[PhD-Switzerland] PhD & Postdoctoral Positions in Inorganic Chemistry, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL)

The Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Catalysis in the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL/ETHL/Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne), Switzerland will be created on July 1st, 2007 under the direction of Professor Xile Hu.

The main goal of the laboratory is to develop transition metal based molecular systems for chemical transformations pertinent to energy storage and conversion. Topics of current research interest are (i) chemical and reversible hydrogen storage; (ii) electrocatalytic CO2 fixation and methanol oxidation; and (iii) bio-inspired H2 activation. Students and postdocs are expected to engage heavily in inorganic and organometallic syntheses, exploit a multitude of spectroscopic tools such as multinuclear NMR, IR, UV-Vis, EPR, magnetism, X-ray absorption spectroscopy and crystallography, and become proficient in the theory and application of electrochemistry.

We are inviting applications for multiple Ph.D. student and postdoctoral associate positions.

EPFL is one of the two Swiss federal institutes of technology. Like its sister institution, ETH Zurich, it has three missions: education, research, and technology transfer at the highest international level. With 107 nationalities represented on campus and more than 50% of the professors coming from outside of Switzerland, EPFL is one of the worlds most cosmopolitan universities. More information about EPFL and the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering can be found at: http://www.epfl.ch/ and http://isic.epfl.ch/index.html.

EPFL is located idyllically on the shore of Lake Geneva, overlooking the French Alps. Lausanne offers students a wide palette of cultural and sports activities and is also known internationally as the Capitale Olympique. In a country of spectacular natural beauty, it is the most beautiful of cities.

Salaries and Benefits The annual salaries are roughly 50,000 CHFs (ca. 40,000 U.S. Dollars) for a Ph. D. student and 75,000 CHFs (ca. 60,000 U.S. dollars) for a postdoctoral associate. All doctoral students and postdoctoral associates are entitled to a 5-week paid vacation in addition to Swiss national holidays.

Requirements For Ph.D. student positions, a M.S./M.A. in Chemistry is generally required, although exceptional candidates with only a B.S. in Chemistry will be considered. A maximum of 4 years may be taken to finish a Ph.D. thesis. More information about the doctoral program can be found at: http://phd.epfl.ch/page55507-en.html.

For postdoctoral positions, a Ph.D. in chemistry is required. For all applicants, training in synthetic and mechanistic inorganic chemistry and knowledge and experience with inert-atmosphere manipulation techniques are desirable. Applicants whose first language is not English are recommended to provide results of the TOEFL and/or GRE tests, or other measure(s) of English proficiency.

For Ph.D. student positions, the appointments will be for four years subject to the successful completion of the admission examination after the first year. For postdoctoral positions, the appointment will be initially for one year and extendable upon mutual agreements. The contracts will start as early as July 1st, 2007 but the positions remain open until filled.

Application Interested candidates should include a curriculum vitae, a list of publications, names and contacts of 2-3 references, and a brief description of research interests. For applications and further information please contact: Dr. Xile Hu E-mail: xilehu@gmail.com Webpage: http://chemistry.caltech.edu:16080/groups/peters/group/Hu.html