Post.Doc. Position in Exoplanet Research at the Niels Bohr Institute

Post.Doc. Position in Exoplanet Research at the Niels Bohr Institute

The Niels Bohr Institute (NBI) announces the availability of a specially-funded 2 years postdoctoral position in exoplanet research with particular emphasis on microlensing search projects with the global SONG telescope network and the Danish 1.54m telescope at ESO's La Silla observatory.

The Candidate

The candidate must have obtained the PhD degree (from an institution other than NBI) no more than 3 years before starting the employment.

We seek a candidate that can participate in our teamwork on developing our microlensing exoplanet search program (see www.mindstep-science.org) at our newly established SONG network of 1m telescopes (see song.phys.au.dk). SONG is a Danish lead dedicated new network of 1m telescopes, which is developing a dual lucky imaging camera system that will be particularly sensitive to exoplanets down to well below one Earth mass. A similar system is operating at the Danish 1.54m telescope at ESO's La Silla observatory, which we also have dedicated access to. The ideal candidate has skills and interest in the development of the necessary software for operation of these high tech camera systems and the associated pipelines for the reduction and lightcurve analysis. It is an advantage if the candidate has experience in exoplanet research in general, and there is a possibility to participate in the development of special long time series observations and associated exoplanet analysis of radial velocity data from the SONG high resolution spectrograph too, which is simultaneously used for asteroseismology observations. 

The Position
The employment is for two years and will begin January 1st, or upon agreement with the chosen candidate.

NBI constitutes the physics department of the University of Copenhagen with a faculty of ~65 professors and associate professors, ~100 PhD students, ~60 post docs and ~700 general physics students. Details of the research activities of the institute may be found on the home page www.nbi.ku.dk. NBI consist of 10 research groups and 12 science centers. The research group for astrophysics and planetary sciences at NBI (which the chosen candidate will be part of) include research in exoplanets, stellar and planetary formation, numerical astrophysics, and space missions to Mars. The group also participates in StarPlan which is a multidisciplinary research center of excellence for cosmochemistry, astrophysics and astronomy, jointly hosted by the Natural History Museum of Denmark and the Niels Bohr Institute. Its research focuses on the formation and evolution of stars and planets, with particular emphasis on the perspectives of understanding our own solar system in relation to other planetary systems. Details can be found at www.starplan.dk. Questions about the position should be addressed to the project leader, Uffe Graae Jørgensen, at uffegj@nbi.dk.

Terms of Appointment and Payment
Terms of appointment and payment are accord to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The basic salary depends on seniority, but is approximately 32,000 DKK/month plus full benefits including pension. Being employed in Denmark includes full health coverage (also for the family) and other social benefits, and most non-Danish citizens are eligible for a favorable starting tax scheme. More on general employment conditions can be found at http://ism.ku.dk.

Application
Applicants are requested to submit their applications electronically. Apply via this link: https://ssl1.peoplexs.com/Peoplexs22/CandidatesPortalNoLogin/ApplicationForm.cfm?PortalID=3789&VacatureID=603761

The application must contain:

- Curriculum vitae (with applicants e-mail address & telephone number)
- Description (max. 3 pages) of current and proposed research and relevant technical experience
- Complete publication list indicating max. 5 papers particularly relevant to the application

The applicant should arrange for 2 or 3 letters of reference, to be sent directly to the section secretary Mrs. Marianne Bentsen at mbentsen@astro.ku.dk.

Deadline: December 1st 2013.

As an equal opportunities employer, the University of Copenhagen invites applications from all interested candidates, regardless of gender, age, religion or ethnic origin. The University of Copenhagen actively influences current and future generations through excellent research, education and co-operation. UCPH is one of the highest ranked universities in Europe and is Denmark´s oldest university, founded in 1479. Today, the University has 37,000 students and 9,000 employees affiliated across six faculties: humanities, law, natural sciences, social sciences, health sciences and theology: www.ku.dk/english/.