PhD position (36 months): Sources and exposure risks of urban aerosols – real-time chemical characterization in Lille (RESILIENCE)

Brief role description:

Main tasks

Under the supervision of the research team, the doctoral candidate will:

• Contribute to the operation, maintenance, and quality assurance of ATOLL real-time instruments (e.g., ACSM for chemical speciation, Aethalometer AE33 for black carbon, Particle counter FIDAS for size distributions, and Xact 625i for hourly trace-metal measurements).
• Perform QA/QC, harmonization, and management of multi-instrument datasets (ATOLL long-term observations + RESILIENCE campaign datasets), including meteorological and ancillary data.
• Develop and apply advanced source-apportionment methods (e.g., PMF, NMF, and emerging machine-learning approaches) to integrate chemical composition, black carbon, trace metals, and particle-size information.
• Construct inhalation-based exposure indicators (e.g., size-dependent deposition modelling and metal-associated inhalation-risk metrics) and quantify the source-specific drivers of exposure in Lille.
• Prepare scientific figures, technical reports, peer-reviewed publications, and thesis chapters (expected 2–3 journal papers).
• Participate in RESILIENCE scientific meetings, ACTRIS-related training activities, workshops, and international conferences.

Laboratory: Centre of Education, Research and Innovation on Energy and Environment (CERI EE)

Supervisors: Dr. Hui CHEN, Dr. Laurent ALLEMAN, Prof. Véronique RIFFAULT

Type of contract and duration: Full-time PhD (doctoral contract) – 36 months

Workplace: Bourseul Campus, Douai, France

Context:

IMT Nord Europe is a public higher-education and research institution belonging to the Institut Mines-Télécom (IMT) group, under the supervision of the French Ministry of Industry. Its missions include engineering education, scientific research, and innovation in support of sustainable territorial development. For more details, please visit: www.imt-nord-europe.fr/en

This PhD position will be hosted within CERI EE at IMT Nord Europe, in the research axis “Observations, Sources and Processes in the Atmosphere” (OSPA). The host team develops advanced experimental and data analysis approaches to characterize atmospheric aerosols, their sources, and their impacts on air quality and health.

This PhD research is part of the PEPR VDBI RESILIENCE project (https://pepr-vdbi.fr/projets-laureats/projets-resilience). It aims to develop transdisciplinary approaches to evaluate how urban planning and mobility-transition policies can improve living conditions and generate co-benefits for air quality and health. The PhD research will focus on high-time-resolution measurements of aerosol chemical composition and size distributions, source apportionment, and exposure indicators in contrasting urban environments, including:

• Long-term observations at the ATOLL platform (Atmospheric Observatory of LiLle), integrated into the European ACTRIS research infrastructure.
• Enhanced field campaign datasets collected in 2026 within the RESILIENCE campaigns in Lille city center.

Together, these datasets provide a unique framework to identify and quantify the contributions of traffic, industry, residential heating, secondary formation, and regional transport, and to relate these contributions to advanced exposure-risk indicators.

REQUIRED PROFILE :

• Master’s degree or engineering degree in energy engineering, process engineering, control systems or electrical engineering
• Skills in multiphysics modeling and simulation
• Excellent analytical and synthesis skills, with a critical mindset.
• Good communication skills
• Good scientific communication skills (written and oral)

CONDITIONS :

This is a full-time PhD position based at IMT Nord Europe (Douai, France), with regular activities at the ATOLL platform in Lille and possible field activities linked to RESILIENCE campaigns (including Lille and Marseille).

The expected start date is September 2026 (adjustable by mutual agreement).

The PhD grant is already fully funded. Salary and benefits will be in accordance with French regulations for doctoral contracts.