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Postdoctoral Research Associate in Galaxy Evolution (theory)

Postdoctoral Research Associate in Galaxy Evolution (observational)

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PhD positions

PhD-position "Astrochemistry and Protoplanetary Disk Research [PDF]" -  Inga Kamp 

The Kapteyn Astronomical Institute of the University of Groningen invites applications for 3-5 PhD positions.

The four-year PhD program consists mostly of research under the supervision of one or more faculty members. Positions are available in all the research areas in which the Institute is active. These include cosmology and large scale structure, galaxy formation and evolution, star formation and interstellar medium, compact objects and instrumentation. More information about research at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute can be found at http://www.rug.nl/sterrenkunde/

The Kapteyn Astronomical Institute is part of the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA), and is world-wide recognised by the quality of its research in multiple areas of Astronomy. With 15 faculty and 50 PhD students it is the second largest astronomical institute in the Netherlands.  Groningen, a historic town in the North of the Netherlands, occupies a strategic place within Dutch Astronomy, as it hosts both the Kapteyn Institute and one of the two divisions of the Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON) at the same location. At the instituute, English is the common language.
During their thesis, Kapteyn PhD students are paid as civil servants, which means that they earn competitive salaries (the current annual gross salary, including allowances, increases from about EUR 28,000 in year 1 to about EUR 36,000 in year 4) and are eligible for both social security and retirement benefits. PhD positions are funded for four years.

We are looking for an excellent graduate student, with a background in Physical Sciences, who is willing to obtain a PhD degree from a top European University. The successful candidate should hold a Master degree or equivalent in Astronomy, Physics or related disciplines, by the time of starting the position. Previous research experience and computer programming skills will be important criteria
for the selection. The PhD position is unrestricted by nationality.

Applicants should send a CV, transcripts of study records (with grades), and a brief statement of past research and research interests to Prof. Reynier Peletier (directeur@astro.rug.nl). They should also arrange for two reference letters to be sent to this electronic address before the application deadline. The starting dates are negotiable.

Complete applications received by December 16, 2011 will receive full consideration.

Research projects include:

1. A study of physical processes in high-redshift massive galaxies. The PhD project will mainly involve the data reduction and scientific exploitation of a new programme, consisting of very deep, multi-object spectroscopy that is currently being taken with the FORS2 spectrograph on the VLT. It will also include the analysis of existing multi-wavelength data from other ground based and space telescopes, and modelling. Further follow up of the target galaxies with e.g. other VLT instruments and ALMA is also expected.
Information: Karina Caputi (kic@roe.ac.uk)

2. A number of PhD positions in theoretical and observational 21 cm cosmology. The positions are all connected to the LOFAR Epoch of Reionization group. The LOFAR Epoch of Reionization (EoR) key science project is the project that will carry out this very challenging observation and analyze its results. The project will map the Universe's Epoch of Reionization in a number of fields of view with arc-minute resolution. Each field will contain about a 100 square degree over 115-190 MHz frequency range (i.e., redshifts range of about 11.5-6.5). The project is led by Prof. Ger de Bruyn (ger@astron.nl), Dr. Michiel Brentjens (brentjens@astron.nl), Prof. Leon Koopmans (koopmans@astro.rug.nl) and Prof. Saleem Zaroubi (saleem@astro.rug.nl). Information: saleem@astro.rug.nl.

3. A study of the Tully-Fisher Relation as part of the DAGAL (Detailed Anatomy of GALaxies) EU International Training Network. DAGAL invites applications for 8 junior scientist (PhD) positions, covering observational and numerical research into galaxy evolution in the nearby Universe. Nodes of this network are the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias in Tenerife (coordinator), Universidad Complutense de Madrid, the Max Planck Insitute for Astrophysics in Heidelberg, the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, the University of Groningen, and the University of Oulu. In Groningen the PhD student will work on galaxy evolution using Spitzer imaging and HI data cubes using the new Apertif instrument on the Westerbork Radio Telescope. Information can be obtained from Marc Verheijen (verheyen@astro.rug.nl) and Reynier Peletier (peletier@astro.rug.nl).

4. Three PhD projects are available in the area of HI synthesis imaging of galaxies, advanced pattern recognition methods and cosmological hydro-simulations of galaxies.

The PhD students will be part of a team which will prepare for and carry out HI surveys with APERTIF on the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. APERTIF is the new radio camera on the WSRT which will increase its survey speed by over a factor 20. The team is preparing
for both the observational and theoretical aspects of HI surveys aimed at measuring galaxy evolution by probing the HI. The team is led by Thijs van der Hulst (Kapteyn, vdhulst@astro.rug.nl) in close collaboration with Marc Verheijen (Kapteyn), Tom Oosterloo (ASTRON/Kapteyn) and Joop Schaye(Leiden), who are part of vibrant research environments in Groningen, Dwingeloo and Leiden respectively.

The projects are challenging and entail: a. analysis and interpretation of blind WSRT surveys of volumes with greatly different galaxy densities to study the influence of the environment on galaxy structure and evolution; b. designing and testing automated 3D pattern recognition and characterization methods for describing the HI properties of galaxies; and c. studying the 'observability' of high resolution cosmological simulations and performing additional simulations in order to get a set of models which matches the observations in support of their interpretation.

Kapteyn Institute related projects

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