If you would like Northumbria University to act as the host institution for your 2023 fellowship application, including for the STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowship, the Royal Society University Research Fellowship and the NERC Independent Research Fellowship, then an expression of interest (EOI) form is now open at https://forms.office.com/e/KQrEKdwc7U with an internal deadline of 5th June 2023.

The Solar and Space Physics group (https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/academic-departments/mathematics-physics-and-electrical-engineering/research/solar-and-space-physics/ ) is a large and successful group, and currently includes 1 Future Leader Fellow (Dr Richard Morton), 1 Royal Society University Research Fellow (Dr Julia Stawarz), 1 NERC Independent Research Fellow (Dr Andy Smith) and 2 STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellows (Dr Patrick Antolin and Dr John Coxon).

All EOIs will be reviewed by senior staff within the University and candidates will be informed of the outcome in July 2023 (so there is plenty of time to develop a successful application). Further information about each fellowship opportunity is available when you start completing the relevant section. If you are interested in more than one Fellowship, please start a new form for each opportunity.

For informal questions, please contact a member of the research group and/or contact Professor James McLaughlin james.a.mclaughlin@northumbria.ac.uk… continue to the full article

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Applications are invited for a postdoctoral research associate position working in computational astrophysics – with applications to the Sun and Solar Wind – at the University of Newcastle, Australia. The successful candidate will work with A/Prof David Pontin, and join a newly-established and growing group in Solar/Space Physics. The project is funded by the Australian Research Council through a grant on “Understanding the sources of the slow solar wind”. This will involve designing and performing large-scale magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the Sun’s atmosphere, and analysis of 3D magnetic field structures, magnetic reconnection, and plasma signatures. The project involves collaboration with colleagues at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and Durham University.

As the ideal candidate, you are already working in solar physics or have a background in space or astrophysics. Either a finishing PhD student or candidate with previous postdoc experience in solar physics, astrophysics, (space) plasma physics, applied mathematics or similar subject, you will show:
– Demonstrated experience in high-performance computing, and theoretical skills.
– An interest in understanding the solar corona and the fundamental physical processes that occur there.
– Proven ability to work proactively and independently to achieve research outcomes.
– Confident communication skills and enjoy interacting as part of a team or workgroup.

For the full advert and a link to the position description and application procedure, see
https://www.livehire.com/careers/universityofnewcastle/job/HRC0002118/C83B70MO23/postdoctoral-research-associate

The position is available until the end of 2024 in the first instance, with possibility of extension up to three years, and the closing date is the 12th of June (Australian time zone). Enquiries should be directed to David Pontin (David.Pontin@newcastle.edu.au)… continue to the full article

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We are looking for two researchers to join our team in Bergen, Norway, to develop a numerical fluid-simulation of 3D ionospheric dynamics that includes induction. The positions are fully funded for five years in a European Research Council project. The goal of the project is to understand and explain from first principles how Earth’s atmosphere is dynamically coupled to space.

We are looking for two skilled programmers to develop a numerical fluid simulation of space-atmosphere coupling: 1) A researcher with a PhD in either physics, scientific computing, applied and computational mathematics, or an equivalent field; and with experience from developing dynamic fluid computational models and expertise in Fortran or C. And 2) A researcher with a PhD in space physics, strong command of Python, and experience with space plasma simulations.

As part of the project team, you will have the opportunity to work on a long-term and stimulating project that will advance our understanding of how Earth’s atmosphere is coupled with space. You will have a lot of freedom to steer the development of simulation code and work with a large team of researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway.

For questions about the positions, please contact Karl Laundal, karl.laundal@uib.no. The application deadline is end of June, and the earliest start date is 1 October.

More details about the positions, and instructions for how to apply can be found here:
Computational space physics researcher:
https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/243952/researcher-within-computational-space-physics
Space physics researcher:
https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/243954/researcher-within-space-physics.… continue to the full article

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As a federal scientific institute, the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB, www.astro.oma.be) provides services to citizens, industry, and government through alerts and predictions for space weather. These Space Weather activities are being developed further through support from the European Space Agency ESA (S2P – “Space Safety Program”, https://swe.ssa.esa.int), Belgian project funding (SUNRISE – “Sustained and Unified Research Infrastructure for Solar Data Services”), and PECASUS (Space weather services for ICAO – International Civil Aviation Organization, https://pecasus.eu). To ensure the successful continuation of our operations in this highly competitive international context, ROB is seeking a collaborator to further develop and support its space weather services data service infrastructure for monitoring the Sun and improving space weather forecasting capabilities.

The successful candidate will participate to operational surveillance and forecasting of space weather, including on-call operation and shift work. And the candidate will also be involved in developing a comprehensive data model to be used by the forecasters for describing the complex chain of solar eruptive events that occur on the Sun and travel towards Earth. It encompasses the description of individual events and features in the chain, such as sunspot group and active region, flare, waves, Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) and CME-driven shock, particle event and, at the end of the chain, geomagnetic disturbance on Earth. The collaborator will work as part of the ROB-SIDC (Solar Influence Data Analysis Centre, www.sidc.be), a leading space weather forecast center at the European level.

A CV and accompanying motivation letter must be sent to judith.depatoul@oma.be, cc: veronique.delouille@oma.be and dir-rob@oma.be.

The complete information and instructions may be found at
www.astro.oma.be/common/pdf/jobs/202306-SpaceWeatherCollaborator_EN.pdf.

The candidates can also directly contact Dr. Judith de Patoul or Véronique Delouille for additional information.

Deadline for Applications: June 25, 2023… continue to the full article

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An exciting opportunity has arisen for an individual to join the Department of Space and Climate Physics (Mullard Science Laboratory) University College London (UCL) Operations team for the Solar Wind Analyser (SWA) instrument suite on the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter Mission. The mission was launched from Kennedy Space Center on the night of 9/10 February 2020. SWA is a suite of 3 scientific sensors, serviced by a central DPU, to detect charged particles in the solar wind close to the Sun. The post-holder will assume a central role in the SWA Operations team based in the Department of Space and Climate Physics (Mullard Space Science Laboratory, MSSL) at University College London (UCL). The team is responsible for all SWA commanding, data handling, calibration and archiving, and instrument health analysis and monitoring activities during the planned ~10 yr lifetime of the mission. This will involve close collaboration with existing team members, the ESA Science Operations Centre in Madrid, Mission Operations Centre teams in Germany and SWA partners in Rome, Toulouse, Texas and Michigan.

The post-holder should become centrally involved in the maintenance and development of the full software and hardware capability for the SWA operations facility, including the conceptualisation, design and development of future enhancements to the system. As part of the team the post holder will also be involved in planning and executing all aspects of SWA instrument operations, health-checking, performance analysis and data processing from raw telemetry values to scientific data products and populating ESA and NASA archives. Monitoring and adjusting instrument performance on behalf of the international SWA team is also a central responsibility of the MSSL Operations team, to which the post-holder will contribute. These tasks are currently performed using a mixture of C++ and Python codes, but the successful applicant will bring their own developed skills in software design to enhance and extend the existing capabilities of the operations team.

The Department is located on its own campus in the beautiful Surrey Hills, surrounded by woodland, and is the UK’s largest university space research group. Space science is a discipline that demands highly innovative technologies and the Department has an international reputation for excellence in this area. UCL was one of the first universities in the world to become involved in making scientific observations in space. Since 1966, the Department has participated in over 40 satellite missions with the European Space Agency, NASA (US), Japan, Russia, China and India, and flown over 230 rocket experiments.

For informal enquiries please contact Professor Christopher Owen (c.owen@ucl.ac.uk).… continue to the full article

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The Center for Space Research at the North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa, is seeking outstanding candidates for a postdoctoral fellowship in Space Physics. The position will be on the level of a senior postdoctoral fellow, with the appointment initially made for one year, and renewable for up to 5 years, depending on satisfactory performance. For this position, prior postdoctoral experience is recommended.

We seek a qualified applicant to contribute to one or more of the following areas:
– Observational and/or theoretical aspects pertaining to turbulent space plasmas and charged particle transport in such plasmas
– Acceleration and transport of cosmic rays and solar energetic particles
– Multi-fluid MHD simulations of the solar wind
– Development and optimization of large-scale numerical models

A PhD in space physics / astrophysics or a closely related field is required. The research activities of the positions should focus on observational or theoretical space physics. Applicants are requested to send a CV, publication list, summary of past research, research plan, and contact information of at least three references, to Prof Stefan Ferreira (Stefan.Ferreira@nwu.ac.za) no later than May 30, 2023.… continue to the full article

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The Solar and Space Physics research group at Northumbria University (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK) invites applications for a 36-month postdoctoral research position in the area of Solar Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). The successful candidate will conduct research relevant to understanding how stored energy can be released from magnetised plasma via time-dependent, wave-generating magnetic reconnection. This position is funded by a research project grant from STFC (ST/X001008/1) and the project focuses on a comprehensive investigation into the fundamental physics of Oscillatory Reconnection (a time-dependent, wave-generating reconnection mechanism). The exact project title is “The fundamental physics of time-dependent magnetic reconnection with a specific interest in the applicability to Quasi-Periodic Pulsations”. You will work primarily with Professor James McLaughlin (PI of grant).

You will initiate, develop and conduct high-quality research in support of the project. The project will require an understanding of MHD wave theory, magnetic reconnection and computational MHD (particular 3D numerical modelling using High Performance Computing). The ideal candidate will have a good knowledge of MHD and experience of computational MHD simulations. Experience in magnetic reconnection and/or solar physics observations would also be beneficial.

For informal enquiries about this post please contact Professor James McLaughlin on james.a.mclaughlin@northumbria.ac.uk.

The deadline is Tuesday 11th April 2023. Please submit your applications at https://work4.northumbria.ac.uk/#en/sites/CX_1001/job/758

The successful candidate will join the Solar and Space Physics research group. Further details about the research group can be found here: https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/academic-departments/mathematics-physics-and-electrical-engineering/research/solar-and-space-physics/… continue to the full article

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The Department of Physics seeks to appoint an STFC-funded postdoctoral research fellow in the fields of helioseismology and asteroseismology, to work at the Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics (University of Warwick, UK). The role will focus on data analysis techniques in helioseismology and asteroseismology with an emphasis on developing novel techniques to detect solar gravity modes, understanding the Sun’s activity cycle and the solar-stellar connection. You will work with Dr Anne-Marie Broomhall, and other members of CFSA.

For informal enquiries about this post please contact Anne-Marie Broomhall on a-m.broomhall@warwick.ac.uk

Further details about the Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics can be found here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/physics/research/cfsa/

Salary: £33,348 – £43,155 per annum
Closing date: 10th Apr 2023

For more details and applications: https://atsv7.wcn.co.uk/search_engine/jobs.cgi?owner=5062452&ownertype=fair&jcode=1890527&vt_template=1457&adminview=1… continue to the full article

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Applications are invited for a level B (“lecturer”) faculty position in Solar and/or Stellar Physics at the University of Newcastle, Australia. The position is fixed-term for an initial period of two years, with possibility of extension. The successful candidate is expected to complement, collaborate, and strengthen Solar, Stellar and Space Physics at the School of Information and Physical Sciences, and will be expected to contribute to the goals of the School across research, teaching and leadership. The ideal candidate will have research interests that align with those of existing group members (A/Prof David Pontin and Dr Hannah Schunker).

For the full advert and a link to the position description and application procedure, see
https://www.livehire.com/careers/universityofnewcastle/job/XQ3EM/Y4RDS5VYTW/lecturer-solar-and-stellar-physics

The closing date for applications is the 20th of April at 11:59pm AEST. Enquiries can be directed to David Pontin (David.Pontin@newcastle.edu.au)… continue to the full article

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Applications are invited for two NERC-funded post-doctoral positions in space weather at the British Antarctic Survey to investigate the effects of coupled wave power and plasma properties on radiation belt dynamics.

The Space Weather Analyst will work with Dr Nigel Meredith to extend the spatial and latitude range of current wave models. They will process THEMIS and Arase plasma wave data and incorporate it into the BAS wave database and develop new wave models for plasmaspheric hiss, including hiss in plumes, and chorus, particularly at higher latitudes and beyond geostationary orbit. Using the PADIE code, they will then derive diffusion coefficients from the new wave models. Full details at: https://bas.ciphr-irecruit.com/applicants/vacancy/397/Space-Weather-Analyst

The Space Weather Scientist will work with Dr Sarah Glauert to use the BAS Radiation Belt Model (BAS-RBM) to investigate the variability of the radiation belts, particularly beyond geostationary orbit and at higher latitudes. They will develop the capability to use Arase and GPS data with the BAS-RBM, both to create boundary conditions and evaluate simulation results. By incorporating the new diffusion coefficients created by the Space Weather Analyst into the BAS-RBM, they will investigate the role of chorus beyond geostationary orbit and how this influences radiation belt dynamics closer to the Earth. Full details at: https://bas.ciphr-irecruit.com/applicants/vacancy/398/Space-Weather-Scientist

Informal enquiries to Nigel Meredith (nmer@bas.ac.uk) or Sarah Glauert (sagl@bas.ac.uk)… continue to the full article

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