Postdoctoral position in observational astrophysics with focus on galactic chemical evolution

Are you interested in working with observational astrophysics, 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 postdoctoral position at Uppsala University.

The research conducted at the Department of Physics and Astronomy encompasses a wide range of physics topics, distributed over ten divisions. The Department is located in the Ångström Laboratory and employs nearly 400 people, 125 of whom are doctoral students. It offers a broad physics curriculum to undergraduate and graduate students, participation in leading national and international research projects, access to experimental and computing infrastructures, opportunities for partnership with industry and various outreach activities. For more information, please visit http://www.astro.uu.se

Project description
The Department of Physics and Astronomy invites applications for a postdoctoral position in observational astrophysics, studying galactic chemical evolution. The position is hosted by the Astronomy and Space Physics division. The project revolves around the development of galactic chemical evolution models and interpretation of stellar spectroscopic data taken with 4MOST (https://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/develop/instruments/4MOST.html), a spectroscopic facility of the world-class ESO Paranal Observatory in Chile.

Duties
The postdoctor will study the chemical evolution of stellar populations in the Milky Way and nearby dwarf galaxies.  There is the possibility of spectral analysis if the candidate is interested. The primary aim of the project is to levarage elemental abundance patterns measured for hundreds of thousands of stars in the Milky Way and nearby dwarf galaxies to understand the mass assembly history of the Milky Way. There is the possibility of developing a follow-up observational program for interesting targets.

The postdoctoral fellow will join the 4MOST project, and may join one of the 4MOST infrastructure working groups (max 20% of the time). The employee will work with VICE galactic chemical evolution models (https://pypi.org/project/vice/). Training to use VICE will be available to the candidate, therefore prior familiarity with the specific code is not necessary.

The postdoctoral fellow is expected to promote the research results via publication of scientific papers, give talks at international conferences and visit other research institutes to collaborate and give seminars. There is a budget available for the travel associated with these activities, but the postdoctoral fellow is also expected to apply for travel funds from external bodies, such as learned societies and research councils. The postdoctoral fellow is expected to contribute to the group’s daily scientific life and participate in meetings and similar with collaborators in Uppsala and elsewhere where we share our research results and have scientific discussions.

Work duties will include:

• Developing an understanding of galactic chemical evolution models to interpret galaxy evolution
• Interpreting large stellar datasets, in particular those coming from 4MOST, to understand the assembly history of the Milky Way
• Developing models of galactic chemical evolution using VICE to understand the assembly history of the Milky Way
• Actively seeking external research funding
• Collaboration and participation within the research group
• There is the opportunity to gain experience in supervising student research at the PhD, MSc and BSc level, as well as contribute to teaching courses within the division.

Requirements
PhD degree in Physics, Astronomy or equivalent or a foreign degree equivalent to a PhD degree in Physics, Astronomy or equivalent. The degree needs to be obtained by the time of the decision of employment. Those who have obtained a PhD degree three years prior to the application deadline are primarily considered for the employment. The starting point of the three-year frame period is the application deadline. Due to special circumstances, the degree may have been obtained earlier. The three-year period can be extended due to circumstances such as sick leave, parental leave, duties in labour unions, etc. Solid knowledge of at least one modern programming language is required, as is proficiency in written and spoken English.

Additional qualifications
Experience from previous scientific work on stellar spectroscopy and chemical evolution is considered a clear merit. Additional merits are experience with conducting observations, writing observation proposals, and scientific work on characterizing Milky Way accreted populations. Candidates will also be assessed on their potential for performing the relevant duties and contributing to the positive development of the research environment.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position of two years, with possibility of a third year according to central collective agreement. Full time position. Starting date 2024-09-16 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala.

For further information about the position, please contact: Eric Stempels, eric.stempels@physics.uu.se

Please submit your application by 3 May 2024, UFV-PA 2024/1107.

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