Application for the Fluid Analysis position

Dear Madam and Sir,

I am writing this letter to express my interest in the Fluid Analysis position. I was
informed of this valuable opportunity via the IT staffings website.

In October 2016, I have obtained a Ph. D. degree in Organic Geochemistry from the
University of Poitiers. I have also a Master degree in Quality and Water treatment from the
national superior school of engineering of Poitiers (ENSIP), preceded by a Bachelor of Science
in Chemistry from the Lebanese University. During my master training and the Ph. D., I have
worked for more than three years on the molecular analysis of water, soils and sediments. As I
was interested in the analysis of molecular compounds composing a peatland in order to have
answer for an anthropogenic disturbance that has occurred in this ecosystem.

The above mentioned degrees and work, gave me, in one part, a solid knowledge in
chemistry and its application in order to have answers for environmental case studies in
geosciences. In other part, it yielded me a big experience in handling technical problems
occurred in lab experiments and the capacity of dealing with large quantity of data sets.

During my PhD degree, my analysis were focused on the use of gas chromatography
techniques coupled with multiple detectors (TCD, FID, MS, QTOF-MS, CI-MS) in order to
have elemental and molecular fingerprint of soil organic matter. I have also used preparative
liquid chromatography in order to separate lipid families (simple lipids, glycolipids,
phospholipids) similarly to the separation of crude oil into its SARA fractions. My interest
in the analysis techniques, encourage me to go further at the technical level as I became able to
do common maintenance procedure (changing injector needle and GC column). I have also
learned new techniques that wasnt relevant to my PhD study (HPLC-UV, LC-MS, IR, atomic
absorption and NMR spectroscopy). Furthermore, I have developed skills in modelling as I
have used statistical multi-dimensional analysis in order to seek new proxies to better
understand soil organic matter dynamic in recent sediments. The statistical method used
(Younes and Grasset, 2016) yielded to better interpretation of chromatography analysis results
and a better understanding of the studied sediments accumulation and decomposition.

For my future, I am seeking to apply my previous expertise in wet chemistry and develop
new skills in the field of petroleum Geochemistry. What really interested about the position is
the IRMS part and the flexible duties to be assigned. These requirements runs well with my
ability to adapt and evolve to challenges. One of the problems that I have faced at the beginning
of my PhD, was the lack of experience in Geology and Data mining skills, as I came from a
pure chemistry background. This gap encouraged to enrich my knowledge in these fields and
to apply the large data set obtained via wet chemistry and thermochemical techniques in a
geological frame.

Given the opportunity, I am confident that I will be able to successfully achieve the tasks
required for the post, while at the same time developing the technical skills and set of knowledge
that I will need. I have enclosed a copy of my curriculum vitae. If you require additional
information please contact me via email or phone. Thank you for your consideration. I look
forward to hearing from you.
 Curriculum-Vitae

Name Khaled YOUNES

E-mail khaledyounesss@gmail.com
Mobile +33 6 46 34 69 37
Nationality French

Education

2013 to 2016 Ph. D. in Organic Geochemistry Application and development of molecular

analysis techniques for the measure of the impact of a contemporary clayey
disturbance on a Limousin peatland, Funded by the French education ministry,
University of Poitiers

2011 to 2013 Master of Science in Chemistry specialty Quality and water treatment ,
national superior school of engineering of Poitiers (ENSIP).
First year M.S. in Chemistry specialty Environmental sciences from Lebanese
university.

2008 to 2011 Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, Lebanese university, Faculty of Sciences,

Section III-Tripoli, Lebanon

Online courses MATLAB Programming for Engineers (8.5 hours)

Fluid Flow in Porous Media (4 hours)
Basics of Reservoir Engineering (4.5 hours)

Languages French excellent (speak, read, write)

English excellent (speak, read, write)
Arabic excellent (speak, read, write)

Skills Solid knowledge in mass spectrometry

Adept at collating, analyzing, assimilating, and summarizing data (bidimensional,
multidimensional analysis)
Basic knowledge in Scilab, MATLAB, programming with C (BS course).
Proficient in Microsoft Office, Excel, XLstat, PowerPoint

Key qualifications Strong background in GC, GC/MS, py-GC/MS, Elemental analysis (GC/TCD),
Infra-red, NMR and UV spectroscopy and chemical and thermochemical
techniques for molecular identification in soils and sediments (lipids, lignin,
carbohydrates).

Professional experience Laboratory Assistant, Eaux de Beyrouth et du Mont-Liban (100 hours)

Research experience
2012 to 2016 Research Assistant, Water, Geochemistry and Health (T1) team
Institute of Chemistry of Poitiers : Materials and Natural Resources (IC2MP)
 University of Poitiers, Faculty of applied and fundamental Sciences (SFA)

Conferences

July 2016 Oral presentation at the third meeting of French Researchers in Organic
Geochemistry (FROG) Comparison of thermochemolysis with the calssical
methods for the analysis of carbohydrates and lignin in an ombrotrophic peatland

May 2016 Poster presentation in the 21st international symposium on Analytical and
Applied Pyrolysis: Thermochemolysis for an all in one analysis of the main
biomolecular families in soils and sediments: Comparison with classical chemical
degradations for the analysis of lipids, lignin and carbohydrates in a peat bog.

September 2015 Poster presentation in the International meeting of organic geochemists

(IMOG 2015):
1- Molecular biomarkers study of an ombrotrophic peatland impacted by an
anthropogenic clay deposit
2- Comparison of thermochemical and chemical methods for the analysis of
carbohydrates in an ombrotrophic peatland

July 2014 Oral presentation at the second meeting of French Researchers in Organic
Geochemistry Biomarkers as proxies for the sedimentary input of an
ombrotrophic peatland disturbed by clay deposition

Published articles Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis (JAAP_2016_364): Analysis of

molecular proxies of a peat core by thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation
gas chromatography combined with multivariate analysis.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaap.2016.11.014
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165237016303461.

Organic Geochemistry (OG-3494): Molecular biomarkers study of an

ombrotrophic peatland impacted by an anthropogenic clay deposit.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2016.12.005

Articles in preparation to Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis: Thermochemolysis to

determine the main biomolecular components in a peat bog: comparison with
classical chemical degradation for the analysis of carbohydrates, lignin and lipids.

1- Comparison of thermochemical and chemical methods for the analysis of

carbohydrates in an ombrotrophic peatland.
2- Neutral sugars in peat samples analyzed by the use of acetyl bromide.

Persons to contact:

1- Ph. D. instructor: Laurent GRASSET

laurent.grasset@univ-poitiers.fr
Associate Professor in Organic Geochemistry
IC2MP-University of Poitiers
4 rue Michel Brunet
TSA 51106
86073 Poitiers Cedex 9, FRANCE
 2- Laboratory Director (former) : Laurent LEMEE
NMR & MS Researcher Engineer
laurent.lemee@univ-poitiers.fr
IC2MP-University of Poitiers
4 rue Michel Brunet
TSA 51106
86073 Poitiers Cedex 9, France

3- Ph. D. instructor : Jolle LADURANTY

Research Engineer
joelle.laduranty@univ-poitiers.fr
IC2MP-University of Poitiers
4 rue Michel Brunet
TSA 51106
86073 Poitiers Cedex 9, France

4- Reference 4 : Claude GEFFROY

claude.geffroy@univ-poitiers.fr
Associate Professor in Organic Geochemistry
IC2MP-University of Poitiers
4 rue Michel Brunet
TSA 51106
86073 Poitiers Cedex 9, France

Ph. D. Abstract

Application and development of molecular analysis techniques for the measure of the impact of a
contemporary clayey disturbance on a Limousin peatland

The purpose of the thesis work was to study the structural composition, and consequently, dynamics
of bio(geo)macromolecules of the Sagnes peatland (Limousin, France) by chemical and thermochemical
degradation techniques. The first part constituted a framework between the university of Poitiers and
AREVA and aimed to present a molecular inventory of a peat disturbed by a clay deposit. Results show that
the clay deposit has no significant impact on the peatland evolution: microbial activity and production in the
upper layer (acrotelm and mesotelm) and no apparent modification of the deepest organic sediment in the
bottom layer (catotelm). Only phospholipid analysis showed an increase in sulfate-reducing bacteria under
the clay deposit zone. The second part consisted of comparative studies between the most used chemical and
thermochemical techniques for molecular characterization. Thermochemolysis should be viewed and used as
a pertinent and a complementary method for the analysis of complex environmental systems. Finally, a
novel technique using acetyl bromide allows the specific analysis of ligno-cellulosic carbohydrates
(especially xylose and arabinose).
M. Laurent Grasset
Associate Professor in Organic Geochemistry
IC2MP
Universit de Poitiers
4 rue Michel Brunet
TSA 51106
86073 Poitiers Cedex 9, France
00 33 (0)5.49.45.37.59
laurent.grasset@univ-poitiers.fr

Recommendation letter for Khaled Younes

Poitiers, May 22th 2017

Dear Colleague,

I have known Khaled Younes as a full time PhD student under my supervision in the team of organic
geochemistry, IC2MP, Poitiers, France.

I can say with confidence that he was one of the best students I have met over the years. He was
committed to his study, and his dedication and high standards in completing whatever was required to
succeed was remarkable. Khaled is a very driven and hard-working person of whom I think highly.
In a large and complex subject as the molecular analysis of organic matter in recent sediments
(peatland), Khaled showed professionalism and accuracy in analysing compounds from different families by
GC and GC-MS (lignin, polyphenols, polysaccharides and simple and complex lipids).
He has excellent interpersonal skills and is an effective team member with great spirit. He always
showed and still showing motivation to be involved in the local scientific events (Science Festival 2015,
FRench Organic Geochemists meetings 2014 and 2016). He showed high communication skills as he
supervised trainees (graduate and undergraduate students) during his thesis, with the most professional way.

Overall, Khaleds enthusiasm, his remarkable ability to learn, his generosity, his energy and dedication
will make him an excellent Doctor in organic geochemistry (his defence was the 20th October). Although he
has a chemistry academic background, he showed a high adaptability to apply his knowledge to the
geosciences field. During his thesis, he has also developed skills in multidimensional analysis that helped
improving the interpretation of results. He is at an important stage in his career and I am persuaded that this
position will allow him to achieve the very high standards he is aiming for.

As I am sure that he will be able to succeed in the task in hand. I can only strongly recommend the
application of Khaled Younes for the fluid analysis position. If you need more information, please do not
hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely yours,
Laurent GRASSET
 CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE

Khaled YOUNES

has successfully achieved the certification

Matlab Programming for Engineers

Hossein Tootoonchy
President

Coursovie Training Inc.

www.coursovie.com

May 10, 2017 Certificate: 10680206