PhD scholarship in Extragalactic Astronomy at the Cosmic Dawn Center - DTU Space

The Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN) at the Section for Astrophysics and Atmospheric Physics at DTU Space, invites applications for a PhD Fellowship position starting in March 2025. 

DAWN is a center of excellence funded by the Danish National Research Foundation, and is located at the National Space Institute (DTU Space), Technical University of Denmark and the Niels Bohr Institute (NBI), University of Copenhagen. The center brings together experts in all aspects of early Universe galaxy evolution and is deeply involved in major existing and upcoming surveys with HST, ALMA, Euclid and JWST, as well as cosmological and zoom-in simulations. This call covers PhD positions based at DTU-Space.  DAWN has a number of associate members at major research institutes across Europe, North America, and Australia. Students will be expected to spend several months outside of Denmark, which could be at one of our affiliated institutes or another major research institute.  Our most recent PhD students have used this time at Cornell, Hawaii, and Oxford. For more information on the Center's activities and researchers, please see www.cosmicdawn.dk.

Responsibilities and qualifications
The PhD Fellowship is intended for outstanding candidates with a background in astronomy, physics, or related technical disciplines who are interested in doing research within DAWN’s research themes: high-redshift galaxy evolution, epoch of re-ionization, first stars and galaxies, dust and ISM in the early universe and dark matter. 

The PhD fellowship will be in observational astrophysics with the focus on galaxy evolution and characterising the properties of the most actively star-forming galaxies population in the history of the Universe: starburst galaxies. These dust-rich galaxies form stars 10-100 times faster than the Milky Way and have (since their discovery in the 1990’s) been difficult for simulation to reproduce. Their exact role in the galaxy evolution models is therefore still unknown. The candidate will characterising the physical properties (i.e. sizes, shapes and masses) of starburst galaxies in over-dense environments, using for example ALMA observations, and compare with starburst galaxies in the field. This project will provide key information to answer one of the big outstanding questions: what drives the star-formation in starburst galaxies?

The position is available for three years for candidates already holding a MSc. The successful applicants are expected to: manage and carry out their own research project, write half-year progress reports, disseminate results at conferences and through scientific articles,  undertake  teaching duties (up to 15% of working time)  and  attend PhD courses (30 ECTS).Also, a mandatory research stay during a semester abroad is to be foreseen.         

You must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree.

Approval and Enrolment  
The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study programme, please see DTU's rules for the PhD education . 

Assessment
The successful candidate has outstanding analytical and problem-solving skills to become a committed researcher with a drive for excellence. Programming experience (python/IDL) and experience in handling of large data sets are an advantage but not required.

The assessment of the applicants will be made by the DTU Space and DAWN staff.

We offer
DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

Salary and appointment terms 
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union. The period of employment is 3 years.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here .

Starting date is in March 2025.

Further information  
Further information may be obtained from: Dr. Bitten Gullberg ([email protected])

You can read more about DTU Space at www.space.dtu.dk  and the Cosmic Dawn Center at www.cosmicdawn.dk.

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark . Furthermore, you have the option of joining our monthly free seminar “PhD relocation to Denmark and startup “Zoom” seminar ” for all questions regarding the practical matters of moving to Denmark and working as a PhD at DTU. 

Application procedure 
Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 9 October 2024 (23:59 Danish time)

Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply now", fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file . The file must include:

• A letter motivating the application (cover letter)
• Curriculum vitae 
• Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma (in English) including official description of grading scale

You may apply prior to ob­tai­ning your master's degree but cannot begin before having received it. 

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, race, disability, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply.

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