Nantes Université MSCA-PF 2023 - hosting offer at the SUBAtomic and TECHnologies

Muriel FALLOT associate professor from the(SUBATECH) SUBAtomic and TECHnologies at Nantes Université is looking for postdoctoral candidates interested in applying for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA-PF) in 2023.

• Key words
  beta decay, gamma-ray spectroscopy, nuclear astrophysics, reactor physics, nuclear safety, Gamow-Teller strength, neutrino physics, nuclear instrumentations, scintillators ,exotic nuclei
   
• What is a MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship?
  MSCA Postdoctoral fellowships support the career development of researchers for enhancing their individual competence diversification in terms of skills at multidisciplinary level and intersectoral experience. The MSCA-PF grant provides a competitive salary plus mobility and family allowances if applicable, as well as research, training and networking costs. This call to interest concerns the European Postdoctoral Fellowships (12 to 24 months of duration in Europe + optional placement in private sector in Europe of 6 months). For more information: MSCA-PF
   
• Team description
  The SUBATECH laboratory is a joint research unit (UMR 6457) under the triple supervision of the Institut Mines-Télécom through its school, IMT Atlantique, the University of Nantes and the CNRS with the National Institute of Nuclear Physics and Particle Physics (IN2P3) as the main institute and the National Institute of Chemistry as a secondary institute.

  Fully integrated in major worldwide scientific collaborations, Subatech's research activities revolve around the fields of nuclear, hadronic, particle and astroparticle physics and radiochemistry. Subatech carries out both fundamental and applied research in the fields of energy, the environment and health. The mastery of technologies associated with these fields is a key factor for the success of the laboratory's projects.
  Subatech contributes to the socio-economic development thanks to a finalised research and valorisation strategy, whether it be industrial chairs, technology transfers, the creation of a company by laboratory members or the co-financing of doctoral theses with the industrial world.

  The SUBATECH laboratory is located on the Nantes campus of IMT Atlantique (campus access) in the Chantrerie site.
  The 4 thematic axes of the laboratory are : The Two Infinites, Nuclear for Health, Nuclear for Energy and the Environment, and Technologies Associated with Subatomic Physics.

  Profile of the supervisor
  Dr. Muriel Fallot is a teaching researcher (HDR) from the Nantes University. She is responsible for the Nuclear Structure and Energy  (SEN) group of the Subatech laboratory composed of 5 staff researchers, 1 postdoc and 3 PhD students. The Nuclear Structure and Energy group of the SUBATECH laboratory has experimental activities devoted to the study of beta decay properties of nuclei of interest for nuclear structure and astrophysics, as well as reactor physics and other applications in close collaboration with the team of IFIC Valencia in Spain. These measurements are performed using the TAGS (Total Absorption Gamma-ray Spectroscopy) technique, based on the detection of the gamma rays de-exciting the daughter nucleus with a calorimeter. Muriel Fallot is responsible for several scientific projects related to these activities and co-spokesperson of experiments. She also coordinates the Master of Physics of the Nantes University in its speciality Nuclear Dismantling and Modelling.

• Research project
  The Nuclear Structure and Energy (SEN) team of Subatech performs measurements of beta decay properties of neutron-rich nuclei of interest for nuclear structure, nuclear astrophysics and neutrino and reactor physics. The team is involved for more than a decade in Total Absorption Gamma-ray Spectroscopy experiments in collaboration with the IFIC of Valencia team. Total Absorption Gamma Spectrometry (TAGS) technique is based on the detection of deexcitation gammas produced subsequently to beta decay. The technique is the best available one to determine the beta strength, and it is thus a privileged tool to bring constrains to theoretical nuclear models. It allows in addition to avoid the Pandemonium effect, which arises from the difficulty to build decay schemes out of measurements performed with Germanium detectors in large Q-values beta decays. Recently we have also co-developed a new detector with the IFIC of Valencia and the University of Surrey, named E-Shape, to measure the shape of the energy spectra of electrons from non-unique forbidden beta decays. These specific transitions play a role in the shape of the reactor antineutrino spectra which is poorly understood. Their measurement will also allow to constrain the microscopic models used for the predictions of the paths of the fast neutron capture nucleosynthesis process, at the origin of half of the elements heavier than iron. Experiments will take place in 2023 and 2024 at the JYFL accelerator Laboratory of Jyväskylä in Finland.

  The young researcher will be able to participate in the preparation of the experiments. He/she will then  participate in the experiment and could be in charge of part of the data analysis and interpretation.
  The SEN team develops currently an upgrade of the existing Total Absorption Spectrometers with LaBr3 detectors. This project starts and instrumental development is foreseen, as well as new proposals of TAGS experiments at the GANIL facility in Caen. The young researcher could play an important role in this project and could propose a new experiment with this new TAGS array in one of the fields of interest of the Nantes group.
   

• What are the eligibility criteria?
  Candidates must hold a PhD at the call deadline (13 Sept. 2023) and have 8 years maximum of full-time research experience after the PhD.
  “Mobility rule”: candidates must NOT have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in France for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline.
  Candidates can be from any nationality.

         Although not an eligibility criterion, a good track record is recommended.

• What’s in it for me?

1. Selected candidate will have access to online training programme and one-to-one proposal preparation sessions with our experienced European Officers.
2. Selected candidate will have the opportunity to come to Nantes for two days in the beginning of July to meet his supervisor and to start working on the writing of the project. The grant awarded for this stay will cover travel, hotel and subsistence expenses for 2 days and 2 nights (up to 1000€ for the EU countries and up to 2000€ for the non-EU countries). Nantes Université does not cover the visa fees.
    

• I’m interested. What should I do?
  If you are interested and have the required background, apply by sending the application form to Muriel Fallot (muriel.fallot@univ-nantes.fr) and the European office (europe.drpi@univ-nantes.fr)

  More information on the dedicated webpage.

• Registration for this scheme does not imply automatic funding. Applications will be examined in the light of the MSCA PF evaluation criteria, both by your potential supervisor and by the experienced European Officers. No application will be considered after April 14th but we encourage you to apply as soon as possible as they will be evaluated as they arise.The short-stay grant will be distributed among the selected candidate within the limits of the available budget.

  You should expect feedback for your application by 15 May.
   

• Brief description of Nantes Université
  Nantes Université is a higher education and research institution created in 2022. This new institution has adopted a new University model unprecedented in France by bringing together a university, a university hospital (CHU de Nantes), a technology research centre (IRT Jules Verne), a public scientific and technological institute (Inserm) and higher education establishments (Centrale Nantes, École des Beaux-Arts Nantes Saint-Nazaire, École d’Architecture de Nantes).
  Nantes Université is a sustainable and committed institution and one of the driving forces behind societal development. With a global and outward-looking culture, it promotes innovativeness and openness: open science, open research, open education, open innovation. Nantes Université has received the HR Excellence in Research Award and is already involved in various European projects, notably MSCA actions.