PhD Position: “Physicochemical Fingerprints and Quantification of Microbially-Mediated Mineral Weathering”

The Institute of Earth Sciences (ISTerre, UMR5275) is looking for a creative, qualified and motivated individual to lead an interdisciplinary thesis project at the interface of Earth sciences, microbiology and materials sciences.

The objective of the thesis project will be to develop new experimental, analytical and numerical approaches to characterize the development of physicochemical fingerprints related to microbial weathering of minerals, combined with the quantification of associated elemental fluxes. The project will involve the acquisition of microstructural, chemical and microtopographic data of the surface of minerals altered under abiotic conditions or by model microbial strains, coupled with multiscale numerical modeling of the dissolution process. Such work will provide an analytical and theoretical basis for assessing the contribution of microorganisms to weathering fluxes of primary minerals on Earth, a central objective of the ERC project Mobidic (2021-2026; see https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101001275), in which the thesis work will be conducted.

The thesis will be jointly supervised by Damien Daval (ISTerre, Grenoble), Karim Benzerara (Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, Paris) and Philippe Ackerer (Institut Terre et Environnement de Strasbourg). The thesis work will be carried out mainly within the Geochemistry team of ISTerre in Grenoble, with regular stays envisaged in the Paris and Strasbourg laboratories (several weeks / year), financially supported by the project.

ISTerre is a Unité Mixte de Recherche de l’Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, USMB, IRD and Université Gustave Eiffel, located 1381 rue de la Piscine 38400 Saint-Martin d’Hères and on the scientific campus of Bourget du Lac.
It is part of the Observatoire des Sciences de l’Univers de Grenoble (OSUG) and of Pôle de recherche PAGE of the University of Grenoble Alpes (UGA). It has a staff of about 300 people and an average annual budget of €7 million.
It is organized around 9 research teams and services, the scientific objective being the physical and chemical study of the planet Earth, particularly by focusing on the couplings between observations of natural objects, experimentation and modeling of the associated complex processes. ISTerre also provides solid Earth observation missions, hosts and maintains national parks of geophysical instruments, and a data center.
The selected student will enjoy a large degree of academic freedom, will combine both experimental and field work, and will have access to a wide range of microbiological and physicochemical characterization instruments and analytical techniques, including vertical scanning interferometry, atomic force microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray spectroscopy (absorption, transmission, scattering, reflectivity), confocal microscopy and the use of innovative experimental devices dedicated to fluid-microbe-mineral interactions (reaction cell dedicated to in situ interferometry imaging).

Several regular stays in the Strasbourg and Paris laboratories involved in the co-direction of the thesis will be financially supported by the project.

Candidates must have a master degree and/or an engineering degree with knowledge in mineralogy, chemical kinetics and thermodynamics and/or microbiology. Complementary skills in statistical processing and/or numerical modeling would also be appreciated. Practical experience with some of the different analytical (ICP-AES, SEM, VSI, confocal microscopy) and/or experimental (conducting fluid-mineral interaction experiments, microbial culture) and/or numerical (stochastic modeling, finite element method) techniques used will be a particularly valuable asset. Good oral and written communication skills in English are also required.

Applications should include a CV and a cover letter, as well as the contact information of at least two referees in the academic field. They should be posted by responding to the relevant vacancy on https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres.aspx.

Applications will be considered until the position is filled. The desired start date for the thesis is the beginning of October 2023.