Postdoctoral Position in Pre-Main-Sequence Variable Stars

• Category: Post-doctoral Positions and Fellowships
• Institution: Universidad de Valparaíso
• Department: Instituto de Física y Astronomía
• Number of Positions Available: 1
• Work Arrangement: In person

Job Description

The Institute for Physics and Astronomy of the Universidad de Valparaíso (IFA-UV, Chile) invites applications for a postdoc position to work with Prof. Zhen Guo on the topic of pre-main-sequence variability, particularly on the follow-up observations of the protostellar episodic accretion process.

The project will be carried out with the members of the IFA-UV and the VVVX survey team. The candidate is expected to support graduate students from IFA and is encouraged to participate in teaching/outreach activities. We seek highly qualified and motivated researchers with a background in the observational science of star formation and variable stars. The candidate should have a PhD degree in relevant fields before the starting date. Candidates with experience in optical/IR spectroscopic and photometric observations are highly recommended.

The postdoc position is funded for 2 years, with potential extension subject to the availability of external grants. The candidate will be encouraged/supported to apply for additional funding (e.g. FONDECYT fellowship). The selected candidate will become a member of the Chilean community with access to 10% of the time on all observatories in Chile, including ESO, Gemini, Magellan, ALMA and membership to LSST surveys. The selected candidate will also be part of the China-Chile Joint Research Fund (“The Rowdy Planetary Nursery”; PI: Zhen Guo; Xuesong Wang), offering a generous allowance for international congresses and academic visits.

IFA-UV is located in the coastal city of Valparaíso, a famous UNESCO site. The successful candidates will join the vibrant atmosphere of the IFA-UV, composed of 20 faculties, 7 postdocs, 30 postgraduate and over 150 undergraduate students. The annual salary of this position is $30.000.000 CLP, which will guarantee a comfortable lifestyle in the urban areas of Valparaíso or Viña del Mar. The annual operational budget is $5.000.000 CLP plus a total of $5000 USD travel budget.

Applicants should fill out the application form by sending a cover letter, a CV, a research statement (max. 3 pages), and 3 contacts to solicit reference letters from. The application should be directly sent to Prof. Zhen Guo (zhen.guo@uv.cl) under the title “ALMA Postdoc (Name of the applicant)”. The deadline for the application is 15th Jan 2025. Late applications will be considered until the position is filled. The anticipated starting date is between April to August 2025.