Event Horizon Telescope Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Black Hole Initiative

Event Horizon Telescope Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Black Hole Initiative

Applications are invited for postdoctoral positions at the Black Hole Initiative (BHI) at Harvard University (SAO), to work with the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) group. The BHI is the first interdisciplinary research center worldwide to focus on the study of black holes. It is located within Harvard University at 20 Garden Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The EHT is an international project to study event horizon scale physics at the boundary of the supermassive black holes at the center of the Milky Way (SgrA*) and in Virgo A (M87) using the technique of Very Long Baseline Interferometry.

On April 10th, 2019, the EHT announced the first images of M87 that revealed the predicted black hole ‘shadow’: a ring of light, bounded by the photon orbit of a 6.5 billion solar mass black hole. BHI Fellows in the EHT group will have access to EHT data and will be encouraged to take on leading roles in all aspects of the project, including observations, instrument development, data analysis, and studies of accretion, jet physics and black hole space-times.

We anticipate making two postdoc appointments, one with an instrumentation focus, and one with a science/software focus. Excellent candidates in both areas are encouraged to apply. The fellowships can start as early as the Fall of 2019. Applicants with experience in radio interferometry, high-performance computing, astronomy data pipelines, digital signal processing, mm/submm instrumentation, and black hole theory/simulation/modeling are encouraged to apply. There are multiple opportunities for the successful candidates to take on leading roles within the EHT.

Applicants must have a recent PhD in astronomy, engineering, or a related field. The grant-funded positions are for three years. A generous stipend as well as full Harvard benefits, research and travel funds and laptop/desktop computers will be provided. Relocation expenses may be provided.

Candidates should submit a pdf package consisting of a current CV, publication list and 1-2 pages summary of research interests with reference to EHT work and arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent directly to Barbara Elfman: [email protected] by 5:00pm EDT, Aug 15, 2019. Further information may be found at https://bhi.fas.harvard.edu and www.eventhorizontelescope.org; please direct any questions about applications to Barbara Elfman (Administrator of BHI) or about the projects/program to Shep Doeleman, EHT Director [email protected]
Women and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply. AAE/EOE.