The Dust Doctoral Network (Dust-DN), led by CARE-C of the Cyprus Institute, is recruiting PhD students for 17 ambitious research projects in the theme of atmospheric dust and the deadline has been extended until 30 September 2024.

PhD LOCATIONS: Cyprus, United Kingdom, Portugal, Greece, Spain, Germany, Switzerland.

Dust is a major atmospheric aerosol, and it gives us one of the most visible and detectable aspects of transboundary transport of atmospheric constituents, impacting visibility, radiation and climate. It affects the environment, society, and several economic sectors, with impacts on the transportation and energy sectors for example, the nature and cost of which is not fully understood and quantified. The Dust Doctoral Network will train a cohort of scientists to become leaders in this field of research.

If you would like to learn more about DUST-DN, you can join the *webinar* dedicated to the network, organised by the Barcelona Dust Regional Centre on Wednesday 18 September at 15:00 CEST. The webinar information can be found here: https://dust.aemet.es/news-events/events/europe-webinar-for-the-dust-doctoral-network

If you are interested in applying for the available PhD positions, please visit the project webpage ( https://dust-dn.cyi.ac.cy/ ). The selected candidates will be appointed under a 36-months full-time employment contract and will be enrolled in a PhD programme at one or more project partner institutions, under the MSCA scheme ( https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/actions/doctoral-networks ).

Today 21 August 2024 the Dust-DN coordinator Franco Marenco will give a webinar on Dust-DN. The presentation will overview Dust-DN, which has been designed to address gaps in the understanding of dust and its impacts by linking the different disciplines and methods. The aim is to train a team of early career scientists into overcoming compartmentalism in this field of science, and into developing a multi-disciplinary approach to mineral dust. Dust-DN will set up a network of academic and non-academic partners working on different aspects of dust research, and will coordinate a program of doctoral projects that will enhance knowledge across a broad range of fundamental, but linked, components of the atmospheric dust life cycle and its impacts. The projects will span across the disciplines of atmospheric sciences (dust processes, modelling, and remote sensing), geology (dust emissions and source regions), as well as the impacts on society and economic sectors.

For more details: https://dust03.bsc.es/news-events/events

The Dust Doctoral Network (Dust-DN) has been selected with full marks to contribute to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) of Horizon Europe, and will officially start operations on 1 November 2024. A recruitment campaign for seventeen doctoral candidates within our prestigious network has now started, with a deadline at the end of August 2024. The Dust-DN website explains the network’s objectives and displays the job adverts: https://dust-dn.cyi.ac.cy/

Dust is a major atmospheric aerosol, and it gives us one of the most visible and detectable aspects of transboundary transport of atmospheric constituents, impacting visibility, radiation and climate. It affects the environment, society, and several economic sectors, with impacts on the transportation and energy sectors for example, the nature and cost of which is not fully understood and quantified. Dust-DN will train a cohort of scientists to become leaders in this field of research.

Dust-DN in a nutshell:

• The first doctoral network on a European scale (to our knowledge), bringing together expertise on mineral dust in the atmosphere, combining multidisciplinary aspects.
• A strategic international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral alliance of high-profile beneficiaries and associated partners, able to leverage on unique state-of-the-art facilities
• A careful blend between individual research projects and integrated combined training and networking, and a critical mass on dust-focused studies using complementary methodologies.
• Exposure of the doctoral candidates to differing research and working environments, multiple technologies and methodologies.
• Training in the atmospheric sciences, dust science questions, transferable skills and on the partners’ unique research infrastructures, enabling to tackle the bigger picture of dust challenges.
• Dedicated applied research projects with direct contributions and impacts embedded with the societal and industrial sector.