PhD Position in Metrology for Skyglow Measurement and Monitoring (4 years - 100%)

The Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology METAS is the reference institute for measurements and measuring instruments in Switzerland. To ensure that a litre is always a litre (e.g. when filling up with petrol), METAS carries out calibrations, conformity assessments and consultations for industry, research and administration. Measurement accuracy creates trust, especially at the social and political level, and is essential in many areas: road traffic, electricity billing, time transmission, measurements in the environmental and health sectors, etc. At METAS, different fields of expertise come together and complement each other – and have done so since 1862. 

Project & Position Overview: The research project "Spotlight", funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), aims to standardize the measurement of outdoor lighting and to explore its ecological impact. It also investigates how mitigation strategies for artificial light at night affect both the environment and society. PhD position is part of METAS's contribution to the broader research initiative on light pollution and its environmental impact. The focus is on the standardization of skyglow measurement and monitoring, aiming to establish traceable to SI methods and instrumentation for quantifying artificial light at night (ALAN) in the night sky. This project seeks to fill the standardization gap by developing robust, reproducible, and internationally comparable measurement protocols and metrics

• Define SI-traceable quantities relevant to skyglow, including spectral radiance, angular distribution, and temporal variability.
• Develop and validate measurement geometries and protocols for ground-based skyglow monitoring, including zenithal and hemispherical observations.
• Design and prototype instrumentation clusters (e.g., imaging radiometers, spectroradiometers) for drone-based and fixed-site skyglow measurements.
• Establish calibration procedures and uncertainty budgets for skyglow instrumentation in alignment with international metrology standards.
• Contribute to international standardization efforts, including CIE, CEN, and ISO working groups on light pollution and environmental photometry.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary partners to assess the ecological and societal relevance of skyglow metrics.

• Master’s degree in Physics, Engineering, Environmental Metrology, or related fields.
• Strong background in optics, radiometry, and photometry.
• Experience with Python and/or MATLAB for data analysis and instrumentation control.
• Familiarity with machine vision, remote sensing is a plus.
• Willingness to conduct nighttime fieldwork and travel within Switzerland and Europe.
• Interest in standards development and international collaboration.

• Full-time PhD position for 4 years.
• Based at METAS in Bern-Wabern, with at least 80% on-site presence.
• Embedded in a multidisciplinary team with access to state-of-the-art metrology labs and drone platforms.

Dr. Constantinos Bouroussis
Federal Institute of Metrology METAS
constantinos.bouroussis@metas.ch