Thursday, October 7, 2010

PhD in Environmental Geochemistry,Duebendorf, Switzerland

Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, is an internationally active research institute within the domain of the ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Science and Technology). It is committed to the ecologically, economically and socially responsible management of water.

Within the department of Water Resources and Drinking Water, the group Molecular Envi-ronmental Geochemistry has a vacancy for a

PhD Student in Environmental Geochemistry

The subject of the doctoral thesis will be “Iron(III) precipitates formed by iron(II) oxida-tion in natural waters: Structure, reactivity and impact on arsenic”.

Iron precipitation plays an important biogeochemical role and influences water quality in many natural systems. Iron precipitation is also widely used for the treatment of wastewater and the purification of drinking water, for example to remove arsenic.

The goal of this project is to advance the current state of knowledge regarding the structure and reactivity of iron precipitates forming under a variety of chemical conditions as a basis for improved water resources management. Arsenic represents a widespread contaminant of water resources and its co-transformation with iron will therefore be considered in this study. The work is predominantly laboratory-based and involves the use of state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation. Synchrotron-based X-ray techniques and electron microscopy will mainly be used for the characterization of iron precipitates and arsenic speciation.

The successful candidate for this position is expected to hold an MSc degree in environ-mental sciences, environmental engineering, geochemistry, geology or closely related disci-plines. The candidate should have a strong interest in laboratory work and in understanding chemical reactions between solid and aqueous phases that affect water composition and quality. Advanced knowledge of aquatic chemistry and/or mineralogy would be beneficial. Fluency in English and German would be an advantage.

The duration of the position will be three years, with a potential extension to four years. The PhD degree will be awarded by ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Zurich. The PhD student will be supervised by Drs. Andreas Voegelin, Stephan Hug and Ralf Kaegi and advised by Prof. Janet Hering.

Please submit your application – including CV, motivation letter, and copies of academic qualifications and references – in electronic form as one single PDF file to: andreas.voegelin@eawag.ch. Applications will be evaluated beginning 1. November 2010 until the position is filled (after 1. November 2010, please check at http://www.eawag.ch/jobs/index if the position is still announced before submitting your application). Project start is flexible, but as soon as possible. Workplace: Dübendorf near Zurich.

For further information, please consult www.eawag.ch or contact Dr. Andreas Voegelin (andreas.voegelin@eawag.ch; Phone +41 44 823 54 70).