A Postdoc position (12 months) is available starting February 2016 in the SRSMC Laboratory at the University of Lorraine. The position is funded by the French funding agency ANR through project CHIRNOCAT, focusing on a transition metal-free approach towards the control of biaryl axial chirality. This position provides access to the French Social Security and Health System. The successful candidate will have a PhD in Chemistry and a robust background in Quantum Chemistry and Molecular Modeling. Applicants must show ability to efficiently work in a team, good communication skills and they will be required to work in synergy with an experimental team. Some experience and/or a particular interest in synthetic Organic Chemistry are therefore demanded. To be considered for the project, applicants should send a CV, a publication list and three recommendation letters to the contacts indicated below.

The stereoselective synthesis of biaryls, playing a key role in natural products, biologically active molecules, drugs, agrochemicals and novel materials, represents a challenging goal, particularly in the case of sterically hindered systems. Current approaches include the use of expensive starting materials or chiral catalysts, often leading to the contamination of products that are developed as pharmaceuticals, thus requiring laborious purification procedures. The main purpose of the CHIRNOCAT project is to develop new asymmetric methodologies to control the axial chirality of biaryls in absence of transition metals using some innovative aryne coupling techniques in the field of polar organometallic Chemistry. An important step of the reaction mechanism involves the formation of chiral organometallic (Lithium) aggregates: a successful synthesis strongly depends on their chemical properties. The scope of the theoretical study, to be developed during the postdoctoral stay, will be a thorough investigation of the aggregates at a reasonably high quantum chemistry level, in order to better understand the factors influencing the reaction mechanism leading to the target product.

Nancy is a pleasant city in Lorraine, central France, within an hour and a half by train from Paris, Strasbourg, Germany and Luxembourg. The city center hosts a few UNESCO's World Heritage sites and is worldwide known for buildings and masterpieces in the Art Nouveau style. Easy access to hiking, biking, skiing, climbing and other outdoor sports is a great advantage of leaving in Nancy, a city surrounded by woods and by the countryside and only 80 km away from the Vosges mountains (http://www.tourism-lorraine.com).

Prof. Francesca Ingrosso: Francesca.Ingrosso (a) univ-lorraine.fr

Prof. Manuel F. Ruiz-López: Manuel.Ruiz (a) univ-lorraine.fr

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Prof. Corinne Comoy: corinne.comoy (a) univ-lorraine.fr

Prof. Yves Fort: yves.fort (a) univ-lorraine.fr

Institut Jean Barriol, Laboratoire SRSMC UMR 7565

CNRS - Université de Lorraine, BP 70239

54506 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy Cedex, France