These positions are part of the 5-year advanced grant project “Cosmic Dust in the Terrestrial Atmosphere (CODITA)”, funded by the European Research Council. You will join an international team studying the evolution of dust from comets and its impact in the atmospheres of the Earth and other solar system bodies.

The first fellowship, on the Chemistry of Planetary Atmospheres, will have two research aims: to study the layers of metallic ions observed in planetary atmospheres, by measuring the rates of dissociative recombination of metallic molecular ions with electrons; and to develop a novel reactor for simulating meteoric ablation in the laboratory.

The second fellowship, on the Chemistry of the Upper Atmosphere, will investigate the chemistry of the metallic layers in the mesosphere, the formation of meteoric smoke, and the nucleation of noctilucent clouds, using a reactor employing laser photo-ionization and time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Suitable applicants for these positions should have a PhD in experimental physical/atmospheric chemistry, chemical physics, or a closely related discipline. You should be prepared to work as part of a dynamic team and, when appropriate, to use your initiative as an independent researcher.

Both positions are 54-month appointments, available from 1 April 2012. Salary in the range £29,972 – £35,788 depending on experience.

Further information on CODITA and Atmospheric Chemistry at the University of Leeds is available at http://www.leeds.ac.uk/hr/jobs/index.htm.

Informal enquiries to Professor John Plane, email j.m.c.plane@leeds.ac.uk, http://www1.chem.leeds.ac.uk/JMCP/, tel +44 (0)113 343 8044.

Closing Date: 23 January 2012