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Supervisor: Prof. Thomas Röckmann (Utrecht University, The Netherlands), co-supervisor: Dr. Hugo Denier van der Gon (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), The Netherlands)

Employer: Utrecht University, The Netherlands

Project description: CH₄ emissions are a major contributor to Europe’s global warming impact, but Europe’s CH₄ emissions are not well quantified. Effective emission reduction can only be achieved if sources are properly quantified, and mitigation efforts are verified. The successful candidate will work on the use of mobile measurements of the greenhouse gas methane for quantification and verification of emission estimates and emission mitigation measures. The position is part of the European Initial Training Network MEMO², where the candidate will link data from other partners to mission reporting at various scales (site-national-European). This is implemented by an intensive 30% secondment to the non-academic partner TNO, who is responsible for emission registration and reporting in the Netherlands, and provides the European scale CH₄ emission inventories for the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Services. She/he will also carry out mobile measurements together with non-academic partners in The Netherlands in order to develop (new) monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) protocols for emissions from landfills and potentially other sources. We will focus in particular on novel low-cost solutions using mobile instrumentation, which could unlock the reduction potential and contribute to transparent more accurate reporting. The results of the MEMO² project will flow into better and updated CH₄ emission inventories from the InGOS project and the TNO-CAMS European emission inventory.

Secondments: The successful candidate will spend 8 months at the non-academic partner TNO, The Netherlands, further 1 month  at AGH University for Science and Technology, Poland, for continuous in-situ isotope measurements, and 1 month at Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France, for continuous in-situ isotope measurements.

We are searching for: The Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry Group (APCG) of the Institute of Marine and Atmospheric research Utrecht (IMAU) is looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate to work in the field of methane emission inventories. The position is immediately available for a candidate with an excellent master’s degree in physics, chemistry or geosciences. We expect further particular interest and a strong background in atmospheric and environmental sciences; experience and proficiency with experimental techniques and data analysis tools. The candidate must have excellent English language skills; knowledge of Dutch is advantageous. Candidates must be willing to travel abroad for secondments and measurement campaigns, and to present their research to an international research community. As this project requires close collaboration within the consortium, candidates are expected to be excellent team players. The participation in workshops and secondments during the project is mandatory. According to EU eligibility criteria, researchers may be of any nationality, BUT must be at their early carrier stage and may not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in The Netherlands for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the application deadline.

We offer: We offer a highly stimulating research environment with excellent infrastructure and a broad interdisciplinary surrounding. Working place is Utrecht, The Netherlands. The candidate is offered a full-time position for 4 years at the Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht. The salary is supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and an end-of-year bonus of 8,3% per year. In addition we offer: a pension scheme, a partially paid parental leave, flexible employment conditions. Conditions are based on the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities. The research group will provide the candidate with necessary support on all aspects of the project. More information you can find on the website: http://www.uu.nl/EN/informationfor/jobseekers/Working-for-Utrecht-University/terms-of-employment/Pages/default.aspx. MSCA-ETN projects are part of Horizon 2020 and offer attractive salaries and working conditions following the conditions as described in the respective work programs.

Selection procedure: The selection procedure will follow the Code of Conduct for Recruitment. Candidates will be selected first on EU eligibility criteria, second on qualifications. The position is available immediately, the short-listed candidates will be invited for interview early spring.

Deadline: Eligible applications received before 15 April 2017 will receive full consideration

Contact: Please upload your application material before 30 April by using the vacancy portal of the University Utrecht. The application material should include a letter of motivation, a curriculum vitae, copies of university and high-school degrees (including grades) and either two letters of recommendation or contact information of two people that can be contacted for reference. For more information on the MEMO² project, including this and other vacancies, please visit the MEMO² website.

Additional information about this position can be obtained from Prof. Thomas Röckmann, (t.roeckmann@uu.nl) or Dr. Sylvia Walter (S.Walter@uu.nl).

For more information about the Institute for Marine and Atmospheric research Utrecht, please visit the IMAU website.