The art of measurement — made in Germany. Striving to perfect it is the mission of the 2,100 employees of PTB, the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt. As Germany’s national metrology institute and a leading center of research, we operate in an international environment to develop world-class measurement standards. We at PTB work to ensure that people and organizations can trust the measurements they use.

At our Braunschweig site, we are looking to fill the following position in Department 3.4 “Analytical Chemistry of the Gas Phase”:

Master thesis on the establishment of a primary standard infrastructure for black carbon determination

Your tasks:

The optical properties of aerosols play a crucial role in atmospheric science, climate research and air quality monitoring. Black carbon (BC) is the most significant light absorber in the aerosol phase and contributes to global warming through direct (re-emission of infrared radiation) and indirect (affecting cloud microphysics) effects. Accurate measurement and analysis of BC's optical properties require sophisticated laboratory equipment to host the primary standards for aerosol light absorption and scattering. This master thesis project aims to build an experimental setup for the determination of scattering and absorption coefficients, which will be implemented in the Aerosol Photometry Laboratory of group 3.43 Aerosol Nanoparticles.

Scope:

Establish a measurement setup using a nephelometer, photoacoustic extinctiometer, CAPS extinction monitor and a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) for the determination of absorption coefficients by aerosol nanoparticles and the calculation of mass closure using mobility diameter data

Your profile:

Enrolled in a Master’s program in Physics, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Science, or a related field.
Skilled in data processing and analysis – experience with aerosol measurements.
Proficient in programming languages commonly used in instrumental analysis (e.g., R, Python).
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.
Excellent communication skills for presenting findings and collaborating with the research team.

Your application:

For subject-related questions concerning this position, please contact
Dr. Jorge Luis Saturno, phone: +49 531 592-3217, email: jorge.saturno@ptb.de.

We look forward to receiving your application under reference number 25-211-3B. Please use the "ONLINE BEWERBEN" button at the end – this will take you directly to our application portal, where you can upload your documents. We cannot consider applications sent by e-mail. With your application you accept the data protection regulations.

Further information can be found on our careers page.

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Master thesis on the establishment of a primary standard infrastructure for black carbon determination (25-211-3B)