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PhD Research Fellow in Cosmology (one-two possitions)

Deadline: 16.02.2021

Universitetet i Oslo

The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest rated institution of research and education with 28 000 students and 7000 employees. Its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally esteemed research communities make UiO an important contributor to society.


The Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics is part of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. It presently has 15 permanent professors/associate professors. The Institute employs about 15 postdoctoral and senior research fellows and has about 25 Ph.D. students. The research activity of the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics is concentrated around solar physics, cosmology and extragalactic astrophysics.

Job description

One or two position as PhD Research Fellow in cosmology are available at the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo. Starting date no later than October 1, 2021.

The fellowship period is 4 years, with 3 years devoted to research education. The position entails a compulsory workload of 25% that may consist of teaching, supervision duties, and research assistance.

More about the position

These positions are associated with the CMB&CO research group at the University of Oslo, which focuses on data analysis of past, current and future cosmological data sets. As a PhD student in this group, you will be part of a large and active community working together to model and understand the physics of the universe from the Milky Way to the Big Bang. Currently the group consists of 3 permanent staff members, 4 post-doctoral fellows, 10 PhD students, and 4 Master students. We have a collaborative work environment with active mentoring, frequent group meetings and a social atmosphere, and value a gender balanced and inclusive environment. Central research projects include COMAP, LiteBIRD, PASIPHAE, Planck, and SPIDER, and multi-experiment work is highly encouraged. The group has a large international network of collaborators, and as a PhD student you will have many opportunities to travel and collaborate with researchers at other institutions.

The first of the two positions is primarily associated with the COMAP experiment, which aims to map the evolution of star formation in the early universe through the new and promising technique of CO intensity mapping. COMAP is a new experiment that is currently taking data from Owens Valley, mapping out the structure of carbon monoxide density in ten billion years old galaxies. As a PhD student, you will be involved in the full process from data acquisition to final astrophysical interpretation, focusing primarily on statistical data analysis and high-performance computing. In addition, you will be free to work on other projects within and outside our group.

The second position, which is subject to available funding, is open to all fields covered by the ERC-funded Cosmoglobe (PI: Prof. Ingunn Wehus) and bits2cosmology (PI: Prof. Hans Kristian Eriksen) projects.

More relevant information is available here:

https://www.mn.uio.no/astro/english/research/research-projects/cmbco

http://cosmoglobe.uio.no

https://github.com/cosmoglobe

https://www.mn.uio.no/astro/english/research/research-projects/comap

Qualification requirements

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

Candidates for this position are required to have a Master’s degree or equivalent in astronomy, physics, informatics or a related field. Foreign degrees at the M.Sc-level must correspond to a minimum of four years in the Norwegian educational system. Candidates are encouraged to apply before the completion of their Master degree, as long as their final exams take place on or before 30 June, 2021.

Grade requirements:

The norm is as follows:

  • the average grade point for courses included in the Bachelor’s degree must be C or better in the Norwegian educational system
  • the average grade point for courses included in the Master’s degree must be B or better in the Norwegian educational system
  • the Master’s thesis must have the grade B or better in the Norwegian educational system
  • Fluent oral and written communication skills in English.
  • English requirements for applicants from outside of EU/ EEA countries and exemptions from the requirements.

Personal skills

As a PhD student in this position, much of your job will consist of independent problem solving supported by the rest of the group. You will be trained in problem solving, programming, data modelling and analysis, scientific writing, and public presentation. Specific technologies that are commonly used in the group include Fortran, Python, high-performance computing, MPI, Commander, Git and Latex. Familiarity with some of these concepts will be an asset, but are not required at the time of application.

The purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree.

The fellowship requires admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The application to the PhD programme must be submitted to the department no later than two months after taking up the position. For more information see:

http://www.uio.no/english/research/phd/

http://www.mn.uio.no/english/research/phd/

We offer

  • Salary NOK 482 200 – 526 000 per annum depending on qualifications and seniority as PhD Research Fellow (position code 1017)
  • Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement
  • Vibrant international academic environment
  • Career development programmes
  • Oslo’s family-friendly surroundings with their rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities
  • A generous personal equipment and travel allowance of NOK 60 000 per year
  • Access to excellent in-house computing facilities
  • A corona-friendly work environment :-)

How to apply

The application must include:

  • Cover letter - statement of motivation and research interests
  • CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work - scientific publications)
  • Copies of the original Bachelor and Master’s degree diploma, transcripts of records and
  • Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)
  • Reference letters sent directly from the references to i.k.wehus@astro.uio.no by the application deadline
  • Source code of a self-written computer program, either in the form of a link to a Git repository or as a PDF file
  • Documentation of English proficiency

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system (please follow the link “Apply for this job”). Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English or a Scandinavian language.

Applicants may be called in for an interview.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships at the University of Oslo.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

The University of Oslo aims to achieve a balanced gender composition in the workforce and to recruit people with ethnic minority backgrounds. The University of Oslo seeks in particular to increase its number of female scientists, and women are particularly encouraged to apply.

Contact information

For thechnical questions regarding the recruitment system; contact Elin Thoresen, elin.thoresen@mn.uio.no.

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