Senior Research Associate or Research Associate Position in Ultrafast Spectroscopy at the University of Bristol, UK (Deadline: 12.02.2026)

Applications are invited for a postdoctoral research position in experimental ultrafast spectroscopy in the School of Chemistry at the University of Bristol (vacancy number ACAD108431), supported by the ERC Advanced Grant 101199104 Ultrafast Photochemistry in Organic Aerosols (PHAERO). This project is led by Prof Andrew Orr-Ewing and runs until November 2030.

The research will investigate how photochemical reactions of organic molecules are affected by confinement in micron-scale aerosol droplets. The organic solutes will be chosen as examples of molecules that are photochemically active in atmospheric aerosol particles, and the project will build on recent work from the Bristol group to study the photochemistry of these compounds in bulk solutions.

To probe the photochemical dynamics in microdroplets, time-resolved laser spectroscopy techniques will be combined with single aerosol particle generation and trapping methods. A dedicated laboratory for this research is under construction at the University of Bristol. It will house a new ultrafast laser system capable of time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, transient absorption spectroscopy, time-resolved infrared spectroscopy and 2DIR spectroscopy. The outcomes of the experimental studies will establish how photochemical pathways are affected by specific properties of aerosol droplets, such as their large surface-area to volume ratios, morphology dependent optical resonances, solute supersaturation, and high viscosity. The research will improve understanding of how aerosol photochemistry influences the chemical composition of Earth’s atmosphere and the climate.