UKZN--NAOC Joint Postdoctoral fellowship on Cosmology and Radio astronomy

The key laboratory of computational astrophysics in National Astronomical Observatory (NAOC) of China, and the Astrophysics and Cosmology Research Unit in University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) invites application for a few joint postdoctoral research fellows in various subjects of astrophysics with emphasis on radio astronomy, cosmology and large-scale structure simulation. The postdoctoral fellowship is within the scheme of South Africa—China collaboration in astronomy and NAOC—UKZN Computational Astrophysics Centre (NUCAC), and will aim to use the large survey projects developing in the two countries to do research. The positions with four research foci are listed below.

Number of positions       Research areas                   Possible projects/research topics to involve                                          SA collaborators                                     China collaborators

           2                              21-cm cosmology                    MeerKAT, SKA, BINGO, HIRAX, &                              Yin-Zhe Ma, Jon Sievers,Kavilan Moodley (UKZN) &          Yi Mao (Tsinghua),Xuelei Chen, &

                                                                                                        HERA, Tianlai, FAST, 21CMA                                                 Mario Santos (UWC)                                                           Xiang-Ping Wu (NAOC)

           2                   Computational Astrophysics        Numerical modeling  of Galaxy formation, SZ effect,       Yin-Zhe Ma, Kavilan Moodley (UKZN), &            Liang Gao, Jie Wang, Qi Guo (NAOC)

                                                                                                       cluster and 21-cm surveys                                                         Romeel Dave (UWC)     

          1                    Cosmology with galaxy                   SDSS-III, SDSS-IV, TAIPAN                                      Yin-Zhe Ma, Kavilan Moodley (UKZN), &                         Gong-Bo Zhao (NAOC)

                                          surveys and theory                                                                                                                    Roy Maartens (UWC), Sergio Colafrancesco (Wits) 

          1                       FAST HI and Cosmology                    FAST & SKA                                                 Yin-Zhe Ma, Kavilan Moodley, Jon Sievers (UKZN) &          Di Li, Bo Peng, Xuelei Chen (NAOC)

                                     and Synergy with SKA-I                                                                                                                             Mario Santos (UWC)  

PERIOD and WORKING MODE:  The candidate is expected to spend first year in Durban/South Africa or in Beijing/China and second year reverse to work on collaboration, and the third year will depend on performance and funding.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Ph.D. in astronomy, astrophysics, computational physics or related field completed or expected by effective date, and obtained within the last 3 years at the time of application.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: significant computational skills, parallel programming and data analysis skills.

DEADLINE: 28th February (full consideration), although late application is also accepted until the position is filled.

INQUIRY: Please address the inquiry to Yin-Zhe Ma ([email protected]) or Xuelei Chen ([email protected]).

SUBMISSION: please submit your CV with publication list, a brief research statement highlighting the qualifications and interests, and 3 letters of reference letters to the email address “[email protected]”, and indicate the research area you apply in the title of the email.