Applications are invited for a 3-year PhD position at the University of Grenoble Alpes Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble (IPAG) and at the University of Geneva Department of Astronomy (Geneva Observatory). The successful applicant will work with Dr Xavier Bonfils at IPAG and Prof. François Bouchy at Geneva Observatory to find new habitable-zone transiting exo-Earths amenable to characterization. The project relies on two newly-installed infrared instruments: ExTrA and NIRPS. The infrared sensitivity of these instruments is critical to boost the efficiency of planet search around cool low-mass stars, which emits most of their light at infrared wavelengths. The Near-InfraRed Planet Searcher (NIRPS) is an infrared Doppler spectrograph that will significantly enhance the reach of the famous planet-hunting spectrograph HARPS (which is limited to the visible) at the 3.6-meter telescope of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The Exoplanets in Transit and their Atmospheres (ExTrA) experiment is an array of three 60-cm telescopes capable of infrared photometry. Both instruments are located in La Silla, Chile. They will be key to follow-up exoplanets detected with TESS, a NASA mission poised to discover thousands new transiting planets around bright stars.

 

The position is expected to start on September 1st, 2019 for 18 months at IPAG in Grenoble, followed by 18 months at Geneva Observatory. The successful applicant will play a key role in this ambitious planet search by managing observing programs to search for exoplanets around low-mass stars, analyzing the collected data, and interpreting the results of their analysis. 

 

Start date : September 2019

 

Duration : 3 years

 

Salary : ~ 21’000 € / year gross salary in Grenoble and ~ 50’000 CHF / year gross salary in Geneva, according to respective university rules

 

Deadline : candidates are encouraged to apply at their earliest convenience and no later than June 14th

 

• master of science (MSc) degree in astronomy, physics, or related fields;
• good command of programming languages (Unix, Python, C);
• proficiency in scientific English (written and spoken).

Further inquiries and applications should be sent to both xavier.bonfils(at)univ-grenoble-alpes.fr and francois.bouchy(at)unige.ch.

 

• curriculum vitae;
• cover letter listing 2 names of references / referees. Up to 2 reference letters can be sent separately by the referees themselves;
• diploma and grades for the previous 2 years;
• written products of previous research experiences are welcome: manuscripts, reports, presentation(s), pieces of code, or other relevant materials.

 

stellar physics, galactic dynamics, observational cosmology and high-energy astrophysics. Our exoplanet team is renowned for its strong involvement in exoplanet detection, the determination of the planet physical properties, the characterization of exoplanetary 

Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS (www.nccr-planets.ch), dedicated to the study of the origin, evolution, and characterization of planets inside and outside our Solar System, providing the applicants with opportunities to develop collaborations with members of the large PlanetS community.

Foundation with a gross salary around 80,000 CHF and are open for immediate start.
 
Interested candidates can contact Prof. Stéphane Udry (stephane.udry(at)unige.ch), Prof. Francesco Pepe (francesco.pepe(at)unige.ch), or Prof. François Bouchy (francois.bouchy(at)unige.ch) and send their application to Dr. Sophie Saesen (sophie.saesen(at)unige.ch). The application should contain *in a singe pdf file*:

- a curriculum vitae;

- a publication list;

- a motivation letter;

- a short research statement describing past achievements and future projects.

Applicants should arrange for up to two letters of recommendation to be sent to the same address. The deadline is 15 March 2019 but applications will accepted until the positions are filled.