PhD and Postdoctoral Position Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC)

The Relativistic Jets and Blazars group at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC) offers, trough a grant funded by the regional government of Andalusia, a four-year PhD position and a two-year postdoctoral contract.

Our research group is focussed on the study of relativistic jets commonly present in active galactic nuclei, produced by the mass accretion onto supermassive black holes. In particular we are interested in obtaining a better understanding of the role played by the magnetic field in the jet dynamics, formation, and high energy emission. This research is carried out through observations at multiple wave bands, from radio to optical, X and gamma rays. The interpretation of the observational results is performed through comparison with numerical models of the non-thermal emission from these objects.

We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher with experience in either observations (preferably in radio) or simulations of relativistic jets.

Interested candidates for the PhD position should have a B.S. in Physics prior to the starting of the position.

Reviewing of both applications will start in March/April 2010 and will continue until the positions are filled.

For further information please contact Jose L. Gómez at jlgomez@iaa.es (http://www.iaa.csic.es/~jlgomez).

Chemistry, dynamics and structure of the Milky Way" Summer School and Workshop on Galactic Studies with the LAMOST Surveys

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            "Chemistry, dynamics and structure of the Milky Way"         Summer School and Workshop on Galactic Studies with the LAMOST Surveys

                     KIAA-PKU, Beijing --- July 5-23, 2010                       URL: http://kiaa.pku.edu.cn/Activities/sw2010/index.html

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Scientific Rationale

--------------------

China has recently completed the construction of an important new instrument which will revolutionise the field of large spectroscopic surveys. The Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) is an innovative quasi-meridian reflecting Schmidt Telescope capable of simultaneously securing spectra of 4,000 objects in a field of view of 5 degrees in diameter. The telescope, which is located at Xinglong Station operated by the National Astronomical Observatories (CAS), is currently undergoing commissioning with surveys due to commence in 2011.

The LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Evolution (LEGUE) will secure optical spectra of millions of Galactic stars and measure their radial velocities and basic parameters (effective temperatures, surface gravities and metallicities). In excellent synergy with the forthcoming GAIA mission, LEGUE will generate a unique data set to 1) study the composition, kinematics and structure of the thin/thick disks and halo; 2) identify tidal streams/debris of disrupted dwarfs and clusters; 3) probe the gravitational potential and dark matter distribution; 4) map interstellar dust extinction in three dimensions; 5) search for rare objects (e.g. extremely-low-metallicity/hyper-velocity stars and brown dwarfs); and 6) ultimately advance our understanding of the assembly of the Milky Way and the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies in general.

As a consequence of this important development, KIAA-PKU will be hosting a Summer School and Workshop on the chemistry, dynamics and structure of the Milky Way. The School will consist of a two-week long series of lectures, given by some of the most distinguished academics in the field. Following the School we will hold a one-week Workshop, where many of the leading researchers will come together to present their latest results. We will allow a significant amount of time for discussions, in order to encourage interaction between the Workshop participants and also the younger researcher who are attending the School. This Summer School and Workshop will train young scientists in this diverse field and promote collaboration for future partnerships.

Participation

-------------

The summer school will be limited 60 students. The following workshop will be limited to, at most, 120 participants. Among them, 60 are expected to be PhD students who have attended the Summer School.

There is no registration fee for the summer school. For the followup workshop, the registration fee will be 120 USD if registering before the 15th of March and 180 USD otherwise. The fee includes the opening reception, morning and afternoon refreshments, and daily lunch. Limited financial support may be available for students attending the summer school. In order to be considered for support, the students will have to register before the Early Registration Deadline (15th March).

For maximum flexibility, accommodation is the responsibility of the participants, but we will provide a list of good hotels conveniently located adjacent to the conference venue.

To register for the Workshop or School, please fill in the online registration form here:

http://kiaa.pku.edu.cn/Activities/sw2010/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=registers

Note that students attending the school are required to arrange for a brief letter of recommendation to be sent to Ms. Ning Zhang by email >, fax (+86 10 6276 7900) or post (Ms. Ning Zhang, The Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Yi He Yuan Lu 5, Hai Dian Qu, Beijing 100871, P. R. China). To receive full consideration, this letter should arrive before March 15th.

Location

--------

The conference will take place at Peking University. The campus, known as "Yan Yuan" (the garden of Yan), is situated at Haidian District in the northwestern suburb of Beijing, with a total area of 274 hectares. It stands near to the Yuanmingyuan Garden and the Summer Palace.

Key dates

---------

15 December 2009      : 1st announcement            31 January 2010       : 2nd announcement           15 March 2010         : Early registration and abstracts submission

31 May 2010           : Deadline of registration                    30 June 2010          : Third announcement            5 July 2010           : School begins             9 July 2010           : Workshop begins

Publication

-----------

We do not plan to produce hard-copy proceedings. Instead we will post the electronic presentations on the website soon after the conference.

Summer School lecturers

-----------------------

Timothy Beers (MSU)

James Binney (University of Oxford)

Kenneth Freeman (RSAA)

Steven Majewski (University of Virginia)

Simon White (MPA)

Invited Workshop Speakers

-------------------------

G Battaglia, V Belokurov, E Wylie de Boer, A Brooks, D Carollo, L Chen, A Cooper, X Cui, V Debattista, LC Deng, L Eyer,  R Guhathakurta, A Helmi, JL Hou, R Ibata, M Juric, D Kawata, S Keller, S Koposov, C Liu, XW Liu, YS Lee, A Maccio, D Mackey, N Martin, Lucio Mayer (TBC), J Penarrubia, C Rockosi, R Roskar, R Schoenrich, A Siebert, K Venn, M Walker, HC Wang, Y Zhao, X Zhou, D Zucker

Scientific Organizing Committee

-------------------------------

Timothy Beers (MSU)

Yaoquan Chu (USTC)

Licai Deng (NAOC; co-chair)

Zhanwen Han (YAO)

Jinliang Hou (ShAO)

Biwei Jiang (BNU)

Xiaowei Liu (KIAA-PKU; co-chair)

Heidi Newberg (RPI)

Eric Peng (KIAA-PKU)

Martin Smith (KIAA-PKU)

Nic Walton (IoA)

Ji Yang (PMO)

Gang Zhao (NAOC)

Yongheng Zhao (NAOC)

Local Organizing Committee

--------------------------

Ruben Garcia-Benito

Zhiying Huo

Chengze Liu

Huawei Zhang

Ning Zhang (Chair)

Jie Yao

Haibo Yuan

European Single Dish Astronomy in the Era of Arrays

A single dish summer school to be held between September 27 - October 1 

in Bonn and Effelsberg.

More information will follow in short time on this page.

http://www.mpifr.de/div/effelsberg/SummerSchool/Main.html

TWELFTH SYNTHESIS IMAGING WORKSHOP FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT

The Twelfth Synthesis Imaging Workshop will be held at the NRAO and the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro, NM, on June 8-15, 2010. In addition to introductory lectures on radio interferometry, advanced topics will cover a selection of new synthesis instruments, including the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), the Expanded VLA (EVLA) and the Long Wavelength Array. The workshop will also feature two days of hands-on data reduction tutorials, and tours of the EVLA and the Science Operations Center. Attendance at the Synthesis Imaging Workshop will be limited to 150 people. See http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/events/synthesis/2010/ for more information on scheduled lectures and events. If you are interested in receiving more information about the workshop, please pre-register at the same web page. Full registration will open February 1st, and will be on a first-come-first-served basis. There will be a registration fee of $200, which includes a copy of ASP Conf. Ser. Vol. 180, "Synthesis Imaging in Radio Astronomy II."

Information for participants outside the US: it is our understanding of current US policy that attending a scientific workshop in the US should only require a visitor visa. Should you find you need a letter of invitation, please contact Amy Mioduszewski. Due to processing delays we strongly encourage you to start paperwork early.

The Synthesis Imaging Workshop is sponsored by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and the University of New Mexico.

Amy Mioduszewski on behalf of the Scientific Organizing Committee 

Note:

Full registration will open February 1st,

and will be on a first-come-first-served basis.

Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships in Cosmology, Gravitation or String Theory

Job Advertisement: Closing Date 28th February 2010

University of Cape Town

Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships in Cosmology, Gravitation or String  

Theory

1+1 year position(s)

Deadline: 28 February (but will remain open until filled)

http://cosmology.uct.ac.za/GroupGrantAdvert-2010.pdf

Up to three Post-doctoral research fellowships are available in the  

Cosmology and Gravity Group at the University of Cape Town. The fields  

of research are open, but preference will be given to candidates whose  

research interests are aligned with those of members of the group.

Positions are available for a period of up to two years, subject to  

satisfactory performance and renewed funding. The stipend will afford  

a good standard of living and access to travel and equipment grants.

The fellowship is awarded as part of the South African National  

Research Foundation Blue Skies Initiative. To be eligible for a  

Fellowship, the candidate must have received his or her PhD within 5  

calendar years preceding that in which the Fellowship would begin.

If you require further details please email any member of the group.

To apply, please email your CV, publication list, a statement of  

research interests and three letters of recommendation to

Ms Rushana du Toit ( CO Ms Nicky Walker) nassp@saao.ac.za

Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics

University of Cape Town

Rondebosch 7701

South Africa

Phone: +27 21 460 9346

Fax: +27 21 447 3639

UCT is committed to equity in its employment practices.

Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship in Astrophysics, Cosmology or Gravitation

Job Advertisement: Closing Date 28th February 2010

University of Cape Town

Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship in  Astrophysics, Cosmology or  

Gravitation

1+1 year position

Deadline: 28 February (but will remain open until filled)

http://cosmology.uct.ac.za/ACGCpostdocAdvert-2010.pdf

The newly launched Centre for Astrophysics, Cosmology and Gravity  

(ACGC) at the University of Cape Town is offering its inaugural Post- 

doctoral research fellowship. The Centre includes members from the  

Astronomy Department as well as the Cosmology & Gravity Group in the  

Mathematics and Applied Mathematics department. The fields of research  

are open, but preference will be given to candidates whose research  

interests are aligned with members of the Centre.

Positions are available for a period of up to two years, subject to  

satisfactory performance and renewed funding. The stipend will afford  

a good standard of living, and access to travel and equipment grants.

The fellowship is awarded as part of the South African National  

Research Foundation Blue Skies Initiative. To be eligible for a  

Fellowship, the candidate must have received his or her PhD within 5  

calendar years preceding that in which the Fellowship would begin.

If you require further details please email any member of the Centre.

To apply, please email your CV, publication list, a statement of  

research interests and three letters of recommendation to

Ms Carol Marsh

Department of Astronomy

University of Cape Town

Rondebosch 7700

South Africa

admin@ast.uct.ac.za

Phone: +27 21 650 5830

Fax: +27 21 650 4547

UCT is committed to equity in its employment practices.

Astronomy Programmes Assistant National Maritime Museum

Job Advertisement: Closing Date 1st February 2010

Astronomy Programmes Assistant

National Maritime Museum

GBP 18,000 - GBP 22,000

If you have the proven ability to present scientific subjects to a wide

range of audiences, this is an exciting opportunity to join our ambitious

team. Putting your outstanding communication skills to work, you'll engage

and inspire people by bringing astronomy and space exploration topics to

life.

This fascinating role will see you deliver a broad spectrum of activities -

including taught sessions, workshops, planetarium shows and observing

events - to schools and the general public. You will also help us develop

new and innovative programmes, manage resources and provide technical

support for the planetarium, learning centre and other areas of the Royal

Observatory.

Along with a relevant degree or equivalent qualification, you should bring

an excellent general knowledge of astronomy and space exploration. Strong

presentation and audience interaction skills are clearly essential too,

combined with experience of developing learning events and a high level of

IT literacy.

For a full Astronomy  Programmes Assistant job description and details of

how to apply, please visit www.nmm.ac.uk/jobs

Closing date: 1 February  2010.

The Newton International Fellowship scheme will select the very best early stage post-doctoral researchers from all over the world, and offer support for two years at UK research institutions.

The long-term aim of the scheme is to build a global pool of research leaders and encourage long-term international collaboration with the UK.

The Newton International Fellowships scheme is run by The British Academy, The Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society.

The Fellowships cover the broad range of natural and social sciences, engineering and the humanities.

They provide grants of £24,000 per annum to cover subsistence and £8,000 to cover research expenses, plus a one-off relocation allowance of £2,000.

As part of the scheme, all Newton Fellows who remain in research will be granted a 10 year follow-up funding package worth £6,000 per annum.

For more detailed information on the Newton International Fellowships please download the Scheme Notes.

Newton Fellows round 2008 (PDF 35Kb)

Newton Fellows round 2009 (PDF 28Kb)

Permanent Staff Position in Cosmology and Galaxy Evolution - CEA Saclay, France

The Astrophysics Laboratory ("Service d'Astrophysique" or SAp) at CEA Saclay invites applications for a permanent position in the Cosmology and Galaxy Evolution (CEG) group.

The SAp is a major space astrophysics laboratory located about 20 km south-west of Paris. It is part of a broader Institute (Irfu) with a large technical staff and expertise in astrophysics, nuclear and particle physics. Irfu/SAp has been actively involved in the development of the two far-infrared imaging instruments PACS and SPIRE of the Herschel Space Observatory. It has built the ISOCAM mid-infrared camera onboard ISO, and instruments on the ground, such as the VLT Imager and Spectrometer for the mid-Infrared (VISIR) or the wide-field optical camera, Megacam, for the CFHT, and participated to the construction of XMM-Newton and Fermi. Irfu/SAp is involved in the development of the MIRI camera for JWST and in the ECLAIR and Euclid projects.

The CEG group is actively involved in guaranteed time and open time programs with the Herschel observatory, in the extragalactic field ranging from the detailed study of individual galaxies to deep extragalactic surveys, including the study of the gas and dust properties in galaxies, galaxy clusters, large-scale structures as well as numerical simulations and gravitational weak shear analysis.

We are seeking candidates with a strong scientific and technical (observations and data analysis) background in the field of millimeter and sub-millimeter interferometry, with a strong research record in galaxy formation evolution and demonstrated independence and originality of research.

This position as a staff researcher at CEA, will be funded through an ERC grant for the first 4 years, during which the successful candidate will join the ERC research team led by E. Daddi. The new staff member will conduct original research, in collaboration with the team, on the investigation of the molecular gas content of distant galaxies with IRAM, EVLA and in preparation for ALMA.

The salary will depend on the candidate's experience. Health insurance and retirement benefits are included.

Interested applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, a statement of past accomplishments and future plans in research, and three letters of reference, before January 31, 2010. The material should be submitted via email to edaddi@cea.fr


check: http://members.aas.org/JobReg/JobDetailPage.cfm?JobID=26184

Planetarium Astronomer National Maritime Museum London

Job Advertisement: Closing Date 29th January 2010

Planetarium Astronomer

National Maritime Museum

London

GBP 20,000 - GBP 28,000

Could you engage, inspire and enthuse a wide range of audiences - from under

5's to specialist adults? If so, we need you to ensure that every visitor

to the Peter Harrison Planetarium enjoys an unforgettable experience.

As a key member of the Science Education Department here at the Royal

Observatory, you'll develop and deliver a broad spectrum of activities from

planetarium shows and workshops to innovative digital projects, exhibitions

and more. This unique and highly rewarding role will also see you

co-ordinate planetarium programming and resources, produce written material

and oversee freelance presenters.

You will also be tasked with maintaining hardware and software systems, so

first-rate IT skills are important. You should also be keen to learn new

programming languages. A relevant degree or postgraduate qualification and

an in-depth knowledge of astronomy and space exploration are essential

too, combined with proven communication and presentation skills. Experience

of producing planetarium shows and using 3D modelling and multimedia

software would be ideal, though it's not a must.

For a full Planetarium Astronomer job description and details of how to

apply, please visit www.nmm.ac.uk/jobs

Closing Date: 29 January 2010

Up: Have Observations Revealed a Variable Upper End of the Initial Mass Function?

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               SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT

"Up: Have Observations Revealed a Variable Upper

      End of the Initial Mass Function?"

        to be held June 20-25, 2010,

           in Sedona, Arizona, USA

      http://up2010.obs.carnegiescience.edu

      DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION IS

           MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2010

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               MEETING ABSTRACT

   The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is a

fundamental parameter that not only encodes the

complex gas phase astrophysics of star formation,

but is also crucial for interpreting the vast

majority of observations made in extragalactic

astronomy today.  Therefore, it is imperative to

constrain its functional form, and the manner in

which it may vary between different environments.

   Since the idea of the "original" mass function

was introduced by Salpeter in 1955, considerable

effort has been made to verify its form, and

previous observations have led many to assume that

it is invariant. In recent years, however, work

challenging this assumption has been accumulating.

In particular, some observations and models suggest

a deficiency of high mass stars in low-density

regions, such as those found in star-forming dwarf

galaxies and the outer disks of spiral galaxies.

Other observations suggest an excess of high mass

stars in some regions, including starbursts and high

redshift galaxies. High mass stars dominate the

luminous and chemical output of galaxies, and

are the basis of most star formation indicators. If

such variations are proven real, they would have

broad consequences for studies of the star

formation histories and chemical evolution

of galaxies, and theoretical work on star

formation.

   A general commonality of recent work providing

possible evidence for IMF variations is that they

are based on the light integrated over galaxies

or regions of galaxies. Such observations only provide

indirect constraints, since IMF variations will be

degenerate with population age and star formation

history. A range of other confounding parameters

must also be considered given that stars are not

being measured individually. On the other hand,

there is some evidence for consistency between

observations and semi-analytic models which assume

systematic deficiencies or excesses in high mass stars.

   The presence of observations both for and against

the universality of the IMF suggest that this is an

appropriate time for a critical re-evaluation of the

ensemble of accumulated observational evidence

constraining the upper end of the IMF, and for

garnering new insights into the physical parameters

controlling high mass star and cluster formation.

The goal of this meeting will be to synthesize a

coherent picture of the IMF slope and characteristic

mass within individual galaxies and across the galaxy

population. Further implications and observational

tests of potential IMF variations must also

be formulated, particularly in the context of the

new capabilities enabled by the recent refurbishment

of HST, the next generation of extremely large

telescopes, or capabilities not yet planned that

must be developed to finally provide unambiguous

constraints on this fundamental astrophysical issue.

SOC: Daniela Calzetti, Edvige Corbelli, Julianne Dalcanton,

Bruce Elmegreen, Janice Lee (chair), Mark Krumholz,

Pavel Kroupa, Barry Madore, Francesca Matteucci,

Chris Martin, Naveen Reddy, David Schiminovich,

Mark Seibert, David Thilker

Research Fellow in Extragalactic Astronomy University of Nottingham

Job Advertisement: Closing Date 18th January 2010

Research Fellow in Extragalactic Astronomy

University of Nottingham

We seek to appoint a postdoctoral researcher to work on the

development of advanced techniques for measuring aspects of galaxy

morphology and structure, their application to existing and upcoming

large galaxy surveys, and the utilisation of the resulting datasets

to study questions of galaxy evolution. The successful applicant will

also have opportunities to develop related new ideas using the data

available to us from the Galaxy Zoo project and the GAMA (Galaxy and

Mass Assembly) survey.

The primary project will be performed in collaboration with Dr Steven

Bamford and an international team of astronomers, statisticians and

computer scientists.  This position, funded by the Qatar National

Research Fund, includes a generous provision for travel, including

regular visits to collaborators at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.

Applicants should have a PhD (or be near completion) in a relevant

subject, together with relevant research experience and competent

programming skills. Starting salary will be within the range 27,183

- 35,469 per annum (26,391 maximum without PhD). This full time

post will be offered on a fixed-term contract for a period of three

years, with a flexible starting date of 1 March 2010.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Dr Steven Bamford

(steven.bamford@nottingham.ac.uk). For more details and/or to apply

on-line please access: http://bit.ly/4wGFfA .  Quote ref. SCI/767.

The nominal closing date is 18 January 2010,  but late applications

will be considered until the post is filled.