The Research institute in Astrophysics and Planetology (IRAP) (http://www.irap.omp.eu/index.php/eng/irap) is located on the campus of the University Paul Sabatier of Toulouse, France. The extragalactic research group at IRAP (http://www.irap.omp.eu/index.php/eng/research/research-groups/gahec2) seeks PhD candidates with very good coursework and outstanding motivation to produce original science in the field of galaxy formation and evolution. The research group is involved in several international projects (e.g. MUSE, Planck, Euclid, SVOM) .
The PhD student will work on forefront research with high quality observations obtained recently with state-of-the-art spectrographs such as SINFONI, Xshooter and MUSE in the very near future. The MUSE instrument (http://muse.univ-lyon1.fr/) --a second generation instrument for the ESO/VLT telescopes-- is the world largest IFU (1'x1') and most sensitive spectrograph. It will start operation in early 2013 and the IRAP institute is part of the MUSE consortium.
Successful candidates are expected to apply formally to the graduate program at the University Paul Sabatier in June 2012. The appointment will start in the Fall of 2012 and will be for up to three years. Salaries and benefits are granted according to the French public salary scale.
Possibility to spend part of the time at University of California Santa Barbara, California.
Interested students are strongly encouraged to send inquiries to Nicolas.Bouche@irap.omp.eu or Thierry.Contini@irap.omp.eu for further information on the project. Undergraduate research experience will be valued but is not required. The application material (letter of intent, transcript summary and reference letters) should be sent electronically to Nicolas.Bouche@irap.omp.eu. Applications from women and minorities are encouraged.
Deadline for application is April 15th 2012.
