The Environmental Chemistry Group at Professor Laurel Thomasarego offers a doctoral center at the Chemistry Institute at the University of Nushtel (Switzerland). The research will be made within the SNSF “MIMOC” starting grant: organic carbon dynamics by minerals in soil and sediments: Improved understanding from the laboratory to the field. The project includes 3 PhD students and 1 after a doctorate.

Project Description: Iron mineral stages in the soil play a major role in global elements. However, our understanding of how the oxidation conditions in the volatile soil on stability, mineral transformation, and the effect on isolation and/or filling the associated organic carbon are not clear. As part of a larger team, it will contribute to developing new approaches to investigate the metal transformations of iron and the fate associated with organic carbon associated with minerals in religious oxidation soil and sediments. You will conduct laboratory and equivalent studies on the specified metal transformation of iron and their effect on carbon dynamics, using modern experimental and analytical techniques including stable isotope tracking, synchronization techniques, and XRD.

The main duties and responsibilities include:

* Designing and implementing laboratory experiments

* Publishing research results in international scientific journals

* Attending and presenting research in national and international conferences

* Participate in teaching and supervising the laboratory practical courses

Your profile:

* Master’s degree in a relevant field (such as environmental sciences, chemistry, mineral science, ecology, soil science)

* Very excited to conduct scientific research in environmental biochemistry

* Good organizational skills and communications

* Knowledge of wet chemistry, laboratory techniques, and the desire to learn

* Experience with Synchrotron technologies or XRD is an advantage

* The English language is fluent (written and spoken) necessary and the basic French is an advantage

We offer:

* A comprehensive and supportive work environment that encourages scientific curiosity

* Opportunities to develop skills in advanced analytical methods (for example, Synchrotron XAS, XRD)

* Opportunities to attend and present in conferences and meetings

* The opportunity to build a scientific network in the fields of environmental chemistry and vital soil

Start date: Spring/Summer 2026

Duration: 4 years