The Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO) and the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) invite applicants for six (6) available postdoctoral positions in Solar Physics (see description below for details of these positions). The positions are intended for the science preparation of the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S) mission (for details of the mission: aso-s.pmo.ac.cn/english/) mission and initially for two-year full time employment with possible extension. The yearly salary depends on the applicant’s experience and qualification. The top-level scientific objective of ASO-S is to explore connections among solar magnetic field, solar flares, CMEs and other solar activities.
PMO, located in the beautiful Nanjing city, is the first modern astronomical institute of China and is known as the ‘Cradle of Modern Astronomy in China’. For more information please visit english.pmo.cas.cn The NAOC headquarter is located in Beijing, the capital city of China and very close to the Olympics Park. Please visit www.bao.ac.cn for more information of NAOC. Successful applicants related to LST and HXI will work at PMO and those to FMG will work at NAOC.
The positions are available until they are filled. Applicants should hold a PhD in physics, preferentially in solar physics or a related field. Having a strong programming skill in IDL or Python is an asset. Good knowledge of the English language is essential. The application should include the CV, list of publications, certificate of the degree, at least two letters of recommendation by professors familiar with the applicants, and a statement of research interests and plan. Other information helpful to know the applicants is also acceptable. Applications for LST-related positions should be sent to Dr. Hui Li (LST PI) at nj.lihui@pmo.ac.cn . Those for HXI related ones to Dr. Yang Su (HXI PI) at yang.su@pmo.ac.cn while those for FMG-related to Dr. Yuanyong Deng (FMG PI) at dyy@nao.cas.cn. All applicants should CC the application materials to Dr. Weiqun Gan (ASO-S PI) at wqgan@pmo.ac.cn.
Description about the positions and their specific requirement are as follows.
The two LST-related positions: Successful applicants of these positions are expected to conduct study of solar activities, such as solar flares, CMEs, filaments/prominences, UV/EUV lines, including the Hydrogen Lyman-alpha line. The successful candidate are also expected to develop some models or run simulation codes (e.g., RADYN) to help interpret observation data of solar activities on the disk and in the corona. Tools and codes (in IDL or Python) developed during the postdoc period could be integrated into the data analysis software of the ASO-S mission. Backgrounds in the data analyses of similar instruments and their related theory are mostly welcome.
The two HXI-related positions: The successful candidates are expected to study flare X-ray bursts and magnetic reconnection using X-ray data obtained from RHESSI, Fermi, and Hinode, with the aid of multi-wavelength datasets from other missions with development of data analysis tools. Both theoretical and simulation works can be done. Tools and HXR image reconstruction methodology developed during research work may be integrated with data analysis software of the ASO-S mission. Research experiences on high energy solar physics are basically necessary and background on the X-ray imaging reconstruction and analysis could take a priority.
The two FMG related positions: These positions are aimed to the research and development of the Full-disk vector MagnetoGraph (FMG) onboard the ASO-S mission. The successful applicants are dedicated along with the scientific preparation, the polarization inversion of magnetic field, and development of magnetograph, etc. FMG is a birefringent filter-based magnetograph with 14cm diameter, 4k by 4k detector