PhD Position Femtosecond Spectroscopy of Chiral Molecular Ions

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A PhD position is available in Germany within the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Network TRILOGY, funded under Horizon Europe. The selected doctoral candidate will work on an interdisciplinary research project focused on ultrafast spectroscopy of chiral molecular ions, combining expertise in physics, chemistry, engineering, mass spectrometry, and ultrafast science.

The position is offered through a collaboration between the University of Kassel and Thermo Fisher Scientific. The doctoral researcher will be employed by Thermo Fisher Scientific for the full three-year duration of the PhD project. The doctoral thesis will be supervised by Prof. Dr. Jochen Mikosch at the University of Kassel. During the first 24 months, the doctoral researcher will be based at Thermo Fisher Scientific in Bremen, Germany.

This will be followed by an 12-month research period at the University of Kassel.

TRILOGY is a Horizon Europe MSCA Doctoral Network advancing research in the emerging field of ultrafast chirality. The network aims to exploit attosecond light-driven electron dynamics to overcome limitations associated with conventional chiroptical methods.

The research targets potential applications in life sciences and advanced technologies, with the goal of developing next-generation, highly sensitive spectroscopic tools for studying chiral molecules.

The network brings together institutions and partners from across Europe and will train 16 doctoral candidates at the intersection of experimental and theoretical ultrafast science. Researchers will work in an interdisciplinary environment spanning physics, chemistry, engineering, and related areas while gaining experience through collaboration between academia and industry.

The PhD project in Germany contributes to the TRILOGY work package focused on the design, development, and testing of an instrument for chiral photoelectron spectroscopy of molecular ions.

The selected candidate will conduct research on the ultrafast spectroscopy of chiral molecular ions.

The project will involve close collaboration between the University of Kassel and Thermo Fisher Scientific, a company active in the field of mass spectrometry.

During the first approximately 24 months, the main workplace will be at Thermo Fisher Scientific in Bremen. The researcher will work on adapting an electrospray ion source and related instrumentation.

The researcher will subsequently relocate to the University of Kassel to perform experiments involving chiral molecular ions and femtosecond laser pulses. The experiments will use a novel momentum spectrometer ion target developed at the University of Kassel together with the ion source developed in collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific.

• Adapting the hardware and software of a high-resolution Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ion source and radio frequency-based ion trap or ion accumulation system.
• Developing an ion guide transfer system for extracting molecular ions to an external spectrometer.
• Establishing protocols for producing and accumulating negatively charged chiral molecular ions of pharmaceutical relevance.
• Conducting ion-optical simulations to optimize ion trap performance and improve ion accumulation efficiency.
• Integrating the experimental control systems of the adapted Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer and the home-built momentum spectrometer at the University of Kassel.
• Performing, analyzing, interpreting, and publishing Photoelectron Circular Dichroism (PECD) photo-detachment experiments involving negatively…