Postdoctoral Fellowships at Universidad de Chile

The Department of Astronomy (DAS) at Universidad de Chile invites applications for sponsorship to the FONDECYT Postdoctoral Fellowships in observational, theoretical, and/or computational astrophysics and instrumentation. Selected candidates will be sponsored by a DAS faculty member to apply for a 3-year fellowship, awarded annually by the Chilean funding agency CONICYT to begin on or around March 2020. Successful applicants are expected to collaborate with their DAS sponsor and pursue their independent research for the duration of the fellowship. The postdoctoral fellow can apply for the guaranteed-time available to Chilean institutions on all telescope facilities in the country.

The DAS fosters an engaging and scientifically productive environment, with 24 faculty members and over 40 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. Multi-wavelength expertise and a wide array of research fields are pursued by our members: from the solar system and planet formation, to cosmology and the high redshift universe, including instrumentation development. The DAS, one of the leading astronomy centers in Chile, hosts large internationally recognized collaborations like the Chile-China Center, CCJCA, and the UMI-FCA, along with major research and technology grants such as CATA. Super-computing facilities are also available locally, and through the National Laboratory for High Performance Computing, NLHPC, at Universidad de Chile. The DAS also hosts the Millimeter-wave Laboratory which designs, builds, and tests receivers for use in radio-astronomy, along with ALMA instrumentation development.

Applications for sponsorship need to be arranged with the DAS selected sponsor as early as possible, possible faculty members are here. To ensure that the required materials are collated before the FONDECYT deadline, applicants should send the following documents to Prof. Laura Pérez ([email protected]) by July 8, 2019: 

a. one-page cover letter indicating PhD award date (or expected), name of possible faculty sponsor from DAS, and names of 3 professional references

b. CV with publication list

c. Research summary (3 page max.)

Applicants should contact potential DAS sponsors at the earliest opportunity, in order to develop the strongest possible research plan. Sponsorship is required for the FONDECYT application but does not guarantee success. As an equal opportunity employer the DAS emphatically encourages applications from proposers of all nationalities, underrepresented minorities, and especially those from women.