Associate Lecturer in high-rate accretion

The ICRAR node at Curtin University, Perth, Australia, invites applications for a three-year Associate Lecturer position, focused on research into tidal disruption events and ultraluminous X-ray sources. The successful applicant will be expected to lead an observational research program to investigate the launching of jets and outflows from black holes accreting at and above the Eddington limit, working in close collaboration with the eROSITA_DE Time Domain working group. The candidate will design, conduct and analyse follow-up observations of new tidal disruption events and ultraluminous X-ray sources with ground-based radio and optical telescopes, aiming to understand the physics of accretion and ejection processes at their most extreme.

The successful candidate will have a well-established track record, with observational or theoretical experience in this field of research. Collaborating with the accretion physics and slow transients group at ICRAR-Curtin University, she or he will be expected to undertake data processing and modelling, lead peer-reviewed publications, present key research outcomes at relevant conferences or workshops, and participate in grant funding applications where appropriate. Opportunities for supervision of undergraduate or postgraduate research students will be available, and if desired there may also be the opportunity to engage in some undergraduate teaching.

Full details for this position (including how to apply) can be found at https://staff.curtin.edu.au/job-vacancies/?ja-job=85580. Candidates are strongly encouraged to include with their application a document outlining how they meet the selection criteria (“What you will bring to the role”). Interested applicants are invited to discuss further with Professor James Miller-Jones.

The position will be based at the Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy (CIRA), which is located in Perth, Western Australia, and has recently been ranked amongst the top twenty most liveable cities in the world (The Economist, 2018). CIRA comprises over 80 staff and PhD students, primarily focused on radio astronomy research, but also spanning many other aspects of observational astronomy, radio astronomy engineering, applications of high performance computing in astronomy, and astrophysics theory.

CIRA forms one half of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) Joint Venture with The University of Western Australia. CIRA researchers maintain excellent linkages with these and other national and international groups, and make extensive use of the nearby Pawsey Supercomputing Centre.

CIRA is at the forefront of low frequency radio astronomy research as the manager and operator of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA; www.mwatelescope.org). The MWA is a fully-operational Square Kilometre Array (SKA) precursor facility, undertaking science programs spanning transients, pulsars, Galactic and extragalactic radio astronomy, the Epoch of Reionisation, solar and ionospheric physics, as well as radio astronomy engineering. The results of these programs contribute to the international SKA project (www.skatelescope.org).

Curtin University embraces diversity and inclusion and invites applications from women, men and intersex individuals who share the University's values, ethics, international outlook, value diversity and have an informed respect for indigenous people. We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to provide a positive, barrier-free recruitment process and supportive workplace, therefore, if you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of application. We will then work with you to identify the best way to assist you through the recruitment process. All personal information will be kept confidential in compliance with relevant privacy legislation.