UVA APOGEE Postdoctoral Research Associate

Submission Information
Publish Date: 
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Archive Date: 
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Job Summary
Job Category: 
Post-doctoral Positions and Fellowships
Institution Classification/Type: 
Large Academic
Institution/Company: 
University of Virginia, Department of Astronomy
City: 
Charlottesville
State/Province: 
VA
Country: 
United States of America
Announcement
Job Announcement Text: 

The Department of Astronomy at the University of Virginia (UVa) invites applications for The UVa-APOGEE Postdoctoral Research Associate. We seek applicants who will leverage opportunities provided by the department's investment in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), and the APOGEE project, in particular. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) in SDSS-III and its successor, APOGEE-2 in SDSS-IV, together comprise a high-resolution, near-infrared spectroscopic survey of the chemistry and dynamics of Milky Way stellar populations with observations from both the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico and Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. The UVa faculty includes the APOGEE and APOGEE-2 Principal Investigator, Instrument Scientist, Deputy Project Manager, and Instrument Laboratory Director as well as other members interested in APOGEE science. Much of the APOGEE instrumentation was designed and built in the department's instrument laboratory.

The UVa-APOGEE Postdoctoral Research Associate will pursue APOGEE-related research programs.  Collaboration with department faculty, postdocs and students is encouraged. Current faculty research interests include astronomical instrumentation, stellar populations and Galactic structure, planetary and exoplanetary astronomy, star formation and the interstellar medium, astrochemistry, computational astrophysics, supernovae, extragalactic astronomy, high-energy astrophysics, galaxy clusters, and cosmology. The Postdoctoral, Research Associate will also have access to the Department's other telescope resources, which include the 2 x 8.4-m Large Binocular Telescope, the ARC 3.5-m Telescope at Apache Point Observatory (APO), the telescopes of Steward Observatory, as well as local telescopes at Fan Mountain and McCormick Observatory. Applicants are requested to include in their submitted materials a description of how they would make use of proprietary access to APOGEE-2 data (which includes data from SDSS-III/APOGEE) in their research, and areas of potential collaboration with department members. Applicants should also describe any employment of SDSS and/or other large Milky Way survey data in their previous research, as well as potential Interests in use of data from the other SDSS-IV surveys, eBOSS, which obtains precision measurements of key cosmological parameters, and MaNGA, which generates spatially resolved spectroscopic maps of individual galaxies.


The UVa-APOGEE Postdoctoral, Research  Associate will be offered a competitive salary commensurate with experience. Candidates must have a Ph.D. in Physics, Astronomy or related field by the appointment start date. The initial appointment is for one year, but may be renewed for up to an additional two, contingent on available funding and satisfactory performance. The anticipated start date is September 1, 2016.

To apply, please electronically submit a cover letter, CV with publication list, and statement of research (including the information requested above) through Jobs@UVa (https://jobs.virginia.edu). Please search for posting number 0618581.

Please arrange to have three letters of recommendation emailed to:

Jennifer Sobeck, [email protected].

For full consideration, all application materials should be received by June 15, 2016. Review of all applications will begin immediately. Questions regarding the candidate profile process or Jobs@UVA should be directed to:

Barbara K. Johnson, [email protected]


The University of Virginia is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer committed to diversity, equity and inclusiveness. Women, Minorities, Veterans and Persons with Disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Included Benefits: 

Benefits Included

Application Deadline: 
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Current Status of Position: 
No Status Given (Opted Out)
Apply to Job
Attention To: 
Jennifer Sobeck
Title: 
Project Manager
Institution/Company: 
University of Virginia
Street Line 1: 
530 McCormick Rd
Street Line 2: 
PO Box 400325
City: 
Charlottesville
State/Province: 
VA
Zip/Postal Code: 
22904
Country: 
United States of America
Phone: 
434-924-9569
FAX: 
434-924-3104
Inquiries About Job