SCEECS Postdoctoral Positions

The Simons Collaboration on Extreme Electrodynamics of Compact Sources (SCEECS) is advertising up to fourteen SCEECS Fellowships for postdoctoral researchers working in fields relevant to the collaboration. The positions will be for up to 3 years and will offer competitive salaries, in the range $65k-85k, and benefits. Most appointments are anticipated to begin in the fall of 2024, though earlier start dates can be entertained, if appropriate.

SCEECS is a new, multi-national, collaboration that focuses on the theory of neutron stars and black holes, building on recent astrophysical discoveries and upcoming experimental opportunities that confront classical and quantum electrodynamics with new challenges. With a highly synergistic research approach, we are addressing these challenges by following a methodology that is both “bottom up” and “top down” to span a vast range of length scales. These approaches involve the physics of collisionless relativistic plasmas (including in strong QED fields), relativistic magnetohydrodynamics and the physics of dense matter of relevance to the interior of neutron stars. We encourage candidates with expertise in any of these and neighboring physics subfields to apply. The new postdoctoral researchers will be able to join ongoing projects within the collaboration and develop their own, original, research programs.

The Principal Investigators and Co-Principal Investigators collaborating on SCEECS are Roger Blandford, Stanford, Director ([email protected]), Sasha Philippov, Maryland, Deputy Director ([email protected]), Richard Anantua, U Texas, San Antonio, ([email protected]), Matt Caplan, Illinois State ([email protected]), Katerina Chatziioannou, Caltech, ([email protected]), Ke Fang ([email protected]) and Ellen Zweibel ([email protected]), U. Wisconsin,  Sam Gralla, Arizona, ([email protected]), Yuri Levin ([email protected]) and Lorenzo Sironi ([email protected]), Columbia, Amir Levinson, Tel Aviv, ([email protected]), Tsvi Piran, Hebrew University, ([email protected]), Anatoly Spitkovsky, Princeton ([email protected]), Chris Thompson, CITA, ([email protected]), and Yajie Yuan, Washington University at St Louis ([email protected]). Applications made in response to this advertisement, as well as those made through the institutions of collaborating investigators that designate SCEECS, will be considered by the entire collaboration.

Candidates for these positions should have, or expect to receive, a Ph.D. in astronomy or physics prior to starting their appointment. They should provide a curriculum vitae, including a publication list and a 3-page statement of research interests and plans, and arrange to have three letters of recommendation submitted. In addition, applicants should indicate the preferred institutions to hold a fellowship and are invited, as a component of their research statement, to discuss their experience with or commitment to engaging in mentoring, outreach, teaching, fostering inclusive environments and activities that diversify the field. We also encourage applicants to follow the structure of the AAS advice on the content of CVs and research statements given here: https://jobregister.aas.org/postdoc-application-guidelines

Application materials should be submitted at https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/25399. The deadline for applications, through AcademicJobsOnline, is November 15, 2023. Late applications will be considered at the discretion of the search committee. More information about SCEECS can be found at https://www.simonsceecs.com/

Informal enquiries about these positions can be directed to [email protected].