Research fellowship in the field of Extragalactic Astronomy

Ref: IA2019-11-BIM

The Centro de Investigação em Astronomia/Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto (CAUP) opens a call for one Research Fellowship (Bolsa de Investigação - Mestre) in the field of extragalactic astronomy, within the scope of the research unit Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, which is supported by FCT/MCTES through national funds (PIDDAC) by grant UID/FIS/04434/2019.

The Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (IA) is the most prominent research unit in the field of Astrophysics in Portugal, integrating researchers from the University of Porto and the University of Lisbon, and is responsible for a major 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.

Admission Requirements
Portuguese nationals, foreign and stateless persons may submit applications to this selection procedure, provided they hold a MSc degree in Astrophysics or akin areas, have specialized skills and/or expertise in the analysis of integral field spectroscopy (IFS) and imaging data, and fully comply with the following requirements:

Demonstrated experience in:
a) the structural characterization of galaxies through surface photometry and profile fitting techniques;
b) spectral modeling of IFS data from the CALIFA survey with the codes Starlight and FADO;
c) data analysis with ESO-MIDAS (including the development of codes in the MIDAS scripting language) and in using the pipeline Porto3D;   
d) the spectroscopic classification of galaxies with emission-line diagnostics;
e) techniques for spectrophotometric bulge-disk decomposition of late-type galaxies.

Duration of the research fellowship
The position has a fixed duration of four months and should preferably start in August 2019.

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 €989,70 (tax free) and will be paid monthly by bank transfer. The fellowship will include a personal accident insurance.

The work plan is to be carried out in IA, in Porto offices, under the supervision by Polychronis Papaderos, Jean Michel Gomes and Jarle Brinchmann, and in collaboration with several other members of IA’s Thematic Line “The assembly history of galaxies resolved in space and time”.

Research work plan
The successful candidate is expected
a) to pursue research on a spatially resolved exploration of the formation history of late-type galaxies (LTGs) from the CALIFA IFS survey using a combination of surface photometry, spectral synthesis and spectrophotometric bulge-disk decomposition techniques,
b)  study chemical abundances in the stellar and nebular component of a selected sample of LTGs from CALIFA, and
c) adapt the pipeline Porto3D to the data format of the IFS units KMOS and MUSE.

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

–  cover letter with a brief description of the candidate's experience and motivation;
–  Curriculum Vitae (up to 6 pages, in 10pt size format and single line spacing at minimum), including a brief description of any previous research experience, as well as a scan of the MSc degree diploma (foreign diplomas must be certified by a Portuguese Academic Institution);
–  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 6 to 19 july 2019.

Selection criteria and evaluation
The evaluation of the candidates will be done based on:

- (10%) cover letter;
- (20%) CV, including degrees, marks, and contents of curricular units completed;
- (60%) relevance and adequacy of previous research experience to the priorities of the work plan;
- (10%) interview, if deemed necessary by the jury.

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.

Awarding of the contract
Following the evaluation process the contracts will be offered according to the ordered list resulting from the selection committee. The positions will be granted only if a suitable candidate is found (with a minimum of 70% in the evaluation). The selected candidate will be notified by e-mail.

For inquires please contact PD Dr. Polychronis Papaderos.

Selection Committee
Polychronis Papaderos
José Afonso
Jarle Brinchmann
Jean Michel Gomes (alternate)

Notes
1. The CAUP actively promotes a policy of non-discrimination and equal access, so that no candidate can be privileged, benefited, disadvantaged or deprived of any right or exempt from any duty due to, inter alia, ancestry, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, economic situation, education, social origin or condition, genetic heritage, reduced working capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological beliefs and trade union membership.
   
2. Under the terms of D.L. No. 29/2001, of February 3, a disabled candidate has a preference in equal classification, which prevails over any other legal preference. Candidates must declare their respective degree of disability, the type of disability and the means of communication/expression to be used in the selection process, under the terms of the above-mentioned diploma.

3. In the event that the degree was awarded by a foreign higher education institution, that degree must comply with the provisions of Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of 16th October (approves the legal regime for the recognition of foreign higher academic degrees), and all formalities established therein must be complied with up to the date of hiring.
Applicants are advised to check the website of the Directorate-General for Higher Education (DGES) for further information: https://www.dges.gov.pt/en/pagina/degree-and-diploma-recognition.

4. The fellowship holders' functions are carried out under a scheme of exclusive dedication, in accordance with the terms established in the Research Fellowship Holder's Statute (Estatuto do Bolseiro de Investigação). For more information, see in particular article 5 - Performing Duties: https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/docs/FellowshipHolderStatute2013.pdf.

Publication Date
19 june 2019


The period for application submission has ended for this opportunity.