A postdoctoral position is available within the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) project. The postdoctoral researcher will be employed by the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (BAERI, baeri.org, be part of the IRIS team (iris.lmsal.com), and work in Palo Alto, CA at the Lockheed Martin Solar & Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL, which leads the IRIS mission and is also involved in Hinode, SDO and STEREO). This position is initially for 2 years, but can be extended to 3 years or more.
The IRIS small explorer was launched successfully in June 2013 and is focused on studying the physics of the interface region between the photosphere and corona. The IRIS science investigation combines a high-resolution ultraviolet spectrograph with advanced numerical modeling to study which types of non-thermal energy dominate in the chromosphere and beyond, and how magnetic flux rises through the solar atmosphere and powers flares and coronal mass ejections.
The work will involve a subset or a combination of: 1. analysis of IRIS observations using artificial intelligence techniques such as machine learning; 2. calculation of advanced numerical radiative MHD or multi-fluid simulations and comparison with IRIS (and other) observations. For more information about the project, please contact Dr. Bart De Pontieu (LMSAL, bdp@lmsal.com) and Dr. Juan Martinez Sykora (BAERI, juanms@lmsal.com).
Candidates should have a PhD (or expect to complete a PhD in the next 3 months) in data science, solar physics, plasma physics or a closely related field. The applicant is expected to have experience in either machine learning or numerical modeling. Candidates with numerical modeling interest will have an opportunity to work with the Bifrost code and/or the newly developed multi-fluid code Ebysus.
The initial position is for a 2-year period and will start as soon as possible after October 17, 2018. The postdoctoral researcher will be employed by the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute. The salary range is $78 to $88K, depending on experience. The job benefits include medical, dental, vision, life, short-term and long-term disability insurance, a 403b defined contribution plan for which employer contributes 10% of gross salary, eligibility for participation in optional 403b tax-deferred annuity plan, 10 paid holidays, and a total of 3 weeks of vacation per year through accrual of 10 hours of vacation and 8 hours of sick-time per month. BAER Institute is an equal opportunity employer.
Closing date for applications is 17 October, 2018. Submit resumes, a 1-page research statement and two letters of reference to: The Bay Area Environmental Research Institute at: iris_project@baeri.org
For more details about the job, see the job posting at baeri.org. BAER Institute is an equal opportunity employer.
Inquiries about the job application should be made to Donna Turnley, Human Resources Director, BAERI Institute at turnley@baeri.org