The Cato-SOAR Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship
1. Overview
The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC) will establish the Cato-SOAR Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship. The Fellowship is named in honor of Edgar T. Cato, whose generous gift to UNC is providing the funds for the Fellowship, and after the 4.1m Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope in the Chilean Andes, of which UNC is a major partner. The Fellowship is intended for early-career researchers pursuing independent lines of research, and is open to all fields in astronomy and astrophysics as long as the research furthers the scientific mission of the SOAR telescope. Research that leads to new observational or instrumentation projects with SOAR is especially encouraged, as is collaboration with current faculty and postdocs at UNC.
2. Fellowship Policies
2.1. Eligibility and Requirements
Applicants must have received a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral-level research degree in astronomy, physics, or a related discipline, at the time of appointment. The degree must be not older than four years. For the 2014-competition (start date Sep 2014), the degree must have been received not earlier than Aug 31 2010. Graduate-student awardees who have not yet received their doctoral degree at the time of application must present evidence of having completed all requirements for the degree before commencing the Fellowship. The position is open to all research fields in astronomy and astrophysics. A proven record of professional accomplishments (peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations) is required.
The Fellowship is open to citizens of the United States and to English-speaking citizens of other countries. Qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to race, creed, color, age, gender, or national origin. Women and members of minority groups are strongly encouraged to apply.
2.2. Host Institution
The Fellowship will be based at UNC’s Department of Physics & Astronomy. Office space and access to computational and administrative infrastructure will be provided by the Department. A faculty member or other eligible member of the scientific staff will serve as the Faculty Contact for scientific purposes. Fellows will work full-time on their research program, and will be in residence at the host institution during the entire period of the Fellowship.
2.3. Stipend
The annual stipend for a Fellow will be approximately $50,000, subject to annual review, adjustment, and availability of funds. In addition, the Fellow can receive health insurance. A research budget of approximately $4,000 can be used to cover travel, computing services, or publication charges.
No additional stipend, salary, or other remuneration may be accepted from any other appointment (such as teaching), fellowship, or similar grant during the period of the Fellowship.
2.4. Duration of Fellowship
Contingent on the availability of funds, Fellowships are awarded for up to a three-year period. Funding will be provided initially for the first year of the Fellowship. Renewals for the second and third year will depend on annual performance reviews.
2.5. Status
The Fellowship is a postdoctoral fellowship, and is not intended to be, nor to compete with, permanent professional career positions.
Please note that a Fellowship carries with it no guarantee of SOAR observing time and implies no change in the way SOAR observing time is awarded. The Fellow can apply for observing time through the Department’s guaranteed share (60 nights/year), and through NOAO.
3. Application Procedure
3.1. Materials Submitted by Applicant
Applicants must submit their materials via the Web Application Form specified in the job announcement. These materials must include:
- completed application form
- curriculum vitae
- list of publications
- summary of previous and current research, limited to two pages including references
- research proposal, limited to three pages including references
- names and contact information of three (not more) references who will send separate letters
All materials submitted must be in at least 12-point fonts, single spaced, and all pages should be numbered. Non-U.S. applicants should make sure that their applications will copy successfully onto 8.5 × 11 inch paper. Please keep each file to less than 2 MB.
3.2. Research Proposal
The research proposal should be motivated by science compatible with the research ac- tivities at the host institution. If applicable, special emphasis should be put on observational programs involving SOAR. Any possible preferences for research fields will be specified in the job announcement.
4. Selection Process
4.1. Selection Committee
The selection committee consists of three faculty members of the Department of Physics & Astronomy. There will be two meetings per year. In the spring meeting, the committee will review the applications and supporting documentation, organize and conduct the skype interviews, and summarize the selection process in a short list consisting of the four highest- ranked candidates.
In the fall meeting, the committee will decide on possible preferences for research fields for the new job announcement, and/or it will conduct the annual performance review and evaluate the progress of the current Fellow.
4.2. Fellowship Commencement
The Fellowship should begin in September of the same year the candidate accepted. Other starting dates may be negotiated, yet the starting date cannot be deferred later than Dec 31 of the year of acceptance. Awardees who fail to present evidence of having completed all requirements for their degree by Dec 31 will not be appointed.
4.3. Visa Requirements
Non-U.S. nationals who are offered awards must have a valid visa for the duration of the Fellowship appointment. If an awardee applies for an exchange visitor visa, the sponsorship will be under the Department.
4.4. Timelines
The timeline for applications and appointments will follow the national cycles.
Sep: Fall meeting of Selection Committee.
Oct 1: Fellowship announcement in AAS job register.
Dec 1: Application deadline.
Jan 5: Skype interviews will be held with the approximately five finalists.
Jan 15: Successful candidate will be contacted.
Sep: Start-date.
5. Application Checklist
- completed online application form
- curriculum vitae
- list of publications
- summary of previous and current research (limited to 2 pages)
- research proposal (limited to 3 pages)
- names and contact information of the three letter writers. Letters have to arrive by the application deadline.