The Baraban Group in the BGU Department of Chemistry is seeking postdoctoral researchers to play leading roles in an initiative to understand the quantum mechanical and chemical behavior of radicals by the strategic development of spectroscopic methods. This project is funded by a Starting Grant from the European Research Commission (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/848668).

Applicants should have a PhD in Physical Chemistry or a similar discipline, and experience in experimental design and implementation related to high resolution molecular spectroscopy. Expertise with tunable lasers, vacuum technology, data acquisition, and/or mass spectrometry is highly desirable; generation of infrared or vacuum ultraviolet radiation by non-linear optical techniques would be particularly advantageous.

The laboratory work will pursue multiple resonance spectra of radicals that possess practical and fundamental importance, with the aim of characterizing their (often coupled) vibrational and electronic degrees of freedom. The resulting data will advance our understanding of vibronic dynamics in non-adiabatic systems, and these spectra, together with the techniques developed to obtain them, will enable new in situ studies of radical chemistry. Active international collaborations will represent a significant aspect of the position. Effective Hamiltonian modeling and ab initio predictions, both in-house and in cooperation with theoretical chemists, will also be important components of the project.

Excellent resources are available in newly renovated laboratory space, including recently constructed laser and vacuum apparatus for optical and photoionization spectroscopies, mated to a custom gas source for pyrolysis production of radicals. The services of electronics and machine shops are available for custom fabrication.

The appointments are intended for two years, but both the start date (after September 1, 2020) and duration are flexible. The salary and benefits are highly competitive. Applicants should submit a CV, a list of peer-reviewed publications, and a 1-2 page summary of research interests via e-mail to: [email protected]. Applicants should be prepared to provide 2-3 letters of recommendation, but these letters are not required during the first stage of the application process.