Applications are invited for a postdoctoral position at the GEPI (Galaxies-Etoiles-Physique-Instrumention) laboratory of "Observatoire de ¨Paris". The position requires a Ph.D. in astronomy/astrophysics, and candidates should have experience in research on either interstellar medium (ISM) or stellar spectroscopy, theory and modeling or data analysis.
The successful applicant will carry out collaborative research with Dr Rosine Lallement and colleagues from GEPI and participate to the construction of three-dimensional maps of the Milky Way interstellar gas and dust, and to studies of the multi-phase ISM in general. Central to the proposed research is the Gaia-ESO Survey (GES), a 4/5 years long spectroscopic survey in progress with the FLAMES/GIRAFFE multiplex spectrograph at the ESO-VLT, as well as the preparation of the data analysis of the ESA cornerstone mission Gaia, to be launched in a year. Gaia will provide unprecedented data that will revolutionize our knowledge of the Milky Way stars and ISM, and the mission as well as ground-based surveys in support to it like GES offer a unique opportunity to conduct in parallel and in synergy stellar and interstellar spectroscopic analyses, in particular with the aim of extracting interstellar absorption lines and diffuse bands as well as stellar extinction everywhere in the Galaxy, and building 3D maps based on those data. Future GEPI collaborators have a leading role in the GES analysis and in the Gaia data processing, and the successful applicant will have access to the GES data (Gaia data will be made public immediately after their obtention).
The appointement will be for one year, renewable for a second and a third year. The salary is from Euros 30,000 to 33,800 per year, depending on years of post-doc. 25% of time will be preserved for the own research of the candidate. Funds are provided by the French research Agency (ANR) in the frame of the collaborative project STILISM between GEPI, IRFU/AIM (CEA/Saclay) and ACRI-ST (Sofia-Antipolis). The starting date should be preferentially before January, 2014, ideally in September 2013.
Interested candidates should send a curriculum vitae, publications list and statement of research interests by May, 2013. Letters of reference can be sent separately or jointly with the application. Any question about the position can also be e-mailed to the same address below. Review of the applications will start in May and continue until the position is filled.
