Summer worker for stopped flow experiments at CoSAXS

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world’s top 100 universities. The University has 40 000 students and 7 600 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain and improve our world and the human condition.


MAX IV is a Swedish national large-scale research laboratory hosted by Lund University. It provides scientists from Sweden as well as internationally, with state-of-the-art instrumentation for research in areas such as engineering, physics, structural biology, chemistry and nanotechnology. Fully developed it will receive more than 2 000 scientists annually, conducting ground-breaking experiments in materials and life sciences using the brilliant X-ray light.



The CoSAXS beamline will be a state-of-the-art multipurpose Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) instrument with opportunities to use the inherent high coherence properties of the MAX IV machine through X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (XPCS) experiments.

It will offer high brilliance, monochromatic and tuneable X-rays, with outstanding performance in low beam divergence and high X-ray flux. This high-performance X-ray beam will be complemented by an exceptional pool of sample environments and detector systems. Several techniques will be available through modular operation: USAXS/SAXS/WAXS, protein solution SAXS, time resolved SAXS and XPCS amongst others. It will meet the demands of a large and broad community of users.

Background and project
Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) at high brilliance beamlines offers the possibility to acquire rapidly single SAXS patterns in a less than a second. This opportunity is important for determination of kinetic details in several nanostructured systems as well as to test the X-ray radiation endurance of the system. Stopped-flow apparatus is one of the most frequently used devices to study rapid kinetics. This allows one to trigger a rapid mixing of several solutions at various volume ratios and flow rates, with short dead time, in order to follow the very early stages of the reaction.

In the present project, you will work with a recently purchased stopped-flow of the sample environment pool of the CoSAXS beamline in order to characterize and optimize its operation, calibrate the system with well-known reference samples and collect synchrotron SAXS data. Depending on the state of development of the project, specific pipeline data reduction routines and basic modelling could be implemented.

A report with the lessons learnt from the use of the equipment is expected to be delivered.

Qualifications
We are looking for a summer worker, for 6 to 8 weeks, with a basic understanding of physics, chemistry, materials science or biomaterials. You should have experience of solution sample preparation and working within a chemistry or biological lab. Knowledge of X-ray scattering (in particular SAXS) and spectroscopy is considered a merit. You should be comfortable in communicating in English, both orally and written.  As a person you should be able to take initiative, be performance oriented, structured and creative.

Time period: 8 June - 17 July

On call services may apply in the future.

Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard gender equality and diversity as a strength and an asset. We kindly decline all sales and marketing contacts.


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