ASTRO-3D Postdoctoral Fellow in Galactic Archaeology

The Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3-Dimensions (ASTRO-3D) spans six (6) Australian universities, three (3) national infrastructure facilities, and seven (7) international partner institutions. ASTRO-3D combines Australia's leading optical, infrared and radio telescope technologies with sophisticated theoretical simulations and ambitious new data intensive science techniques to build a comprehensive picture of the evolution of matter, the chemical elements, and ionizing radiation in the Universe from the Epoch of Reionization to the present day.

ASTRO-3D (http://astro3d.org.au) and the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA) at ANU invite applications for a 3-year Postdoctoral Fellowship in Galactic archaeology and stellar physics with the GALAH survey (https://galah-survey.org).

The GALAH survey is an unprecedented stellar spectroscopic survey aimed at determining the chemical composition of one million stars to unravel the assembly, dynamical, star formation, and chemical history of the Milky Way. The GALAH survey is one of the main research projects of ASTRO-3D, which has recently been awarded AU$40M over 2017-2024. The GALAH survey is an international collaboration led from ANU and Sydney, with the stellar analysis spearheaded by ANU and MPIA. We are now looking for an energetic and collegial early career researcher to join the team to participate in any aspect of the GALAH survey: observations, spectroscopic analysis, and/or scientific exploitation of the unique GALAH dataset for Galactic archaeology and stellar physics. Both observational, theoretical and computational candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

The successful applicants will have the freedom to pursue an independent research program and have access to a generous travel budget.

The successful candidate will be part of the Galactic Archaeology and Stellar Physics research group at ANU, headed by Prof. Martin Asplund. The group currently consists of four professors, three ARC Future Fellows, five postdocs and eight PhD/MSc/undergraduate research students, and has an extensive network of national and international collaborators. The group is simultaneously one the largest user of 6-10m telescopes and supercomputing facilities in Australia. ANU astronomers have direct access to ESO telescopes at Paranal and La Silla, the Magellan telescopes, and the 4m Anglo-Australian Telescope in addition to telescopes owned by ANU (SkyMapper, 2.3m). ANU is a member of the Giant Magellan Telescope consortium. ANU scientists have priviliged partner access to the world-class NCI supercomputing facilities. ANU was recently ranked in the top-10 of all universities worldwide in the field of astronomy and space sciences.

The funding for this 3-year fellowship is in place from early 2018 with a negotiable starting date.

For more information, prospective applicants are encouraged to contact Prof. Martin Asplund E: [email protected]

Application information

In order to apply for this role please make sure that you upload the following documents:

• Cover letter
• Curriculum vitae (CV) with publication list
• Two page description of previous and present research
• Three page future research plan
• Statement addressing the selection criteria.
• Applicants should also arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent directly to Prof. Martin Asplund ([email protected]).

To be considered for this position, please ensure that the application and reference letters are submitted no later than 6 February 2018 (AEDT).

All applicants will be automatically considered also for the corresponding postdoctoral fellowships in Stellar Physics and Galactic Archaeology advertised contemporaneously; only one application and set of reference letters need to be submitted.