The Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics of Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (DAA-PUC) invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Astronomy and Astrophysics in the area of simple and composite stellar populations modeling. The successful candidate will pursue projects with Prof. Thomas H. Puzia related to the interpretation of data from the Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey-IR (http://tiny.cc/ngvs-ir) and the Panchromatic High-Resolution Spectroscopic Survey of Local-Group Star Clusters using the ESO/X-SHOOTER spectrograph. The postdoctoral fellow will also be expected to contribute actively to the scientific exploitation of these data. The focus of possible projects could be on the population of star clusters and other compact objects detected in the NGVS-IR field and/or on high spectral resolution SED modeling. However, other topics can be considered based on the experience of the candidate.
DAA-PUC provides a stimulating and vibrant international environment with 16 faculty, about a dozen postdocs, and over 30 graduate students (www.astro.puc.cl). While resident at DAA-PUC, the postdoctoral fellow will have direct access to 10% of observing time on all telescopes in Chile, including ESO/ALMA, ESO/Paranal's 4x8m VLT and 4m VISTA, La Silla’s 3.5m NTT and the 3.6m and 2.2m telescopes, Gemini-South 8m, Carnegie's 2.5m and Magellan 2x6.5m, CTIO's 4m (Blanco), SOAR 4m, as well as ASTE and APEX. Additionally, DAA-PUC hosts a supercomputer which is used for numerical simulations and analysis work on large datasets, to which the candidate will have full access.
The offered position is tenable for an initial appointment of two years with the possibility of an extension for one further year subject to performance and availability of funds. In addition to their salary and benefit package, the fellow will receive support for
conference travel, publication page charges, and computer equipment.
Candidates must have acquired their PhD in astronomy or closely related field or must be expecting to complete their doctoral degree requirements before taking up their postdoctoral fellowship in late 2012. Applicants should prepare a cover letter, curriculum vitae, a publication list, and a statement of research interests (max. three pages) and send the materials electronically and in pdf format to tpuzia@astro.puc.cl by March 15th, 2012. In addition, applicants should arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent before the application deadline directly by email to the above address.
DAA-PUC encourages applications from women and minorities.
