UK Solar Physics Newsletter Lyndsay Fletcher & Duncan Mackay, Editors Octboer 15th 2008 o News, Views and Gossip o Science Communication for Teacher Development workshop. o Royal Society Summer Exhibition o Community Announcement on a Solicitation for NASA Solar Probe Plus Investigations o New Highlight of Solar Radio Physics o New RHESSI Science nuggets o Meetings, Conferences and Workshops o International School for Space Simulations (ISSS-9), Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines, France o Call for papers: Image and Pattern Analysis in Astronomy & Astrophysics o Fourth Solar Image Processing Workshop: Invited Speakers and Working Group Leaders o 4th El Leoncito Solar School: Recent Progress in Solar Physics o Solar Activity During the Onset of Solar Cycle 24 o London MIST Meeting - Friday 28th November. o Brainstorming meeting on the future of UKSTP - Oct 22 o Employment Opportunities o Research Associate - PEACE Operations MSSL. o Research Associate - PEASE Calibration and Data Preparation, MSSL. o Job opportunities in fusion plasma physics. o CISM Solar/Heliospheric Scientist o Positions in connection with a Project on Astrophysical Dynamos o Postdoctoral position in solar image processing at the Royal Observatory of Belgium o Data Scientitst o Civil-Servant Scientist Positions in Solar/Heliospheric Physics at NASA/MSFC o Postgraduate position at the UNIVERSITY OF OSLO and at the INSTITUTO DE ASTROFISICA DE CANARIAS within the SOLAIRE NETWORK Dear Colleague, Here are a few items which have come to our attention since the last Newsletter. You can find this newsletter also at the UKSP website: http://www.uksolphys.org Lyndsay (lyndsay@astro.gla.ac.uk) Duncan (duncan@mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk) ********************************************************************* * * * News, Views and Gossip * * * ********************************************************************* From: "Melanie Illsley (STFC,SPO)" Dear all Please see attached flyer advertising the upcoming Science Communication for Teacher Development workshop run by the?National Science Learning Centre and supported by??Research Councils UK.??This workshop is intended to help scientists who wish to communicate their science to secondary teachers develop techniques of engagement. It is in two parts - a workshop in November and participation in a?conference in March. Applications for delegates?who are funded by the Research Councils and within the areas of science, applied maths, engineering and psychology are now welcome until 17th October.? There is no fee for the workshop or conference. Accommodation, meals and travel costs will be covered for a limited number of applicants. An honorarium will be paid for?any inputs from?participating researchers? delivered in the conference phase. Any queries regarding the workshop/conference should be directed towards Jeremy Airey.? Gareth James Science in Society Team Science and Technology Facilities Council Polaris House North Star Avenue Swindon Wiltshire SN2 1SZ tel: 01793442175 ************************************ From: "Melanie Illsley (STFC,SPO)" Dear colleagues Hopefully you will have seen the original call for proposals when it was sent out last month. At the bottom of this message you will find a reminder from the Royal Society that the deadline for submissions is approaching. (More information, including a proposal form, is available at royalsociety.org/exhibition2009.?Proposals must be returned to the Society by Monday 20 October 2008) I would like to remind you that if you apply to participate in the Royal Society 2009 Summer exhibition and are accepted, you may be eligible for support from STFC. STFC will provide up ? 6000 toward the cost of preparing a stand and attending the event if: - you have explored other funding sources and there remains a shortfall which will prevent attendance at the event - you are part of an STFC funded research group and you wish to showcase STFC funded research - you are part of a research group that utilises STFC research facilities and the exhibit would concentrate on the facility itself If you would like to apply for support please contact Chris Woolford on chris.woolford@stfc.ac.uk for details. Please note that we will not consider requests for support until after the list of successful applicants has been released by the Royal Society. STFC has a wide range of experience and resources available so we may also be able to help groups with advice on exhibitions, literature, display materials, loans of models etc. for this event or others. For further information, do get in touch with me at the address below. Kind regards Gareth Gareth James Science in Society Team Science and Technology Facilities Council Polaris House North Star Avenue Swindon Wiltshire SN2 1SZ tel: 01793442175 ************************************* From: madhulika guhathakurta Community Announcement on a Solicitation for NASA Solar Probe Plus Investigations The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) intends to release an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for Solar Probe Plus (SPP) investigations sometime in January 2009. OVERVIEW OF THE OPPORTUNITY The SPP AO will invite proposals for two types of PI-led investigations for the Solar Probe Plus mission: (1) Solar Probe Plus instrument investigations are complete science investigations that include provision of instrument (s) or instrument suite(s) to fly on the Solar Probe Plus mission as well as mission operations and data analysis (including archiving); and (2) Solar Probe Plus Observatory Scientist investigation is a science investigation using data from the Solar Probe Plus data and includes actively participating in the SPP end-to-end system engineering effort, acting as a community advocate for SPP, providing an independent assessment of the scientific performance of SPP , and serving as a senior scientist on the SPP Science Working Group. Participation in this AO will be open to all categories of organizations (foreign and domestic), including educational institutions, industry, not-for-profit organizations, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC's), NASA Centers, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and other Government agencies. Principal Investigators are responsible for and allowed to assemble investigation teams from any and all of these organizations. Instrument investigation proposals may be for individual instrument or for a suite of instruments. The cost cap for all instruments and instrument suites selected for the Solar Probe Plus mission in response to this AO will be approximately $100 Million (real year). The launch of the Solar Probe Plus mission is targeted for no earlier than 2015. THE SOLAR PROBE PLUS MISSION The Solar Probe Plus mission is described in detail in the Report of the Solar Probe Plus Science and Technology Definition Team (STDT), which is available in the Solar Probe Plus Acquisition Library at http://lws.larc.nasa.gov/solarprobe. The science objectives of the Solar Probe Plus mission are: (1) Determine the structure and dynamics of the magnetic fields at the sources of the fast and slow solar wind; (2) Trace the flow and elucidate the thermodynamics of the energy that heats the solar corona and accelerates the solar wind; (3) Determine what mechanisms accelerate and transport energetic charged particles; and (4) Explore dusty plasma phenomena and their influence on the solar wind and energetic particle formation. In its report, the SPP STDT identified one possible instrument complement that can achieve a substantial portion of the science objectives. The list of candidate instruments are as follows: (i) Fast Ion Analyzer; (ii) Fast Electron Analyzer; (iii) Ion Composition Analyzer; (iv) Energetic Particle Instrument; (v) Magnetometer; (vi) Plasma Wave Instrument; (vii) Neutron/Gamma-ray Spectrometer; (viii) Coronal Dust Detector; and (ix) Hemispheric Imager. DETAILS OF THE PLANNED SOLICITATION Important characteristics of this AO are expected to be: a) Pending the submission of an adequate number of proposals of merit, NASA expects to select a combination of instrument investigations (individual instruments and/or one or more suites of instruments) that address the mission science objectives. In addition, NASA expects to select one Solar Probe Plus Observatory Scientist investigation. b) Proposals submitted in response to this AO will be evaluated by two independent panels, one to evaluate science merit and feasibility of the science investigation (the Science Peer Review Panel) and the other to evaluate feasibility of the implementation approach, including cost (the Technical, Management, and Cost (TMC) Review Panel). c) Investigators proposing an instrument suite will be required to provide separate technical and cost information for each instrument in the suite to allow separate evaluation by NASA of each instrument. d) NASA welcomes proposals having participants from non-U.S. institutions provided that they are offered on a no-exchange-of-funds basis and also comply with current U.S. restrictions concerning the export of technology. e) Data from Solar Probe Plus investigations must be made fully public in a usable form as soon as is practical. All data products shall be documented, validated, and calibrated in physical units usable by the scientific community at large. f) All proposals will be required to include in their overall planning both funding and commitment to NASA's Education and Public Outreach (EPO) program (details of the EPO plan will not be required in the proposal but will be required in Phase A/B if selected). The following schedule describes the anticipated major milestones of the Solar Probe Plus Announcement of Opportunity. These dates are subject to change. AO Release approximately Mid- January, 2009 Preproposal Conference Release + 2 wks Notice of Intent to Propose due Release + 4 weeks Proposals due Release + 3 months Non-U.S. Letters of Endorsement due with proposals Selections announced (target) Summer/Fall 2009 Release of the SPP AO is in the process of formally being approved by NASA. However, by sending this announcement to prospective investigators at this time (prior to release), NASA is under no obligation to issue the AO and solicit proposals. Any costs incurred by prospective investigators in preparing submissions in response to this announcement are incurred completely at the submitter's own risk. The Solar Probe Plus AO may contain provisions that differ from this notice, in which case those in the AO will take precedence. Questions or comments about this community announcement on a Solar Probe Plus AO may be addressed to the Solar Probe Plus Program Scientist: Dr. Madhulika Guhathakurta, Science Mission Directorate (SMD), National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC 20546-0001; E-mail: madhulika.guhathakurta@nasa.gov; Telephone: (202) 358-1992. Comments on the details of this AO should be provided within 4 weeks of this posting to Dr. Guhathakurta in order to be considered in the final AO. The character string "SPP" (without quotes) should be included in the subject line of all transmissions. *************************************** From: Silja Pohjohlianen A New Highlight of Solar Radio Physics, Fragmented radio emission reveals a shock passing through solar active region loops by Silja Pohjolainen, Jens Pomoell and Rami Vainio is announced and can be found at http://www.lesia.obspm.fr/cesra/highlights/ --- New highlight material is always welcome, see instructions at the bottom of the highlights page or contact Silja at silpoh@utu.fi *************************************** From Steven Christe Announcing new RHESSI Science Nuggets: "The Good Guys and the Rascals," by B. Dabrowski and A. Benz (http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/~tohban/nuggets/). Solar decimetric radio bursts - but only the good guys - correlate well with RHESSI hard X-rays. "RHESSI Optical Images," by H. Jabran Zahid and Hugh Hudson (http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/~tohban/nuggets/) RHESSI makes optical images as well as X-ray and gamma-ray ones. This Nugget explains how. We publish these Nuggets at roughly two-week intervals. Please send any questions regarding the Nuggets to rhessi_nuggets_at_gmail.com or directly to the Nugget authors. S. Christe H. Hudson ********************************************************************* * * * Conferences, Workshops, Meetings * * * ********************************************************************* From: MEETING: Ninth International School for Space Simulations (ISSS-9) 3rd-10th July 2009, Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines, (near Paris), France From: Bertrand Lemb?e (bertrand.lembege@cetp.ipsl.fr), Chairman. Dave Schriver (dave@igpp.ucla.edu ), Co-Chair. Yoshiharu Omura (omura@kurasc.kyoto-u.ac.jp), Co-Chair. Mark your calendars for less than a year from now to attend the Ninth International School for Space Simulations (ISSS-9) on a new University Campus located in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (very near Paris, France) on 3rd-10th July, 2009. The ISSS-9 program will be organized into two main parts: (i) teaching of space plasma simulation techniques, and (ii) sharing state of the art simulation advances and results with researchers in plasma physics. ISSS-9 will bring together the most recent spacecraft observational results, theoretical advances and numerical simulations to address the outstanding problems in space plasma physics. More details concerning the conference program, fellowships and accommodations will be forthcoming. Please plan on attending and we will be pleased to see you next year in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. On behalf of the ISSS-9 Organizing Committee, Bertrand Lemb??e (bertrand.lembege@cetp.ipsl.fr), Chair. Herv??de Feraudy (herve.deferaudy@cetp.ipsl.fr), Co-Chair. ********************************************* From : Stein Haugan Call for papers: Image and Pattern Analysis in Astronomy & Astrophysics 16th Scandinavian Conference on Image Analysis June 15-18, 2009, Oslo, Norway http://www.scia2009.org/ NOTE: Submission of paper for review by December 14, 2008 The 16th Scandinavian Conference on Image Analysis 2009 will feature a session on Astronomy & Astrophysics Applications, and the keynote speaker for this session will be Prof. Peter Gallagher, Trinity College Dublin. This is also a chance to pick up ideas and inspiration from people outside astronomy who have been using image and pattern analysis for a long time. The proceedings will be published as a volume in Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS). ********************************************* From: Jack Ireland Fourth Solar Image Processing Workshop: Invited Speakers and Working Group Leaders We are pleased to announce our confirmed invited speakers and their general talk topics for the Fourth Solar Image Processing Workshop, to be held October 26-30, 2008, at the Pier 5 Hotel in the Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD, USA. W. Dean Pesnell, NASA GSFC, USA : The SDO mission M. Aschwanden, Lockheed Martin, USA : Image processing techniques as used in solar physics F. Auchere, CNES, France : New visualization tools for data and feature/event catalogs E. Robbrecht, NRL, USA : Designing and implementing a feature detection algorithm and catalog S. Gissot, ROB, Belgium : Feature tracking in solar physics A. Bartoli, LASMEA, France : Image registration and structure-from-motion algorithms. We are also pleased to announce that we will also have 4 working groups ( WG) dedicated to the in-depth discussion of particular topics. The Working Group topics and Leaders are: WG 1: eruptive events : Peter Gallagher, Trinity College Dublin. Ireland WG 2: solar disk features : Pietro Bernasconi, APL/JHU, USA WG 3: oscillations in the solar corona : Jack Ireland, ADNET Systems / NASA GSFC, USA WG 4: solar physics from multiple viewpoints : Farzad Kamalabadi, U. Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The Fourth Solar Image Processing Workshop is aimed at comparing various processing algorithms for solving problems in solar physics, and their effective implementation. We aim to emulate past success in bringing multi-disciplinary experts together in a stimulating and cross-collaborative environment. Registration, abstract submission and hotel booking is now open. More details can be found at http://www.sipwork.org/?q=meetings/sipworkiv Regards, Jack Ireland (Chair, SOC) C. A. Young (Chair, LOC) ********************************************** From : Stella Malaroda 4th El Leoncito Solar Physics School : RECENT PROGRESS IN SOLAR PHYSICS SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT Dear Participants, Enclosed you will find the preliminary schedule for the 4th El Leoncito Solar Physics School : RECENT PROGRESS IN SOLAR PHYSICS GENERAL SCHEDULE FOR WORKSHOP AND VISITS: Nov. 24-26 El Leoncito: Opening, Lectures, training workshops, visit to CASLEO and OAFA facilities Nov. 27 Transfer El Leoncito to San Luis Nov. 28-29 ULP: Lectures, training workshops DAILY SCHEDULE FOR WORKSHOP AND VISITS: Nov. 23: Arriving at San Juan and travel to CASLEO, El Leoncito Nov. 24: 9:00-12:30: Lectures and /or training workshops 15:00-16:00: Visit to SST at CASLEO 16:00-20:00: Lectures and /or training workshops Nov. 25: 9:00-12:30: Lectures and /or training workshops 15:00: Departure to OAFA (Estacion de Altura Carlos Cesco). The school will continue there. Nov. 26: 9:00-12:30: Lectures and /or training workshops 16:00-20:00: workshop discussions and concluding remarks of the first part of the school During the meeting there will be poster presentations. Two coffee breaks are scheduled each day, one in the morning session and another one during the afternoon session. Lunch will be served at 13 hs and dinner at 21 hs. After dinner an astronomical night will be prepared for the participants with observations with the MEADE14 telescope of CASLEO. Nov. 27: Departure from CASLEO-El Leoncito to San Luis Province. Nov. 28 and Nov. 29 at La Punta University: 9:30-12:30 and 16:00-20:00 Lectures and poster presentations. There will be two coffee breaks: one in the morning session and another one during the afternoon session. Lunch will be served in La Punta and dinner in San Luis (for those who are staying in San Luis hotels) Nov. 30: Departure from San Luis ******************************************* From: Hugh Hudson Solar Activity During the Onset of Solar Cycle 24 This is the third and final circular for an international conference entitled "Solar Activity During the Onset of Solar Cycle 24," a workshop-style meeting in Napa Valley, California, the week of December 7-12, 2008. This is the week before the AGU meeeting. The main goals are to assess our current knowledge of solar activity and to prepare for observations during the onset of Carrington Cycle 24. There will be special emphasis on coordinating ACE, Hinode, RHESSI, SOHO, STEREO TRACE/SDO, and Wind observations, among other space- and ground-based observatories. The conference will have a mixture of invited and contributed talks in plenary sessions, plus significant time devoted to focused working groups in the SHINE style: (a) Slow wind and active regions, (b) Fast wind and plumes, (c) Magnetic field evolution, (d) Global flare energetics, (e) Flares, (f) CMEs, (g) Microflares and nanoflares, (h) Chromosphere, (i) Active-region loops, and (j) Filaments and Prominences. Please mark your calendars now and see the conference Web pages at http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu:80/RHESSI/napa2008 where descriptions of the different working groups can be found. We encourage early sign-up for specific working groups along with brief descriptions of topics of interest (or abstracts for talks or posters) so that we can establish key topics and develop a detailed program. The early-bird registration ends October 27, but early registration and hotel booking is encouraged because of space limitations at the conference site. Limited funds are available for travel support, courtesy of NASA and ESA; we hope to use this resource to support students and young research workers, and requests should be made to Gordon Emslie by e-mail, by October 20, 2008. Requests should detail the proposed involvement of the participant and the level of support needed. Important dates: Earlybird registration: 27 October 2008 Hotel deadline 7 November 2008 Registration: 10 November 2008 Meeting: 7-12 December 2008 ************************************* From: Betty Lanchester Dear colleagues, Abstract submission is now open for this year's London MIST Meeting, which will take place on Friday 28th November in the lecture theatre at the Royal Astronomical Society, Piccadilly. The meeting will begin at 10 am with talks from 10.30 am. Abstract submission deadline is FRIDAY 7nd NOVEMBER. Please send abstracts to Betty Lanchester: b.s.lanchester@soton.ac.uk The morning and afternoon sessions will begin with invited talks, followed by contributed talks lasting 20 minutes, including 5 minutes for questions. If there is sufficient demand we will include a poster session. This will be determined by the number and breadth of the contributed abstracts. Abstracts will be selected so as to provide a balanced programme of talks from both students and more experienced speakers. There will be two broad-based themes. The first theme is 'Turbulence and scale free processes'. The invited speaker is Sandra Chapman (Warwick) who will talk on the subject "Observing scaling in the solar wind - turbulence and coronal sources". The second theme is 'Coupling between space and atmosphere'. The invited speaker is Mike Pinnock (BAS) whose talk is "A new approach to STP: a 'weather' dataset over a solar cycle". Talks are also invited on topics outside these two themes. We look forward to receiving your titles and abstracts. Best regards, MIST Committee Mike Hapgood [M.A.Hapgood@rl.ac.uk] Gary Abel [gaab@BAS.AC.UK] Andrew Kavanagh [a.j.kavanagh@lancaster.ac.uk] Betty Lanchester [bsl@phys.soton.ac.uk] Gabby Provan [gp3@ion.le.ac.uk] *************************** From: Mike Hapgood Dear colleagues, Those of you who read the MIST Forum will have seen the debate there about the future of UK STP after the Wakeham Review (see the thread STC and/or NERC). In response to that debate MIST Council is organising a meeting in the RAS Lecture Theatre in London on 22 October (11:00 to 16:30). This will discuss the Wakeham Panel recommendation that NERC should take over parts of STP that are relevant to the NERC remit - and with an appropriate transfer of budget to NERC. My apologies for the short notice but the advice we have received is to have an early community meeting if we want to have best influence on the discussions that are going on between NERC and STFC. The aim is to have a private community meeting where we work through ideas on what this should mean - and then feed that to our contacts in the NERC and STFC systems. I suggest that we aim to have one or two people from each group plus a few other key players, e.g. Mike Lockwood because of his position on NERC Council. We have also invited representation from UKSP. I think it important that the meeting discuss our future interest in STFC as well as that in NERC. That will help us to shape where the boundary should be - and perhaps avoid there being a gap. This meeting does not replace the discussion on the Forum - please keep the ideas coming and please join in if you have something to say. I will post this message on the Forum presently. If you plan to attend the meeting please let me know. I will circulate more information near the date. Best wishes, Mike Hapgood Chair, MIST Council *********************************************************************** * * * Positions Vacant * * * *********************************************************************** From : Libby Research Associate - PEACE Operations MSSL Research Associate Applications are invited for a position in the PEACE Operations Team at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (University College London). MSSL is the UK's largest university based space science research institution and is involved in many leading space research missions (http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/). Six PEACE electron spectrometer instruments (ten sensors) have been launched on the ESA Cluster and CNSA/ESA Double Star magnetospheric research missions. The successful candidate will join a team responsible for all aspects of PEACE operations and data handling. Team activities includes routine commanding and instrument performance evaluation, data handling activities and in-flight instrument calibration, as well as provision of accurate electron moments data (density, velocity and temperature). The candidate would ideally have some of the following characteristics: an aptitude for data systems work, experience of handling large datasets, including database management, data processing and analysis. Familiarity with LINUX systems and an aptitude for any of the following is preferable; Perl, C/C++, IDL. A background in space plasma physics would be advantageous. A degree in a relevant subject is a minimum qualification. The appointment will start as soon as possible and last one year (which may be extended subject to funding). Salary will be on UCL salary Grade 7 ranging from ?27,466 pa - ?33,780 depending on experience. Applications, including a CV, publications list, names and addresses of three referees and a brief description of experience and aspirations, should be sent to Mrs E.A. Daghorn (ead@mssl.ucl.ac.uk), Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking RH5 6NT, U.K. For further information please contact Dr Andrew Fazakerley (anf@mssl.ucl.ac.uk). or http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/jobs/vacancies/vacancy _ref0821.htm The closing date for applications is Wednesday 29 October 2008. UCL Taking Action for Equality ******************************************** From: Libby Research Associate - PEASE Calibration and Data Preparation, MSSL University College London's Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) is seeking a postdoctoral Research Associate to work on calibration and data preparation activities. MSSL is the UK's largest university based space science research institution and is involved in many leading space research missions (http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/). The post is concerned with the task of archiving high quality calibrated data from the PEACE electron spectrometer instruments on the four ESA Cluster magnetospheric research spacecraft, as part of the European Space Agency Cluster Active Archive (CAA) project. The successful candidate will join a team responsible for all aspects of PEACE operations. The candidate will contribute to in-flight calibration of the 8 Cluster PEACE sensors and to the preparation and validation of PEACE data for the CAA (electron moments, 2D and 3D velocity distributions data). Other activities in support of the CAA may include developing and supporting display software, and provision of documentation. The calibration role will include the application of established methods, but is also concerned with the development of improved techniques to cope with sensor aging, and with adapting and improving the tools with a view to future challenges presented by in-flight calibration of instruments on the proposed 12 spacecraft Cross-Scale mission (an ESA Cosmic Visions mission candidate). Applicants will have a PhD in physics (ideally space plasma physics), mathematics, statistics or a related field. A familiarity with any of the following would be an advantage: Linux, Perl, C/C++, IDL, as would experience in the analysis of large datasets. The appointment will start as soon as possible. Subject to a successful probationary period, the appointment will last until November 2010 (and it may be extended subject to ESA approval of a Cluster mission and CAA extension approval). Salary will be on UCL salary Grade 7 ranging from ?27,466 pa - ?33,780 depending on experience. Applications, including a CV, publications list, names and addresses of three referees and a brief description of experience and aspirations, should be sent to Mrs E.A. Daghorn (ead@mssl.ucl.ac.uk), Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking RH5 6NT, U.K. For further information please contact Dr Andrew Fazakerley (anf@mssl.ucl.ac.uk). or http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/jobs/vacancies/vacancy_ref0822.htm The closing date for applications is Wednesday 29 October 2008. UCL Taking Action for Equality ******************************************** From: Ruth Bamford Jobs in magnetically confined fusion: ITER Professional (P-Category) and Technical Support (G-Category) Staff - Saint Paul Lez Durance, France Company & location ITER Organization, Saint Paul Lez Durance, France Last updated Sep 26, 2008 Categories ITER will be the world's largest experimental fusion facility and is designed to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power. The ITER project is sited at Cadarache in the South of France. As an international organization, ITER offers challenging assignments in a stimulating multicultural workplace. There are several positions currently open to applicants from the ITER Parties (European Union (including Switzerland), Japan, the People? Republic of China, India, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the USA) For job descriptions and the details of application procedure please go to: http://www.iter.org/a/index_jobs.htm Please apply through ITER Domestic Agency corresponding to your nationality. For further questions please send an email to: HR-recruitment@iter.org Deadline: October 31st 2008 ******************************************** From : Jeffrey Hughes CISM Solar/Heliospheric Scientist The Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling (CISM), an NSF Science and Technology Center (STC), is seeking a post-doctoral research associate in solar or heliospheric physics to be based at Boston University. CISM conducts research and education with the principal goal of understanding the behavior of the Sun-Earth system through the development and use of physics-based numerical models. Information on CISM, which involves 11 institutions, may be found at: http://www.bu.edu/CISM. We are seeking a scientist wishing to conduct forefront research in solar and heliospheric physics using CISM models and observations. He/she will also work with the CISM team in the validation and development of CISM??%G?₁?%@??? solar and heliospheric models. Inquiries and applications, which should include a curriculum vitae, bibliography, and the names and addresses (including e-mail) of three people willing to write letters of reference, should be sent to the Director of CISM: Professor W. Jeffrey Hughes, Department of Astronomy, Boston University 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA. Telephone: 617-353-2471 E-mail: hughes@bu.edu. Applications received by 15 November 2004 will receive full consideration. Boston University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. We encourage applications from women and underrepresented minorities. ******************************************** From : Axel Brandenburg Positions in connection with a Project on Astrophysical Dynamos The European Research Council has decided to fund a concentrated 5-year effort at Nordita in Stockholm (http://www.nordita.org) to improve our understanding of astrophysical dynamos. For details, see the project page on Astrophysical Dynamos (http://www.nordita.org/~brandenb/AstroDyn). In connection with this 5-year project several positions will become available. 4 PhD positions (4 years) 4 post-doc positions (2 years, 2 to be filled in 2009) 1 Assistant Professor (4 years, with the possibility of a 5th year) several visiting professorships All these positions are supported by an Advanced Grant of the European Research Council. We are in the process of recruiting 4 PhD students, 2 post-docs, and 1 assistant professor (forskarassistent), who are expected to take up their positions in the spring of 2009. The research in the group will focus on improving our understanding of the solar dynamo. This involves work on a number of topics including Turbulent dynamo action in spherical shells The formation of active regions, sunspots, and coronal mass ejections from dynamo-generated magnetic fields The ejection of dynamo-generated small-scale magnetic helicity in coronal mass ejections Magnetic helicity fluxes and turbulent transport coefficients in hydromagnetic turbulence. Dynamos from magneto-rotational and magnetic buoyancy instabilities Dynamos from deep convection with tachocline Solar cycle models and forecasts Applications to galactic and laboratory dynamos The successful candidates for the PhD and post-doc positions will work under the supervision of Professor Axel Brandenburg (http://www.nordita.org/~brandenb ) and the assistant professor to be recruited at Nordita (http://www.nordita.org). Nordita provides an active research environment with an extensive visitors program, conferences and schools organized by or in collaboration with Nordita staff (http://www.nordita.org/people/index.php). The PhD students working within this project will be formally enrolled at Stockholm University within the Department of Astronomy (http://www.su.se/pub/jsp/polopoly.jsp ?d=8839), but they will have their offices in one of the Nordita buildings. The positions start on 1 February 2009, or any other date to be agreed upon. Depending on the position, the applications should include a curriculum vitae together with a list of publications, 3 letters of recommendation, as well as a list of courses with grades (for the PhD positions) or a research plan (for the post-doc positions). The application deadline is December 10, 2008, and applications should be filed though our web interface http://apps.nordita.org/. In exceptional cases, you may also send you application via e-mail to brandenb@nordita.org, or send it to Axel Brandenburg Nordita Roslagstullsbacken 23 10691 Stockholm Sweden Links to project page: http://www.nordita.org/~brandenb/AstroDyn ******************************************** From : Veronique Delouille Postdoctoral position in solar image processing at the Royal Observatory of Belgium We are seeking a postdoctoral researcher to be or to become active in solar image processing. The SIDC is a team of about 30 researchers from the Royal Observatory of Belgium. As an internationally recognized partner in well-grounded data processing, we have initiated several scientific investigations founded on solar image processing. These are used to extract important features in solar images, to compute parameters of interest (metadata) and to make catalogs. Next, we plan to store these meta-data and catalogs in a data-base accessible through the web. In this context, the successful candidate will devote half of his time to do research, while the other half will be used to setting up a web-interface for easy access to our data base, thereby allowing for a large dissemination of our scientific tools. The initial contract is for one year, with possibility of extensions. Salary, social security and pension scheme are set according to Belgian rules. Interested candidates should send an application to V. Delouille (v.delouille-at-sidc.be) and J.-F. Hochedez (hochedez-at-sidc.be) as soon as possible. The application must contain a CV and motivation letter, both in English. The positions will be filled as soon as we find a suitable candidate with starting date chosen in agreement with the successful candidate. You can find more information on our website: http://www.sidc.be/jobs/ ******************************************** From : National Solar Observatory NSO Solar Synoptic Program Data Scientitst The National Solar Observatory (NSO) has an immediate opening for the position of Data Scientist. Priority will be given to applications received prior to October 31, 2008, but the position will remain open until filled. Responsibilities include maintaining currently in-place data calibration and reduction algorithms, as well as developing new algorithms as necessary to provide high-quality, near-real-time data to the solar community. The position will involve collaborative work with existing data scientists and instrument teams managing magnetic synoptic data from all NSO instruments including SOLIS, GONG and, in the future, a solar synoptic network based on instrumentation from the SOLIS and GONG projects (see http://www.nso.edu for more information about the NSO and these programs). The initial tasks for the successful candidate will emphasize the production and dissemination of the data products from the SOLIS suite of instruments to the world scientific community. It is preferred that applicants have at least three years experience after receipt of a doctorate in physics, astronomy, computer science, or a related discipline. Significant experience in the reduction, analysis, and archiving of large data sets, as well as extensive experience with UNIX and C is desirable. Experience in solar physics, CCD observations, IDL and scripting languages, and supervising scientific programmers, is preferred. This is a term appointment for three years with the possibility of renewal depending on performance and budgetary support. The position will be based at the Tucson, Arizona site of the NSO co-located with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) on the campus of the University of Arizona. To apply, please submit an electronic CV and three professional letters of reference by October 31, 2008 to hrnoao@noao.edu (In the subject line, please reference Job 923-Data Scientist, or mail to: Human Resources Office NSO & NOAO Job 923-Data Scientist P.O. Box 26732 Tucson, AZ 85726-6732 NOAO and NSO are affirmative action and equal employment opportunity employers. Preference granted to qualified Native Americans living on or near the Tohono O'Odham reservation. ******************************************** From : David Hathaway Civil-Servant Scientist Positions in Solar/Heliospheric Physics at NASA/MSFC The Heliophysics Team in the Space Science Department of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center anticipates hiring two Civil Servant Scientists at the GS-13 level or higher over the next 12 to 15 months. Applicants must be US citizens with PhD degrees or equivalents in solar or heliospheric physics. The Marshall Heliophysics Team is currently involved with Hinode, RHESSI, SOHO, STEREO, and TRACE and is developing instruments for measuring magnetic fields in the chromosphere-corona transition region and for very high resolution EUV imaging of the transition region and corona. One of the positions is reserved for an individual with experience or interest in instrument design, fabrication, calibration, and data acquisition. Candidates with data analysis and modeling expertise will also be considered for the second position. For further information or to express interest in these positions contact Dr. John Davis (john.m.davis@nasa.gov) or Dr. David Hathaway (david.hathaway@nasa.gov). NASA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. ******************************************** From : Fernando Moreno-Insertis Postgraduate position at the UNIVERSITY OF OSLO and at the INSTITUTO DE ASTROFISICA DE CANARIAS within the SOLAIRE NETWORK The SOLAIRE Network is offering a postgraduate position for a student to do research leading to a doctoral (PhD) thesis on the topic "Diagnostics of magnetic flux emergence in the solar atmosphere". The successful candidate will have a main supervising node (University of Oslo) and a second supervising node (Instituto de Astrof?Á?sica de Canarias, IAC) and will take advantage of secondments to other Solaire nodes for the purpose of exchanging knowledge and to guarantee optimum training in different approaches and research tools of the network (supercomputing, ground-based observation, observation from space, theory). The appointment will consist of full-time, fixed-term contract(s) in the appointing institutions for a total of 36 months. The stay at Oslo University will be for a minimum of 22 months; the stay at the IAC will be for a minimum of 10 months. The appointments will be financed with the SOLAIRE Marie Curie Network funds up to the end of the network (31st May 2011) and with other funds thereafter to complete a total of 3 years. The starting date will be as soon as possible after the end of the selection procedure. For further information (description of the positions, application procedure, eligibility conditions, address for submission, salary and benefits) visit the Solaire web page: http://www.solairenetwork.net or write an email to fmi@iac.es. _______________________________________________ uksp mailing list uksp@physics.gla.ac.uk http://www.physics.gla.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/uksp