Research fellowship (Bolsa de Investigação - BI) position in the field of planetary systems

Ref: IA2017-02-BI

The Centro de Investigação em Astronomia/Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto (CAUP) opens a call for 1 research fellowship (Bolsa de Investigação - Licenciado) in the field of planetary systems at the Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (IA).

The position is offered in the context of the project "Overcoming today's challenges in the quest for other Earths" with financial support provided by the FCT through national funds (refª PTDC/FIS-AST/1526/2014) and co-funded by FEDER through COMPETE2020 (refª POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016886) and POR Lisboa (refª Lisboa-01-0145-FEDER-016886).

The Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (IA) assembles more than two-thirds of all active researchers working in Space Sciences in Portugal, and is responsible for an even greater fraction of the national productivity in international ISI journals in this area. The research and development effort at the IA includes most of the topics at the forefront of research in Astrophysics and Space Sciences, complemented by work on instrumentation and systems with potential use in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

The call is open in the fields of Planetary Systems, and the fellowship is to be started preferably from the 1st of March 2017, and no later than the 1st of May 2017. The position has a maximum duration of 3 months, and could be renewed from more 3 months.

The fellowship contract will comply with the ''Lei nº 40/2004 de 18 de Agosto (Estatuto do Bolseiro de Investigação) and ''Regulamento de Bolsas e Investigação da Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia'' in force (http://fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/docs/RegulamentoBolsasFCT.pdf).

According to the FCT table values (http:www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/valores), the monthly allowance will be €745 (tax free) and will be paid monthly by bank transfer. Funds for traveling (conferences, collaborations, observing missions) are also available. The work plan is to be carried out in IA, in Porto, under the scientific supervision of the PI of the project.

Research work plan:

The successful candidate is expected to pursue research in the Planetary Systems field, and to provide support to our participation in planet search and characterization projects (namely ESPRESSO/ESO, CHEOPS/ESA, and PLATO2.0/ESA). In particular, the candidate is expected to work on a project to model the effects of rings in high precision radial velocities, having in mind the exploitation of ESPRESSO data. Preference is given to candidates with demonstrated adequate expertise.

Application:

The application, to be submitted through the web form below, should include the following information:

- Cover letter with a brief description of the candidate's experience and motivation;

- Curriculum Vitae (up to 4 pages) and a scan of the University diplomas;

- Name and contact details (position, email, address) of two referees, available to provide information about the candidate (to be contacted if considered necessary to clarify the information provided in the remaining documents).

Applications will be accepted from the 4th to 19th of February, 2017.

Selection criteria and evaluation:

The applicant must have completed a Licenciatura degree. Only applications from candidates having an adequate background in Astronomy, Physics, Mathematics, or other relevant domains, will be considered.

The curricular evaluation of the candidates will be done based on:

- Cover letter (10%);
- CV, including the University grades (40%);
- Relevance and adequacy of previous research experience (50%).

A short-list of candidates will be defined in the first stage of the evaluation based on the submitted documents and the criteria mentioned above. The short-listed applicants may be required to attend an interview for the second stage of the evaluation (by teleconference or videoconference, but only if judged necessary).

Awarding of the contract:

Following the second stage of evaluation, whose result will be taken into account in the final mark, the contracts will be offered according to the ordering proposed by the selection committee.

The positions will be granted only if suitable candidates are found. Only candidates with a minimum of 70% final grade (in the range 0-100) will be accepted.

The selected candidates will be notified by e-mail.

For inquires please contact Dr. Nuno Santos.

Selection Committee:
Nuno Santos
Susana Barros
José Afonso
João Lima

Publication Date:
20th January 2016

The period for application submission has ended for this opportunity.