Postdoctoral fellowship position in the field of planetary systems

Ref: IA2016-07-BPD

The Centro de Investigação em Astronomia/Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto (CAUP) opens a call for one postdoctoral fellowship in the field of "Towards the detection and characterization of other Earths" 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).

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. The expected starting date of the fellowship is 1st of October 2016 to the 1st of January 2017. The position, with a maximum duration of 21 months (the funding project ends on the 30th of June 2018), must be renewed after the first year based on the outcome of the work done. Depending on the outcome of the research and funding, the position may be extended.

The fellowship contract will comply with the 'Regulamento de Bolsas e Investigação da Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia' existing and 'Lei nº 40/2004, de 18 de Agosto (Estatuto do Bolseiro de InvestigaçãoCientífica)'. According to the rules of the FCT, the monthly allowance will be €1495 (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 under the scientific guidance of the PI of the project (Dr. Nuno Santos).

Research work plan
The successful candidate is expected to pursue research in the Planetary Systems field, and give support of our participation in planet search and characterization projects (namely ESPRESSO/ESO, CHEOPS/ESA, and PLATO2.0/ESA). Preference is given to candidates with relevant expertise in the modeling and characterization of exoplanet atmospheres.

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

• Cover letter with a brief description of the candidate's experience and motivation;
• Indicative research plan or research objectives for the next two years (up to 2 pages);
• Curriculum Vitae (up to 4 pages) and scan of the PhD diploma;
• Complete list of scientific publications. A brief description (up to 3 lines) of the candidate's contribution to the most relevant papers is welcome;
• 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 30th of June to of 26th of August, 2016.

Selection criteria and evaluation
The applicant must be holder of a PhD 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 publications and the applicants’ contribution to them (60%);
• Relevance and adequacy of previous research experience and research plan to the priorities of the team, of the project, and of IA (30%).

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 if needed).

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. At least with a minimum of 60% final grade (in the range 0-100) in the first step, and a minimum of 80% after the second step.

For inquires please contact Dr. Nuno C. Santos.

Selection Committee
Nuno C. Santos
Pedro Figueira
Sérgio A. G. Sousa
Susana C. C. Barros
José Afonso
João J. G. Lima

Publication Date
14 June 2016

The period for application submission has ended for this opportunity.