<div dir="ltr"><br><div class="gmail_quote"><br><div style="word-wrap:break-word"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:14pt;text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'">PhD in Geochemistry/Cosmochemistry starting in Autumn 2014 at the University of Chicago<u></u><u></u></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'">PhD opportunities in geochemistry and cosmochemistry are available for fall 2014 at the Origins Lab, University of Chicago (<b><a href="http://originslab.org/" target="_blank">http://originslab.org</a></b>). Examples of research projects are listed below:<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in 0in 12pt 9pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Wingdings">Ÿ</span><b><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'"> </span></b><i><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'">Isotopic similarities and differences between Earth and Moon</span></i><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'">. The Moon is thought to have formed by a giant impact between the protoEarth and a Mars-size impactor named Theia. Modeling predicts that most of the material that formed the Moon came from the impactor, so the Moon may be chemically and isotopically different from the Earth. High-precision isotopic measurements of refractory and volatile elements will be conducted in lunar samples from the Apollo missions in order to test scenarios of the formation of the Moon.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in 0in 12pt 9pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'"> </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Wingdings">Ÿ</span><b><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'"> </span></b><i><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'">Redox state of the Earth</span></i><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'">. The redox state of Earth’s mantle influences the speciation of gases emanating from volcanoes but first order questions relevant to Earth’s redox evolution are poorly constrained. Did the redox state of Earth’s mantle remain constant through time? How does subduction affect the redox budget of Earth’s mantle? To answer these questions, one has to develop new redox proxies. Iron isotopes are fractionated between ferric and ferrous iron, so by measuring the iron isotopic composition of mantle-derived rocks, one should be able to shed new light on the redox conditions during mantle melting. This work will involve high precision iron isotope measurements by mass spectrometry and calibration of iron isotope fractionation in magmatic systems by synchrotron nuclear resonant inelastic x-ray scattering spectroscopy.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in 0in 12pt 9pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'"> </span><i><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'">Nuclear anomalies in meteorites</span></i><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'">. Meteorites and planets show widespread isotopic anomalies of nucleosynthetic origin for many elements. In particular, elements in the iron mass region (e.g., Ca, Ti, and Cr) show excesses in the most neutron-rich isotopes that can be unambiguously tied to supernova nucleosynthesis. The source of some of these anomalies has been identified (e.g., nanospinel grains rich in chromium-54) but many uncertainties remain as to the exact stellar source and nature of these grains. Do they come from core-collapse or type Ia supernovae? Is there a unique carrier for calcium and titanium anomalies? Why are they heterogeneously distributed at a bulk planetary scale? This research will involve isolation of the carriers of isotopic anomalies from meteorites, in situ detection of anomalous grains by mass spectrometry, and mineralogical characterization.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'">Numerous opportunities are available, besides the three listed above, to study the formation of the solar system, environments of the early Earth, and modern geochemical processes. Students are encouraged to come with their own ideas to define a potential PhD project that demonstrates their curiosity and aspirations. A solid background in basic sciences is required.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'"> </span><span style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light';font-size:10pt">Chicago is a vibrant city spread along scenic Lake Michigan with numerous recreational, cultural and sporting activities. The University of Chicago is a premier research and teaching institution (ranked #5 in the US News National University rankings and #9 in the 2013 Shanghai academic ranking of world universities) that has a long tradition of training outstanding scientists (89 Nobel Laureates have been affiliated with the University of Chicago).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'"> </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'">The application deadline for Autumn 2014 entry to the graduate program is <b>January 13, 2014. To apply online please visit </b></span><a href="https://apply-psd.uchicago.edu/apply/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'">https://apply-psd.uchicago.edu/apply/</span></b></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Helvetica Neue Light'">. Opportunities also exist for undergraduate students who are interested in doing a summer internship at the University of Chicago. If you have any questions, feel free to email Prof. Nicolas Dauphas at <b><a href="mailto:dauphas@uchicago.edu" target="_blank">dauphas@uchicago.edu</a></b></span></p>
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div><div><a href="http://www.originslab.org" target="_blank">Origins Laboratory </a></div><div>Department of the Geophysical Sciences and Enrico Fermi Institute</div>
<div>The University of Chicago</div><div>5734 South Ellis Avenue</div><div>Chicago, IL 60637, USA</div></span></span></div></span></div></span><span style="font-size:12px"><a href="mailto:dauphas@uchicago.edu" target="_blank">dauphas@uchicago.edu</a> - <a href="tel:773%2F702-2930" value="+17737022930" target="_blank">773/702-2930</a> (office) <a href="tel:312-504-2139" value="+13125042139" target="_blank">312-504-2139</a> (cell)</span><span style="text-indent:0px;letter-spacing:normal;font-variant:normal;text-align:-webkit-auto;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:normal;border-collapse:separate;text-transform:none;font-size:medium;white-space:normal;font-family:Helvetica;word-spacing:0px"><div style="word-wrap:break-word">
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