Organization: Department of Astronomy, College of Arts & Sciences
Title: Research Associate
Search #: NN0066
The astrophysics group at the University of Washington is involved in a number of the largest current and planned astronomical surveys. These range from the SDSS, SDSS-II and SDSS-III surveys (which will comprise BOSS, baryon oscillations at intermediate and high redshift; APOGEE, high resolution near-infrared spectroscopy of stars; SEGUE-II, optical spectroscopy of the Galactic structure) to the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST which will study the nature of dark energy through gravitational weak lensing and high redshift supernovae as well as characterize the distribution of asteroids within the Solar System).
To support this work we are hiring up to 2 Research Associates to work on cosmological applications related to LSST and SDSS. This includes: weak-lensing and the use of photometric redshifts in cosmology, anomaly detection from multi-epoch imaging surveys, image analysis and classification, cosmological and image simulations for the LSST.
The positions require a strong astrophysical and computational background together with experience in some of the following: cosmology, large-scale datasets, image processing and analysis, high performance computing or statistics. Applicants with experience and interest in the LSST and SDSS-III science goals are encouraged to apply.
The positions are primarily to work with Professor Andrew Connolly but it is expected that
the successful applicants will interact with the rest of the LSST and UW groups.
The astronomy department at UW is a very lively place to work with a large number of Research Associates and many opportunities for cross disciplinary collaborations with Physics, Statistics and Computer Science. UW has a 25% share of the 3.5m at Apache Point Observatory and a dedicated 1000 core compute cluster to support the research of
the Research Associates. Members of the department have a wide range of interests including: Julianne Dalcanton (galaxy formation, stellar populations), Tom Quinn (n-body simulations, galaxy formation, cosmology), Fabio Governato (n-body simulations, cosmology), Eric Agol (compact objects and gravitational lensing), Andy Becker (supernovae surveys, large scale surveys, cosmology), Scott Anderson (high energy astrophysics), Zeljko Ivezic (galactic structure, solar system, project scientist for LSST).
Consideration of applications will begin April 15, 2008. They should include a curriculum vitae, a statement describing qualifications and research interests, and three letters of recommendation. The University of Washington is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
Prof. Andrew Connolly
Astrophysics Research Associates Search Committee
Department of Astronomy Box 351580
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-1580 USA
tel. 206-543-9541
fax 206-685-0403
ajc@astro.washington.edu