Postdoctoral Researcher - Astrophysics and Technosignature Search

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JOB DESCRIPTION AND POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

The Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence Center (PSETI) at Penn State University seeks a Postdoctoral Researcher to work with Dr. Jason Wright to advance the field of SETI through theoretical and observational studies of Dyson Spheres in and beyond the Milky Way. The ideal candidate will have a background in some of the following fields:

• Infrared astronomy, especially surveys or spectroscopy of circumstellar material
• Studies of debris disks, including spectroscopy, orbital dynamics and modeling, and direct imaging
• Observational surveys of galaxies
• Stellar population synthesis and interpretation of galaxy SEDs
• Thermodynamics and information theory
• Artificial satellite orbital dynamics and collision avoidance
• Massively parallel computer architecture

The specific research conducted in these studies will depend on the background and interest of the successful candidate and will include a significant component of work on the non-SETI/natural objects that confound Dyson Sphere searches.

Candidates with other backgrounds relevant to the theoretical studies of or observational searches for Dyson Spheres are strongly encouraged to apply.

Job duties will include duties with the PSETI Center, such as maintaining its web presence and running its seminar series and will include opportunities for professional development including advising undergraduate and graduate students; organizing conferences; grant proposal writing and management; and managing a research group. The position comes with a research budget for travel, publications, and other costs.

Via Penn State and the PSETI Center, the successful candidate will have access to Penn State's high performance computing facilities via the Institute Computational and Data Sciences and to the Allen Telescope Array, a radio interferometer managed by the SETI Institute. They will also have the opportunity to propose for time on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope and WIYN 3.5m telescope via Penn State's institutional access.

Education and Experience

A PhD in Physics, Astronomy, or a closely related field is required.

Additional Information

Applications must be submitted electronically and include a CV, cover letter, and statement of research interests. In addition, please arrange for three reference letters to be sent to Dr. Jason Wright at jtw13@psu.edu. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. This is a term appointment funded for one year from date of hire with the possibility of annual renewals for up to a total of three years. Salary will be commensurate with experience. Information regarding benefits may be found at https://www.research.psu.edu/opa/benefits.

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