PhD student in astrophysics, with focus on stellar activity and magnetism

Are you interested in working with stellar activity and magnetism, with the support of competent and friendly colleagues in an international environment? Are you looking for an employer that invests in sustainable employeeship and offers safe, favourable working conditions? We welcome you to apply for a PhD student in astrophysics position at Uppsala University.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is one of the largest departments at Uppsala University. It comprises close to 400 employees, including around 100 PhD students. The department conducts world class research and education within both theoretical and experimental physics and is engaged in extensive cooperation with external partners. The research is performed at 10 research divisions, and touches upon everything from the incomprehensibly small to the large within e.g. energy supply, climate development, new materials, and the Universe. This whole spectrum of research is also mirrored in the courses and educational programmes offered by the department. Around 2500 students take the department’s courses at basic and advanced level each year. Read more at www.physics.uu.se.

At the Division of Astronomy and Space Physics, research is conducted on stellar physics, planetary systems, galaxies and cosmology, atomic astrophysics, and astronomical instrumentation. The division participates in a number of international scientific collaborations around telescopes and satellites. We are looking for a PhD student in astrophysics, with focus on stellar activity and magnetism. This PhD student position is part of a 4-year research project financed by the Swedish Research Council. The principal investigator of the project, Prof. Oleg Kochukhov, will be the main supervisor for the doctoral student and will define their research tasks.

Duties
The successful candidate will work on detecting and characterizing stellar magnetic fields and related activity phenomena on stellar surfaces using observations with large optical and infrared telescopes. This research work will include collecting observation data at international astronomical facilities, analyzing the data with advanced computational methods, and comparison with theoretical models.

The doctoral student position is a 4-year appointment, and the candidate will primarily devote the time to their own research studies. Extension, up to a maximum of five years, is possible by including department duties at a level of at most 20%, typically teaching. The position is fully financed and the salary is in accordance with local guidelines at Uppsala University.

Requirements
To meet the entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must

• hold a Master’s (second-cycle) degree in astronomy, physics or a related discipline
• have completed at least 240 credits in higher education, with at least 60 credits at Master’s level including an independent project worth at least 15 credits, or
• have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way.

We are looking for candidates with

• a strong interest to pursue research in stellar astrophysics,
• good communication skills as well as good oral and written proficiency in English,
• excellent study results,
• personal characteristics such as a high level of creativity, thoroughness, structured approach to problem-solving, and ability to work both independently and in a team.

Additional qualifications
Previous experience of research and/or study in astronomy, study results, and programming skills will be considered a merit. The quality of scholarly writing (project reports, theses, publications) will be given significant weight. Interviews and aptitude tests may be conducted as part of the selection procedure.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date 2024-09-01 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala

For further information about the position, please contact: Prof. Oleg Kochukhov, +46-18-471-5993, oleg.kochukhov@physics.uu.se..

Please submit your application by 30 April 2024, UFV-PA 2024/604.

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