AITTC – Postdoctoral in Advancing cadmium isotope analysis and speciation

AITTC Postdoctoral in Advancing Cadmium Isotope Analysis and Speciation for Tracing Cd in a Soil-Plant System

If you would like to know a bit more about this opportunity, or are considering applying, then please read the following job information.

Entity : AITTC / UM6P and CEREGE / France

About UM6P :

Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) is an internationally oriented institution of higher learning, committed to an educational system based on the highest standards of teaching and research in fields related to the sustainable economic development of Morocco and Africa.

UM6P is oriented towards applied research and innovation, aiming to position these fields at the forefront and become a university of international standing.

More than just a traditional academic institution, UM6P is a platform for experimentation and a pool of opportunities for students, professors, and staff.

It offers a high-quality living and study environment thanks to its state-of-the-art infrastructure. With an innovative approach, UM6P places research and innovation at the heart of its educational project as a driving force of a business model.

About CEREGE :

CEREGE is an international multidisciplinary research and teaching center that covers almost all the Environmental Geosciences, from Martian mineralogy to water treatment, tectonics, paleoclimatology, geochemistry, physical chemistry, and process analysis.

As a center of excellence in human skills and instrumental capabilities, CEREGE's research is based on laboratories and analytical platforms, inter-team collaborations, and an extensive network of national and international collaborations.

Ideally located in the heart of the Technopôle de l'Arbois in Aix-en-Provence, it benefits from optimal conditions for the development of networks and partnerships.

Description of the Position :

Trace metals inputs to agricultural soils via fertilizers are of concern due to their potential risk to the environment and human health.

The overarching goal of the DUNE project (Cadmium and Trace Elements Bio-Availability and Transfer In Soil-Plant- System) is to enhance our understanding of Cd bioavailability to crops and its bio-accumulation within the soil-plant system.

It is essential to tackle the Cd biogeochemical cycle and dynamics, characterize Cd sources (pedogenetic and anthropogenetic) in the environment, and understand what controls its bioavailability at a molecular level.

The postdoctoral project will focus on characterizing the source of Cd contaminant (soil, fertilizers, water) into top-soils and understanding what controls the bioavailability of Cd and trace elements.

The objective is to investigate the fate of Cd in the biota using an innovative approach combining cutting-edge Cd stable isotope analysis with X-ray spectroscopy measurements of Cd speciation to understand the main processes that control Cd bioavailability.

Cadmium stable isotope analysis in soils, fertilizers, and plants will be performed on CEREGE’s multi-collector mass spectrometer MC-ICPMS Thermofischer Neptune+.

The speciation and location of the elements of interest will be determined by state-of-the-art methodology based on a multiple scale characterization combining techniques at CEREGE and synchrotron radiation facilities including X-ray Absorption Spectroscopies (XAS, XRF) and imaging techniques (Micro-XAS, micro-XRF, ).

The recruited person will work in France (CEREGE, Aix en Provence) and Morocco (UM6P AITTC-experimental farm).

Education

A Ph.D. in environmental science, biogeochemistry, isotope geochemistry, or related field.

Requirements

• Experience in isotopic analysis and multi-collector mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS).
• Experience in X-ray absorption spectroscopic analysis is a plus but not mandatory.
• Experience in environmental fields related to agriculture and fertilizer management and processing.
• Ability to work in a team and possess strong writing skills and excellent communication abilities in French and English.
• Dynamic, enthusiastic, and demonstrating good autonomy.

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