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Location

Berkeley, CA | United States

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Job description

Position overview Position title: Postdoc Employee
Salary range: The UC academic salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and step at appointment. See the following table(s) for the current salary scale(s) for this position: . A reasonable estimate for this position Is $64,480 - $71,908.

Percent time: 100

Anticipated start: Spring/Summer 2024

Position duration: 2 years with possibility of renewal based on performance and availability of funding.

Application Window
Open date: February 15, 2024

Next review date: Thursday, Feb 29, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Saturday, Mar 16, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

The Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley seeks applications for a Postdoc Employee in the Allen Goldstein Lab, in the area of chemical characterization of organic aerosols.

The PI lab

Goldstein Group research themes include atmospheric chemistry and biogeochemistry. We investigate anthropogenic and natural contributions to the chemical composition of the troposphere, interactions of air pollution with ecosystems, and aerosol composition and chemistry. One of our major foci is to push the forefront of observational capabilities through the development and deployment of novel analytical instrumentation, making possible new avenues of research to address elusive scientific questions. We develop instrumentation, develop and maintain long term biosphere-atmosphere exchange experiments, engage in short term field campaigns, perform controlled laboratory experiments, and utilize models of atmospheric processes, all with the goals of understanding the composition and chemistry of earth's atmosphere, how it functions naturally, and how it is impacted by anthropogenic emissions and changing climate.

The postdoctoral employee will contribute to highly collaborative projects focused on better understanding aqueous aerosol processes. The first project aims to identify and understand the chemical processes of formation of biomass burning compounds that were previously observed during a central Amazon field campaign (GoAmazon 2014) and are hypothesized to form through aqueous aerosol processes. This involves comparison of chemical composition between archived GoAmazon data and that of new samples obtained through newly-designed laboratory simulations (performed by existing collaborators) to more closely mimic GoAmazon conditions and the potential formation of biomass burning secondary organic aerosol.

The second project aims to understand the variation of chemical composition of organic aerosols with altitude to understand potential impacts of aerosol-cloud processing. Samples for this project were taken onboard the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric System Research Tethered Balloon System at various field sites. These projects involve extensive collaboration with researchers at other academic institutions (e.g. University of California, Davis and Georgia Institute of Technology), and the U.S. Department of Energy national labs and facilities (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, and Atmospheric Radiation Measurement). Within UC Berkeley, the successful candidate will be able to interact with members of the Berkeley Atmospheric Science Center community, comprising researchers of atmospheric science spanning the departments of chemistry, earth and planetary science, civil and environmental engineering, geography, environmental science, policy, and management, and public health.

Responsibilities:
The postdoctoral scholar will be responsible for advancing the stated projects through the following activities:
1) Analyze aerosol samples on a custom-built thermal desorption two-dimensional gas chromatograph with high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Aerosol samples will be collected by existing collaborators on quartz/Teflon filters (requiring some liquid extractions) and additional samples will be in aqueous form.
2) Make and run custom standard solutions for quantitative analyses
3) Analyze sample chromatograms performing chemical tracer analysis, with a scientific emphasis on a) comparison of sample tracers to previously collected field data and b) understanding chemical variations by altitude.
4) Communicate and disseminate research results during research group meetings, prepare manuscripts, and contribute to annual reports on projects' progress.

Qualifications
Basic qualifications (required at time of application)
PhD (or equivalent international degree) or enrolled in a PhD (or equivalent international degree) program.

Additional qualifications (required at time of start)
PhD (or equivalent international degree) required by the appointment start date.
No more than three years of post-degree research experience by start date.

Preferred qualifications
Experience in analytical chemistry, collection and chemical characterization of organic aerosols
Excellent writing and communication skills
Strong publication record in peer reviewed journals and/or papers in preparation
Experience working with and exploring large data sets involving programming (e.g. Igor, Matlab, Python, R, etc.)

Application Requirements

Document requirements
Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.

Cover Letter

Reference requirements

3 required (contact information only) Apply link:

Help contact: [email protected]

About UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The excellence of the institution requires an environment in which the diverse community of faculty, students, and staff are welcome and included. Successful candidates will demonstrate knowledge and skill related to ensuring equity and inclusion in the activities of their academic position (e.g., teaching, research, and service, as applicable).

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see:

In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

Job location
Berkeley, CA

To apply, visit

jeid-35641b5dc11f674b9d3c0a1773f02757

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