******************************************************************* BOLETIM ELETRÔNICO SAB N. 429 - 02/07/2008 ******************************************************************* SEÇÃO: OPORTUNIDADES - EVENTOS - INFORMES Responsável: Vera Ap.F. Martin (vmartin1963@gmail.com) ******************************************************************* 1. PhD POSITION: ON THE RELATION BETWEEN THE SHAPE OF DARK MATTER HALOS AND THEIR FORMATION HISTORY 2. WORKSHOP "EXPLORING THE HOT UNIVERSE WITH XEUS" 3. POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER POSITIONS AT CIDA 4. JOB VACANCY FOR A LYRA SCIENTIST 5. LANÇAMENTO LIVRO: "50 ANOS DA CRIAÇÃO DO CURSO DE ASTRONOMIA OBSERVATÓRIO DO VALONGO-UFRJ" 6. POSTDOC POSITIONS ON GAIA DATA ANALYSIS AND ALGORITHM DEVELOPMENT (HEIDELBERG, GERMANY) ******************************************************************* 1. PhD POSITION: ON THE RELATION BETWEEN THE SHAPE OF DARK MATTER HALOS AND THEIR FORMATION HISTORY (comunicado por Raimundo Lopes) A 4-year graduate studentship is available at the Kapteyn Institute for a PhD project supervised by Prof. Dr. Amina Helmi and Dr. Laura Sales. In the current cosmological paradigm, galaxies are surrounded by dark matter halos. These dark halos are built hierarchically, from the mergers of smaller systems. The goal of this project is to establish how their internal shape and structure is linked to this complex evolutionary history. The project involves the analysis of the highest resolution N-body simulations of a Milky Way-sized halo nowadays available, carried out in collaboration with the Virgo Consortium. Motivated students with a strong interest on theoretical and numerical models of structure formation are particularly encouraged to apply. The position is open to students of all nationalities with the equivalent of a Masters degree in Physics or Astronomy. Affinity with theoretical work is an asset as well as some programming experience (in C, fortran or idl). The starting date will be in the fall of 2008 or early 2009. The application should include a curriculum vitae with a list of grades, two reference letters, and a short summary of research interests and experience. These should arrive via email, FAX, or regular post preferably no later than 15 August 2008 addressed to: Prof. Dr. Amina Helmi Kapteyn Institute P.O. Box 800 9700 AV Groningen The Netherlands Tel: +31-50-3634045/4073 FAX:+31-50-3636100 e-mail: ahelmi@astro.rug.nl ==================================================================== 2. WORKSHOP "EXPLORING THE HOT UNIVERSE WITH XEUS" (comunicado por Raimundo Lopes) The following science meeting: "Exploring the Hot Universe with XEUS" will be held on September 17-19 2008 at the MPE, Garching, Germany. XEUS, the next generation X-ray observatory, has been selected as a candidate Large-class mission as part of ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 programme. Active study of the XEUS concept by ESA and JAXA is now underway in preparation for the Cosmic Vision downselection, expected at the end of 2009. The purpose of this workshop is to gather together members of the astronomical community with an interest in XEUS, to discuss the science we expect to be enabled by the mission. As well as summarising the current status of the project, topics to be covered include: - Evolution of black hole accretion and its relationship to galaxy formation - Growth and evolution of large scale structure - Matter under extreme physical conditions around black holes and neutron stars - Dynamics and chemistry of cosmic plasmas In addition a major component of the workshop will be devoted to identifying new science goals and drivers. More information is available at: http://www.mpe.mpg.de/xeus/workshop_mpe_2008.html Deadline for registration and abstract submission is July 30th 2008. ================================================================== 3. POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER POSITIONS AT CIDA (comunicado por Laerte Sodré Jr.) Postdoctoral Researcher Positions at CIDA June 2008 The Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomía "Francisco J. Duarte" (CIDA), advertises two (02) Postdoctoral Researcher positions. Both appointments will be made for an initial period of one (01) year, with the possibility of an extension to two (02) years, contingent on performance and funding. Starting date could be as early as September 2008. CIDA is an Astronomy and Astrophysics research institute that also operates the Venezuela National Astronomical Observatory (NAO). CIDA staff are presently engaged in theoretical research in Stellar population Synthesis, and in observational work on the Structure of the Milky Way, Galactic Star Formation, Star Formation in the Local Universe, and Astrometry. The prime instrument at the NAO, located at an altitude of 3600m in the Venezuelan Andes, is a 1m effective aperture Schmidt type telescope, equipped with a 8k x 8k CCD Mosaic Camera (QUEST I Camera), and also with a 1m aperture objective prism for wide field slitless spectroscopy. This equipment, optimized to work in drift-scan mode, is routinely used for large scale surveys of the equatorial sky. Other facilities include a 1m reflector, with a 2k x 2k, back illuminated, CCD camera, and a low dispersion slit spectrograph, a 0.65m aperture refractor equipped with a CCD camera and a 0.m Double Astrograph also equipped with a 2k x 2k CCD detector. CIDA headquarters are located in Merida, a scenic mountain city at an elevation of 1500 m in the Venezuelan Andes, with a population of approximately 400,000, enjoying an ideal 19 C average year-round temperature. Merida is host to the Universidad de los Andes (aprox. 40,000 students) and surrounded by mountains soaring up to 5000 m, most of which are part of the Sierra Nevada and Sierra de La Culata National parks. The starting monthly salary is Bs.F. 2,723/month (US$ 1,266.51/month), plus 1.5 months vacation bonus (after 1 year employment), plus 3 months bonus in December (paid in full 1 year employment). Also, all CIDA employees receive an additional Bs.F. 500 (US$ 232) approximately, monthly, for food purchases. The total anual income is aprox. Bs.F. = Bs.F. 50,929 (US$ 23,688) Other benefits include full health insurance, for both the researcher and his(her) spouse and 2 children, and a loan & savings fund system which is run by CIDA employees. Funding for computer equipment and travel are also provided. Requirements: Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Astronomy, Astrophysics, Physics or similar. Applicants should have a successful track record in scientific research. Succesful applicants are expected to establish collaborative work with researchers at CIDA or other institutions, and interact with students at CIDA. Applications containing the following should be sent to the address below, as soon as possible: - Curriculum Vitae - Photocopy of Doctorate or Ph.D. title - Publications list - An essay, written in spanish or english, in no more than 3 pages (with an additional 2 pages for figures and references), in which the applicant states the motivation to apply to the position, describes his(her) planned research activities, and how he(she) may interact with students at CIDA. - Three letters of recomendation by researchers with a solid academic track record to be sent independently to CIDA (can be by e-mail to the following address: briceno@cida.ve ). CIDA Att. Dr. César Briceno Av. Alberto Carnevali, La Hechicera (entrada Fundacite-Mérida) Mérida 5101 Venezuela Tlf.: +58-274-2450106, 2451450 Fax: +58-274-2451587 More information at http://www.cida.ve/, or write to briceno@cida.ve. ================================================================= 4. JOB VACANCY FOR A LYRA SCIENTIST (comunicado por Martin Makler) Job vacancy for a LYRA scientist Royal Observatory of Belgium Posted on 11 March 2008 Initial application deadline is 9 April 2008 NB: the post will remain open until a suitable candidate is found Profile: We are looking for a junior or senior scientist with the following profile: - Specialization in solar UV spectral irradiance and/or in solar flare research as evidenced by authorship in publications - Experience in (or large interest for) software engineering - Experience in (or large interest for) space instruments and their operations - Advanced knowledge of statistics or signal processing could be a plus - Team spirit as well as autonomy - High proficiency and interest in document writing - Knowledge of English Background information: The Solar Influences Data analysis Center (http://sidc.be) of the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) contributes to solar physics research and to the development of Space Weather monitoring. LYRA is an XUV-EUV-VUV solar irradiance radiometer (http://sidc.be/lyra) onboard the ESA PROBA2 mission to be launched in early 2009. Next to the LYRA radiometer sits an EUV coronal imaging telescope (SWAP, http://sidc.be/swap). The Principal Investigators of both instruments are located at SIDC. The upcoming operations and data exploitation of the SWAP and LYRA instruments promise to fulfill a whole range of interests, from fundamental research to service activities. Job description: Depending on the exact profile and expectations of the candidate, she/he will focus research on one of the potential topics enabled by LYRA: studying and modeling the chronological relationships of flares as observed in the four LYRA channels with high temporal resolution (several 10 Hz); recovering the UV solar spectrum via inversion methods maximizing synergies with other data (e.g. imaging); assessment of its overall performance or novel technologies (diamond detectors); etc. The successful candidate will actively join a small team who is specifying, implementing and who will execute the science operations of LYRA in collaboration with the SWAP team. The list of tasks includes planning and data reduction, but also archiving and data dissemination. Practical information: The Royal Observatory of Belgium is a Belgian federal institute in the southern green outskirts of Brussels (http://www.observatory.be). The SIDC is a team of about 30 researchers and technicians from different countries. French and Dutch are the official language of the country and the Royal Observatory, but English is most commonly spoken at the SIDC. The position is opened in the framework of an ESA/PRODEX project and is available immediately. The initial contract is for one year, with possibility of prolongations. Salary, social security and pension scheme are set according to Belgian rules. Interested candidates should send an application to J.-F. Hochedez (hochedez@oma.be). It must be written in English and contain a motivation letter, a CV, a list of publications, and e-mail addresses of two reference persons who can provide a recommendation. ===================================================================== 5. LANÇAMENTO LIVRO: "50 ANOS DA CRIAÇÃO DO CURSO DE ASTRONOMIA OBSERVATÓRIO DO VALONGO-UFRJ" (comunicado por Silvia Lorenz Martins) Nesta última quinta-feira, 26 de Junho, foi lançado o livro "50 Anos da Criação do curso de Astronomia - Observatório do Valongo-UFRJ". O lançamento foi no Salão Nobre do Centro de Ciências Matemáticas e da Natureza (CCMN/UFRJ). O livro busca resgatar parte da história da criação do curso e também da história do próprio Observatório do Valongo no Morro da Conceição. Exemplares para as bibliotecas de astronomia serão levados à reunião da SAB para distribuição. Silvia Lorenz Martins Diretora Observatorio do Valongo/UFRJ www.ov.ufrj.br ====================================================================== 6. POSTDOC POSITIONS ON GAIA DATA ANALYSIS AND ALGORITHM DEVELOPMENT (HEIDELBERG, GERMANY) (comunicado por Marcelo Borges) The Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) invites applications for two postdoctoral positions to work on preparations for the Gaia data processing. Gaia is an ESA mission due for launch in late 2011 to undertake an astrometric, photometric and spectroscopic survey of the Galaxy. The MPIA leads the European-wide subconsortium responsible for the object classification and physical parameter estimation and hosts a group of five Gaia scientists and software developers. The successful candidates will develop algorithms for classifying and analysing multivariate astronomical data. The work involves: basic research into machine learning algorithms; software development, testing and documentation; application of classification algorithms to simulated and real data; analysis of results; publication of methods and scientific results. 75% of the time is dedicated to Gaia while the remaining 25% may be spent working on related science projects in agreement with the project leader. The MPIA has over 200 employees working in a wide range of fields and is involved in a number of surveys, including Pan-STARRS, in which the candidates may participate. The applicant should have a PhD in the physical sciences (or equivalent research experience) and some knowledge of astronomy. Applicants must be able to program (Java knowledge is an advantage) and have experience with data processing, data mining or machine learning methods. One position (08-05) is available from 1 October 2008 (or after) through to 31 December 2010, the other (08-06) from 1 January 2009 through to 31 December 2011. Both positions are extendable, subject to performance and (an expected) continuation of funding. For postdocs the salary is on the public employee pay scale TVoed E13. To apply, please send a CV listing education, experience, skills and publications as well as a brief proposal for the science project(s) to Gaia postdoc positions Attn: Mrs. Koltes-Al-Zoubi Max-Planck-Institut fuer Astronomie Koenigstuhl 17 D-69117 Heidelberg Germany phone: +49 6221 528211 fax: +49 6221 528339 email: koltes AT mpia.de The deadline for applications is 1 September 2008. Applicants should also arrange for at least two letters of recommendation to be sent to the above address by the deadline. Informal enquiries to the project leader, Dr. Coryn Bailer-Jones (email: calj AT mpia.de), are welcome. For more information see the Gaia group homepage: http://www.mpia.de/GAIA/ The Max Planck Society is an equal opportunity employer. Applications from women, disabled people and minority groups are particularly welcome. ***********************************************************************