Call for applications for postdoctoral fellowships PSL in astrophysics at Paris Observatory

Applications are solicited for three PSL post-doctoral fellowships in astrophysics at Paris Observatory. The positions are funded for one year, renewable for a second year on the basis of satisfactory performance.

PSL is a new university, comprising nine research and higher education member institutions, in the fields of sciences, humanities and arts, such as the Paris École Normale Supérieure, Paris-Dauphine University, Paris Observatory, etc, and involving as well ten associate institutions.

Paris Observatory is one of the largest astronomical centres in the world with 650 permanent staff out of a total of 1000 personnel, and 840 publications per year. It represents one third of French astronomy with teams covering a wide range of fields and participating in the largest instrumental, theoretical/numerical and experimental projects of modern astronomy. Teams are mostly resident on three sites, two are located in the Paris area (Paris and Meudon), and the third is the Nançay astronomical radio observatory.

Paris Observatory is part of a rich astronomical environment in the Paris area comprising about 600 scientists involved in a common program Astrophysics and Conditions for the Emergence of Life coordinated by Paris Observatory.

Successful applicants will be expected to conduct research related to the priorities of the Paris Observatory laboratories, of the Virtual Observatory Paris Astronomical Data Centre, and to the themes and programs highlighted by the Paris Observatory Scientific Council for the 2019 – 2023 period:

• Solar physics and heliosphere
•  Solar system
• Exoplanets and conditions for life
• Stellar physics
• The Galaxy
• Cosmology, galaxy formation and evolution
• Interstellar medium
• High-energy astrophysics, compact objects, Active Galactic Nuclei
• Fundamental physics and gravitational waves
• High performance computing in astrophysics
• Laboratory physics and astrophysics

Fellowships are open to applicants from any nationality. Only research plans developed in coordination with a team from Paris Observatory will be eligible.

Please send us:

• A CV (including date of birth);
• A two-year research program including a plan for the first year – limited to a maximum of 4 pages;
• A complete list of publications and a separate list of first-author publications;
• The PhD certificate or, if not yet earned, the date of defence;
• A support letter from the hosting team;

The application must consist of a single pdf file whose size may not exceed 2 Mbytes.

Two letters of reference must be sent directly by scientists outside of the Paris Observatory.

All documents must be drawn up in English.

Fellowships will normally start between September and December 2020.