Research fellowship position in the field of planetary systems

Ref: IA2016-16-BI

The Centro de Investigação em Astronomia/Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto (CAUP) opens a call for 1 research fellowship (Bolsa 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 FIS/04434 with financial support provided by FCT through national funds and by FEDER through COMPETE2020 - Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) and PT2020 agreement (refª POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007672).

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 from the 1st of January 2017. The position has a maximum duration of 12 months (the funding project ends on the 31st of December 2017), and must be renewed after 6 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. Funds for traveling (conferences, collaborations, observing missions) are also available. The work plan is to be carried out in IA, Porto offices, under the supervision of an IA researcher from the Thematic Line ''Towards the detection and characterization of other Earths''.

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 using high resolution spectroscopy (namely ESPRESSO/ESO, NIRPS/ESO, HIRES/ESO (E-ELT), and SPIROU/CFHT). The successful candidate is in particular expected to pursue research to simulate the detectability of reflected light spectra from exoplanets using high resolution spectroscopy. A strong preference is given to candidates with demonstrated expertise and previous experience in this domain.

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), including list of publications 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 (to be contacted if considered necessary to clarify the information provided in the remaining documents).

Applications will be accepted from the 28th of November to 13th of December, 2016.

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 curricular evaluation of the candidates will be done based on:

- Cover letter (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 (with a mark above 60%). Reference letters may also be asked to the external referees and will be taken into account.

Awarding of the contract:

Following the evaluation process 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 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
Pedro Figueira
Sérgio Sousa
José Afonso
João Lima

Publication Date:
11th November 2016


The period for application submission has ended for this opportunity.