselli (Germany), Maryvonne Gerin (France) chair, Javier Goicoechea (Spain) co-chair, Eduardo Gonzalez-Alfonso (Spain), Di Li (China), Xavier Michaut (France)
David Neufeld (USA) co-chair, Karin Öberg (USA)
Ewine van Dishoeck (The Netherlands).
Local Organizing Committee : Mathieu Bertin (LERMA - UPMC), Patrick Boissé (IAP - UPMC)
Maryvonne Gerin (LERMA - CNRS), Benjamin Godard (LERMA - Observatoire de Paris), Pascal Jeseck (LERMA - CNRS), Darek Lis (LERMA - Observatoire de Paris), Xavier Michaut (LERMA - UPMC), Laurent Philippe (LERMA - UPMC), Nora Roger (LERMA - CNRS)