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Research fellowship position in the field of planetary systems

Ref: IA2017-15-BI

The Centro de Investigação em Astronomia/Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto (CAUP) opens a call for 1 research fellowship (Bolsas de Investigação - Mestre) 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 started preferably from the 1st of February of 2018. The position has a maximum duration of 5 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 €980 (tax free) and will be paid monthly by bank transfer. The fellowships holders will have a personal accident insurance. Funds for traveling (conferences, collaborations, observing missions) are also available. The work plan is to be carried out in IA, in Porto, under the supervision of Dr. Nuno Santos, with collaboration of other team members.

Research work plan:

This fellowship focuses on the development of methodologies that will allow us to correct for the stellar parasite signals in radial velocity time series obtained in the context of exoplanet search projects. Real and mock observational data will be used to test the methodologies. The result of this search will inform not only current but upcoming spectrographs such as ESPRESSO or NIRPS.

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 in 10pt size format at minimum), and a list of the grades for the taken classes and a scan of the MSc degree diploma;

- Name and contact details (position, email, address) of two referees, available to provide information about the candidate (these will be contacted at the jury's discretion).

Applications will be accepted from the 5th to 18th of January, 2018.

Selection criteria and evaluation:

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

The candidate is expected to pursue research on the impact of stellar activity on the derivation of precise radial velocities. Preference will be given to:

1- candidates with demonstrated experience on the field of radial velocity time series analysis, and if possible on activity characterization and correction algorithms,

2.- with a sound mathematical/statistical background.

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

- cover letter with a brief description of the candidate's experience and motivation (10%);
- CV, including degrees, marks and contents of curricular units completed (50%);
- relevance and adequacy of previous research experience and research plan to the priorities of the team and of IA (40%).

An ordered list of candidates will be defined by the selection committee based on the submitted documents and the criteria mentioned above. All candidates fulfilling the selection criteria will be considered for a shortlist, and will be required to attend an interview for the second stage of the evaluation. Reference letters may also be asked to the aforementioned referees and will be taken into account in the evaluation process.

Awarding of the contract:

Following the evaluation process the contracts will be offered according to the ordering list proposed by the selection committee.

The positions will be granted only if suitable candidates are found. Only candidates with a minimum grade of 60% will be accepted.

The selected candidates will be notified by e-mail.

For inquires please contact Dr. Nuno Santos.

Selection Committee:
Nuno Santos (chair)
Pedro Viana
João Lima

Publication Date:
19th December 2017

The period for application submission has ended for this opportunity.
Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia COMPETE 2020 PORTUGAL 2020 União Europeia