Postdoctoral position at the I.Physikalisches Institut of the Universität zu Köln

Postdoctoral position at the I.Physikalisches Institut of the Universität zu Köln

Context: Applications are invited for one postdoctoral position at the I. Physikalisches Institut of the Universität zu Köln to work in the fields of observational astrophysics and instrumentation for high-angular resolution astronomy. The institute is already strongly involved in several international instrumentation projects e.g. for VLTI, LBT, SOFIA, Herschel, APEX, ALMA and is a member of the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Radio and Infrared Astronomy and of the Bonn-Cologne Graduate School of Physics and Astronomy.

Objectives: The successful applicant will work closely with L. Labadie within a team of scientists, engineers and graduate students in three possible directions: 

1) Develop and run laboratory IR experiments devoted to the exploitation of astrophotonics solutions in part for optical/IR interferometry, and co-lead the experimental characterization towards future on-sky operation. Astrophotonics is a fast emerging area aiming at taking advantage of photonics solutions for astronomy. The candidate will also have to interact with international partners affiliated to the APE consortium and in the US.

2) Take part to the commissioning, exploitation, and upgrade of the AOLI instrument (Adaptive Optics Lucky Imager), an optical imager operating at diffraction-limit planned for installation at the William Herschel Telescope. AOLI is a joined project between IoA, IAC, Univ. of Cologne and Univ. of Cartagena. Knowledge – or willing to learn – C++ would be required.

3) Pursue an active astrophysical research in the field of Star & Planet Formation exploiting existing and future dataset within the group acquired through imaging (VISIR/VLT, CANARICAM/GTC), interferometry (MIDI+AMBER/VLTI, LBT), and speckle imaging techniques. Interactions with our current collaborators from various European institutions (France, UK, Spain, Germany..) are foreseen.

Candidate qualifications: Applicants should have a PhD (or equivalent in Astronomy, Physics, or related discipline. They should possibly have a good experience with the development of astronomical and lab instrumentation, and/or astrophysical data reduction software. Willing and ability to work both on the instrumental and astrophysics side is a strong advantage. A participation in teaching duties – in English and/or German - is expected.

The position is for 2 years +1 year extension, with the possibility of further extension upon performance. The salary follows the public service E13 scale (36,500-53,000 euros/yr).  Applicants should send by September 15, 2013 a CV, a publication list, a statement of research to labadie@ph1.uni-koeln.de or by mail to Prof. Dr. Lucas Labadie - I. Physikalisches Institut der Universität zu Köln, 50937 Köln, Germany. They should arrange two letters of recommendation to be sent separately. Further enquiries can be made at same addresses. Earliest start will be as from December 1st 2013. The University of Cologne is an equal opportunity employer in accordance with German laws. Women, minorities and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

The announcement is at: http://www.astro.uni-koeln.de/sites/default/files/pdfs/postdoc-Labadie-13.pdf