Kavli Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship

The Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU) and the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics (KIAA) at Peking University invites applications for the Kavli Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship. This independent prize fellowship starts in 2022, is four years in duration, and will be split between Kavli IPMU and KIAA.

The Kavli Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship will support outstanding postdoctoral scientists to carry out their independent research, with a preference for areas that intersect with the interests of Kavli IPMU and KIAA. The fellow will spend the first two years at Kavli IPMU and the following two years at KIAA, following a successful performance evaluation. The Fellowship is open to all applicants who will graduate prior to their expected start date, with a preference for those who received their PhD after 1 January 2019.  The fellowship offers annual compensation of $70,000/year and research funds of $10,000 per year, funded in part by the Kavli Foundation.

Kavli IPMU is a research institute with English as the working language, located on the Kashiwa campus of the University of Tokyo. It was established in 2007 with the ambitious goal to discover the fundamental laws of nature and to understand the universe from the synergistic perspectives of mathematics, theoretical and experimental physics, astronomy, and statistics. We have a diverse research staff with over half coming from overseas, strong international relations, an active visitor program, and a seminar and colloquium program that brings short-term visitors from abroad. Kavli IPMU is one of the leading institutions of the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) Survey, a 330-night Subaru campaign that began in March 2014. Kavli IPMU is also leading the development of Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS), which will conduct cosmology, galaxy evolution, and Galactic archaeology studies after the completion of the HSC program. At Kavli IPMU, the Fellow can apply for observing time on facilities available through the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), including the 8.2m Subaru Telescope, ALMA, Keck and Gemini Telescopes through the Subaru Time Exchange program.  Large computing resources are available at Kavli IPMU and on the national level.

KIAA is located on the historic grounds of Peking University in China, has English as the working language, and regularly sponsors thematic workshops and conferences to provide a platform for national and international scientific exchanges. Astronomy at PKU includes 25 faculty, 35 postdoctoral fellows, 80 graduate students, 120 undergraduates, and many visiting scholars.  KIAA is leading a wide range of scientific initiatives, including scientific development for the Chinese Space Station Telescope.  At KIAA, fellows can access observing time on Chinese national facilities, including FAST and LAMOST.

This year, we are considering applications with Kavli IPMU as the host for the first two years. Application materials need to be submitted to https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/fellowship/19829/apply. Applicants should submit the following:  CV, brief summary of research experience, 3-page plan of future research, and arrange for at least three confidential letters of recommendation to arrive by December 1. Questions may also be sent to IPMU at [email protected].