Job Advertisement: Closing Date 23rd November 2017
Research Associate in Planetary Atmospheric Science
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester
Ref SEN00931
Full Details: https://goo.gl/UTxqvx
Salary Grade 7 - £33,518 to £38,833 per annum
Full-time open-ended contract subject to external fixed-term funding. Funding
is available for 3 years
Closing date: 23 November 2017
The Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Leicester invites
applications for a Post-Doctoral Research Associate (PDRA) in Planetary
Atmospheric Science. You will join a planetary science team led by Dr. Leigh
Fletcher, addressing the scientific aims of a European Research Council (ERC)
grant to explore atmospheric processes on the giant planets of our Solar
System. You will use world-leading ground- and space-based observations of
the gas and ice giants to prepare data analysis procedures for the James
Webb Space Telescope, due for launch in 2019. This will develop the expertise
and tools required for the first publications exploiting JWST infrared maps
of these distant worlds, to be observed as part of a Guaranteed-Time programme
of Solar System observations. The PDRA position will initially be for a period
of three years, with the possibility of extension depending on progress and
funding considerations.
The ERC GIANTCLIMES project (http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/207884_en.html)
seeks to assemble a comprehensive climatology of the four giant planets over
large spans of time, investigating the natural cycles of meteorology,
circulation, and chemistry shaping the environments on these worlds.
Inversions of planetary spectra, from the ultraviolet to the microwave, will
be used to reconstruct these atmospheres in three dimensions to explore both
their temporal variability and the processes coupling different atmospheric
regimes. You will analyse subsets of existing data from Cassini, Spitzer and
ground-based facilities to prepare planetary mapping and spectral simulation
software for upcoming JWST observations, and will participate in the analysis
of the first datasets from the observatory. We are therefore particularly
interested in candidates with a background in planetary atmospheres and
spectroscopic modelling techniques, but all applicants with a strong
background in planetary science are encouraged to apply.
You will carry out independent and collaborative research for this project
and disseminate the results to the international scientific community. There
will be significant opportunities to collaborate within Leicester's
Planetary Science team (whose existing research includes planetary
magnetospheres, ionospheres, atmospheres and surface science), Earth
Observation group, and with an international team specialising in radiative
transfer and spectral inversion for planetary atmospheres.
In addition to the online application form, applicants are requested to
provide: [1] a CV and publication list; [2] two academic references; [3]
a one-page cover letter detailing how your prior experience and future
research aims are commensurate with the aims of the programme outlined above.
Informal enquiries are welcome and should be made to Dr. Leigh Fletcher on
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> or 0116 252 3585
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