The University of Chicago Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics is pleased to invite applications for the Margaret Burbidge Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship in Astrophysics to begin in the fall of 2024. The Margaret Burbidge Prize Fellow will be appointed to renewable one-year terms, for up to three years. The Prize Fellowship seeks individuals who will actively pursue bold and creative ideas. It carries an annual salary of $75,000, and annual research expense fund of $15,000. Applications can be submitted through the application form.

The successful applicant will have the opportunity to pursue innovative research using the abundant resources available at the University of Chicago. Research in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics is defined by three broad themes - the Universe where we live, the Universe beyond our Milky Way galaxy, and the extreme Universe. These themes are linked through the science, instruments, techniques, and faculty involved in each area, and bound by crosscutting activities that are as important and distinctive to our department as the science themes themselves - computational astrophysics, instrument development, and a multi-messenger approach to exploring and studying the Universe.

Members of the UChicago community enjoy guaranteed access to the Magellan telescopes at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile and proprietary access to high-performance computing resources. Members of the UChicago community are actively involved in the Dark Energy Survey (DES), the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-V), the South Pole Telescope (SPT), the CMB-S4 Experiment, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP), the Probe of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA), the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), the Line Emission Mapper Mission (LEM), the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, and the Simons Observatory, among many other projects. The University of Chicago is a founding partner of the Giant Magellan Telescope, and department members are involved in the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, the Enrico Fermi Institute, Fermilab, and Argonne National Laboratory. More details can be found at the department website.

Equity, diversity and inclusion are core components of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago. Students, postdocs, and faculty work together to build a culture within the department where under-represented groups can thrive. Information about our community values can be found at the department website.

 

Applications can be submitted through the Application Form. A complete application consists of a Cover Letter, Curriculum Vitae, Research Statement, and List of Publications, each of which should be submitted as PDF files through the website. In addition, email contact information should be provided for 3 references who can independently write a letter of support for the applicant.

If you have any questions, please contact margaretburbidgeprize2024@box.uchicago.edu.

The position will remain open until filled; however, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit applications by October 31, 2023 and ensure that 3 letters of recommendation are received by November 14, 2023. Review of applications will begin shortly thereafter, and the position is expected to begin in the fall of 2024.

 

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
All University departments and institutes are charged with building a faculty from a diversity of backgrounds and with diverse viewpoints; with cultivating an inclusive community that values freedom of expression; and with welcoming and supporting all their members.

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages diverse perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange. The University's Statements on Diversity are at https://provost.uchicago.edu/statements-diversity.

The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-834-3988 or email equalopportunity@uchicago.edu with their request.