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PhD (Doktoranden) Research Opportunity for a Petrographer/Geochemist in the Impact Cratering Research Group, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Beginning at the end of October/early November 2001, the International Continental Scientific Drilling Programme (ICDP) will drill a deep borehole into the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary Chicxulub impact structure located at the edge of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. The Impact Cratering Research Group at Wits University has a long and successful history of geological, mineralogical, and geochemical investigations of impact structures in nearly all parts of the world. We have obtained a comprehensive research grant (covering reseqarch and living expenses) from the American Chemical Society for a 3-year PhD project aimed at making a major contribution to the petrographic-chemical analysis of the various impact breccia components and their constituents in this Chicxulub drillcore. The aim is to contribute to a better understanding of the impact cratering process, through analysis of derivation and mixing of target rock components. The drill core will be investigated by an international consortium, in which many of the foremost researchers in planetology and earth sciences will interact. The project will begin as soon as core samples become available, likely around February/March 2002. The successful candidate for this project should have a sound mineralogical-geochemical background. Shock petrographic expertise is not a prerequisite – training on the job can be provided. The Impact Cratering Research Group comprises 7 researchers from a number of research and teaching departments at Wits University. All geological disciplines are covered. The School of Geoscience at Wits encompasses the Departments of Geology, Geophysics, and Palaeontology, as well as a number of research entities. State-of-the-art analytical equipment includes XRF/XRD, scanning electron microscopy, a radiogenic isotope laboratory, a laser-Raman spectrometry, fluid inclusion and cathodoluminescence laboratories. Other facilities are available in Johannesburg, or through close collaborative links universities abroad. For further information about geology at Wits, refer to our departmental website www.wits.ac.za/geology. Regarding this PhD project, contact Prof. Wolf Uwe Reimold, Head, Impact Cratering Research Group, Department of Geology, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, P.O. Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa; Tel. +27 11 717 6565; Fax +27 11 339 1697; E-mail [log in to unmask] Prof. Roger Gibson Department of Geology University of the Witwatersrand Private Bag 3 P O WITS Johannesburg 2050 REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA Tel. + 11 717 6553 (Sec. + 11 717 6547) Fax + 11 339 1697