Air Quality Modelling and Integration Section, Air Quality Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada

The Air-Quality Modelling and Integration Section of Environment and Climate Change Canada develop and extend the capabilities of the GEM-MACH (Global Environmental Multiscale – Modelling Air-quality and CHemistry) regional and global chemistry model, on behalf of the Canadian Federal Government. The model is used for operational forecasting, research simulations, policy scenario simulations, and for specific projects such as the Oil Sands version of GEM-MACH (GEM-MACH-OS) a nested North American 10km to Alberta/Saskatchewan 2.5km to Oil Sands 250m resolution regional model employing highly detailed chemical and physical process representation to capture the details of chemistry and downwind transformation and deposition in the Canadian Oil Sands. The Canadian Government’s high performance computing facilities are used to carry out simulations. The positions may be based in either the two main ECCC laboratories in Toronto or Montreal, both cosmopolitan, culturally diverse cities. Candidates will be part of a diverse team of air-quality modelling specialists improving the GEM-MACH model, with backgrounds in organic aerosol chemistry, inorganic aerosol chemistry, gas-phase chemistry, particle microphysics, plume rise, deposition, and anthropogenic, biogenic and wildfire emissions. Candidates will also have the opportunity to interact with air-quality measurement scientists on laboratory and field study-based model evaluation and improvement.

Homepage: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/air-pollution/research-science.html

The Modelling and Integration Research Section of the Air Quality Research Division of Environment and Climate Change Canada seeks one or more post-doctoral fellows to assist in air quality model development, evaluation, and model scenario simulations for projects relating to Canada’s Oil Sands, with a focus on chemical and physical processing of gases and aerosols under northern/cold environments. These positions are dependent on available funding. Successful candidates must have completed a PhD within the last 3 years, focused on some aspect of air pollution modelling using chemical transport models and have experience in Fortran coding. PhD or subsequent experience in any of the following areas are further assets for employment in this position:

• Atmospheric chemistry and aerosol processes in a cold environment
• The construction of chemical and/or physical process representation modules within atmospheric models
• Aerosol-cloud interaction process representation and simulations
• Organic and/or inorganic aerosol process representation and simulations
• Simulation of air toxics
• Co-deposition of pollutants
• Model-measurement fusion
• Model evaluation
• Demonstrated ability to publish in peer-reviewed scientific literature
• Analysis of scientific data using statistical analysis tool packages
• Scientific programming in a UNIX/Linux environment using shell scripting
  Potential research projects relating to these positions may include topics such as review and updating aqueous-phase chemistry mechanisms to improve model representation of base cations, improve model representation of chemical processes in ice and mixed-phase clouds, aerosol-cloud interaction through ice nucleation, improving model parameterizations involving inorganic and organic aerosol chemistry, improving the parameterization of high molecular mass organic compounds, gas, aerosol and aqueous chemistry within high-concentration industrial plumes, applications of modelled air concentration and deposition towards human health and ecosystem impact estimation, and model-measurement fusion.

Interested candidates should send their CV, their full list of publications, and the contact information for 3 references to directly to Rosa Wu (rosa.wu@ec.gc.ca), as well as applying to the Government of Canada’s “Postdoctoral Research Program” program (https://nrcan-rncan.hiringplatform.ca/6355-postdoctoral-research-program-prp/20673-application-form/en). Acceptance through the Postdoctoral Research Program is a pre-requisite for the positions. Candidates must meet the selection criteria qualifications identified in the PRP application process via the above website, and CVs and applications should address the criteria stated above.
Review of complete applications, CVs and related information will begin immediately until the position(s) are filled. These fellowships are for a one-year duration, renewable for up to two years upon mutual agreement by both parties. The position is at the “Research Scientist 1” level within the Canadian government, and includes the standard Canadian government benefits package. See (https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/agreements-conventions/view-visualiser-eng.aspx?id=18#toc12670212673) for current pay rates for the Research Scientist subgroup. The work will include access to the Government of Canada’s High Performance Computing infrastructure (15.5 petaFLOP supercomputers; see https://www.canada.ca/en/shared-services/corporate/hosting-services/high-performance-computing.html).