PhD Grants
Application Opened 20240215 - will close 20240601
Object: 3 years PhD scholarship in Physical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry applied to the quest of the Origins of Life in ASTRO team at the PIIM laboratory of the Aix-Marseille University in France
Context: Since fifteen years, the ASTRO team draws a unique scenario that starts from the primitive dense molecular cloud up to the development of a prebiotic chemistry at the surface of the early Earth. They develop experimental approaches questioning the origin of the organic matter observed in the various interplanetary bodies of our solar system. They demonstrated that a part of this matter could be related to the chemistry occurring during the collapse of the native dense molecular clouds and its evolution to a protoplanetary disk. The accretion step could have then led to an incorporation of a fraction of this primitive organic matter in asteroids and comets, where, depending on the body, secondary alterations could have occurred, leading to a new evolution of the organic content. As observed on Earth with the presence of meteorites, the organic content of interplanetary bodies may have been delivered at the surface of the early Earth, 4.3 to 3.8 Go ago. This extraterrestrial organic matter may have been an important reservoir of organic matter that could have played a role in the emergence of life on the early Earth.
Objectives the scientific project: The aim is to develop, under the supervision of Pr. Grégoire Danger and in collaboration with Dr. Robert Pascal and Dr Vassilissa Vinogradoff, prebiotic chemistry experiments in order to understand the chemistry occurring in the context of the early Earth. A reductionist approach will be developed that aims to investigate the reactivity possibly occurring in the known conditions of the early Earth, by working on simple chemical systems to understand the role of specific chemical compounds involving high energy components such as nitriles and species capable of overcoming their otherwise limited reactivity like thiols and others. Our research will focus on amino acid and sugar chemistries, as well as on the chirality evolution.
Situation of the position: He/She will integrate the current project developed in the reductionist approach. The candidate will be part of a unique interdisciplinary project in the ASTRO team at the PIIM laboratory of the CNRS/Aix-Marseille University. We week for a candidate with skills in analytical chemistry, physical chemistry and/or organic chemistry.
Administrative information:
- The position is for three years. The funding is part of the AMIDEX IMOTEP project AMX-22-RE-AB-190.
- Applicants must have a Master degree in analytical chemistry, physical chemistry or organic chemistry by the date of appointment.
- The starting date is no later than October 2024.
- Applicants should submit a cover letter, a CV, a statement (2 pages max) explaining interests and qualifications, and if available letters of recommendation.
- Review of applications will begin upon receipt until the position is filled and all applications received by the deadline will receive full consideration.
- Selected applicants will be interviewed. They will have to present their research background and to propose a project in relation with the aim of the current position. The selection of the candidate will be held after these interviews.
Application Deadline: June 1th, 2024
Audition Deadline: July 1th, 2024
Starting date: October, 2024
End Date: October, 2027
Attention To: Grégoire Danger - Email: gregoire.danger@univ-amu.fr
Application Opened 20230504 - closed 20230620
Object: PhD scholarship in analytical chemistry and astrochemistry in the context of Laboratory experiments to understand the origins of organic matter in interplanetary objects at the PIIM laboratory of the University of Aix-Marseille in collaboration with CIMAP at Ganil, Caen, funded by the PEPR Origins MIRRPLA project and Origins Institute via AMIDEX.
The thesis will be an experimental thesis that aims to understand the various physicochemical processes responsible for the observed organic matter within interplanetary objects, and to determine its composition based on the considered objects. The first objective is to develop a set of experiments to understand the type of organic matter that can form during pre-accretionary processes. In the MICMOC setup (10-8 mbar, 77K) at the PIIM laboratory, commonly studied ices (H2O, CH3OH, NH3) altered by UV photons at 121 nm will be modified by adding CO, CO2, H2S, SO2, and/or PH3 to better mimic observed ices. The volatile organic compounds in the gas phase (analyzed by GC-Orbitrap) as well as the refractory organic compounds (HRMS, LC-HRMS, GC-HRMS) will be analyzed to determine their composition and the chemical reactivity induced by these modifications. By combining these analyses, the aim is to establish the chemical connections that may exist between the gas and solid phases. The second objective is to reproduce these ices at the CIMAP facility at GANIL, where they will be altered by ion bombardment (Ar, S, Mg at ~100 keV). The same analytical techniques will be used to characterize the gas and solid phases of these experiments and the results will be compared to the experiments performed in MICMOC to determine the influence of the irradiation source on the formation of molecular species. The third objective is to simulate post-accretionary conditions and study the evolution of the formed samples. All the obtained results will be compared to analyses of extraterrestrial objects (sample returns or carbonaceous chondritic meteorites). By the end of this thesis, a better understanding of the physicochemical processes that led to the formation of the observed organic matter within interplanetary objects will be achieved.
Application Deadline: June 14th, 2023
Attention To: Grégoire Danger and Alicja Domaracka
Email: gregoire.danger@univ-amu.fr and domaracka@ganil.fr
Application Opened 20230404 - closed 20230604
Object: PhD scholarship in analytical chemistry and physical chemistry in the context of the evolution of organic matter on the primitive Earth at the Origins Institute (PIIM laboratory) of the University of Aix-Marseille, funded by the PEPR Origins.
A PhD scholarship opportunity is open at the ASTRO' team of the PIIM laboratory at Aix-Marseille University, Institut Origines, Marseille, France. The successful candidate will work on simulating the aqueous environments of the early Earth in order to better understand the physical and chemical evolution of extraterrestrial organic matter. Specifically, he or she will develop experiments to investigate how molecular diversity observed in some meteorites might evolve once delivered to the surface of the early Earth. The experiments will simulate the so-called 'primordial soup' in aqueous environments that allow organic interactions with minerals and UV photons. The goal is to test the hypothesis of an exogenous supply of organic matter via interplanetary bodies to terrestrial planets, and its potential role in the emergence of prebiotic chemical systems. The experiments will be carried out using microfluidic systems developed in collaboration with Philippe Nghe of ESPCI, Paris, France. The candidate will be responsible for sample analysis using various analytical techniques, such as high resolution mass spectrometry coupled with gas or liquid chromatography. The PhD position will be supervised by G. Danger in collaboration with Philippe Nghe from ESPCI, Paris. The candidate will work in the interdisciplinary environment of the Institut Origines, which will provide opportunities for expanding their knowledge. This project is part of the Workpackage "The emergence of life - Lab. experiments and bioanalyses of early-Earth/Mars samples" of a French nation-wide interdisciplinary initiative called PEPR Origins, for the study of the origins of life on Earth and characterization of exoplanets.
The funding is available for a period of three years. The start date would be September to December 2023, depending on the availability of the applicant. Applicants must hold a Master's degree in chemistry, physical chemistry, or analytical chemistry at the time of appointment. Applicants should submit a letter of motivation, a CV, a list of publications and a statement (maximum one page) explaining their research interests and qualifications, and request a letter of recommendation. Review of applications will begin upon receipt until the position is filled. All applications received by the deadline will be given full consideration.
Application Deadline: June 4th, 2023
Attention To: Grégoire Danger
Email: gregoire.danger@univ-amu.fr