Senior Lecturer in Astronomy, orientated towards Galactic Dynamics - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Job description
The position entails primarily research and teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Research will be conducted at least 60 % of full time. The work assignments of the position, as well as the relative proportions of research, teaching, and administration may change over time. The person is expected to develop active research within the area and related areas, which also includes active work in applying for external funding and developing collaborations with other university units and other governmental organizations involved in this type of research.

Research at Lund Observatory is focused on how the Milky Way formed, evolved and on its current structure. These are central issues in modern astrophysics. Lund Observatory has played a key role in developing the field of space astrometry, firstly, with the HIPPARCOS mission launch in 1989, and later with the Gaia mission, launched in 2013. Gaia is still collecting data today and is creating a revolution in Galactic astronomy based on its catalogue of almost 2 billion stars. Lund Observatory is now embarking on a new project to expand on the success of Gaia by leading proposals for a new space mission, called GaiaNIR. This proposal will widen the wavelength range to the near-infrared to also explore regions of our Galaxy which is hidden by dust and gas. 

The lecturer’s research is expected to focus on Galactic Dynamics exploiting the Gaia data to study the dynamical history and future evolution of stellar populations in our Galaxy. Additionally, the lecturer is expected to provide theoretical, statistical, and simulation expertise in the development of the work towards the next generation space astrometry observatory. This work requires new science cases based on the opportunities provided by near-infrared astrometry.

The lecturer is expected to teach in courses at the Bachelor’s and Master’s level, especially within the research area, but also at a more basic level. The new lecturer is expected to be responsible for handling the bachelor theses at the astronomy unit.

Eligibility
Those qualified for appointment as a Senior Lecturer are a person who has demonstrated teaching expertise and been awarded a PhD or has the corresponding research competence or some other professional expertise that is of value in view of the subject matter of the post and the duties that it will involve (according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 4, section 4).

For this position the qualified applicants must have a doctorate within the field of astronomy and astrophysics or another field of relevance to the position. It is a requirement to have completed at least five weeks of training in higher education teaching and learning or acquired equivalent knowledge by other means. In certain cases exceptions can be made from this requirement.

For academic staff at Lund University the general qualification requirements are to be suited to and having the general ability required to complete the duties of the post well.

Basis of assessment
The applicant must show a well-documented scientific background of research in developing and applying dynamical models of the Milky Way. 

Experience of developing Galactic potentials and their use for Bayesian analysis of observational and theoretical data is required as is working with large-scale observational data. Applicants must have strong experience working within Gaia data processing or equivalent. Today, research and postgraduate studies largely depend on the ability and competence of the individual researcher to obtain external funding. Hence, a proven capability to obtain external research grants as project-PI in national or international competition from research councils is a requirement. Very good written and oral knowledge of English is a requirement.

In-depth knowledge of Galactic dynamics and the use of angle-action coordinates is a merit as is experience and involvement in one or more of the following projects: The Gaia mission; 4MOST; RAVE; GaiaNIR; or other relevant ground or space-based surveys. 

The applicant should describe their current research themes and present a research plan for the next few years, and how to contribute to the research at the department. Scientific qualifications will be evaluated mainly based on quality, number of peer-reviewed scientific publications, and the research plan. 

Ability to supervise a PhD student as main supervisor at the onset of the employment is a requirement. Documented experience of and excellence in teaching and development of new course curricula, at basic as well as advanced (including postgraduate) levels within the applicants´ own and adjacent fields and in particular in statistical methods for astrophysics, are merits. Documented experience as main course responsible is a merit. Documented experience of supervision of Bachelor, Masters, and PhD students is also a merit as is experience of coordinating students’ thesis in astronomy. 

Equal attention shall be given to the assessment of teaching expertise as to the assessment of research expertise. The applicants shall present an educational portfolio and describe how they can contribute to the teaching in astronomy at the department.

Management skills and administrative skills are merits. Ability to create commitment, participation and job satisfaction are examples of demonstrated skill.

Documented experience in communicating science, and the societal values of research, are important merits.

When making the appointment, consideration will be given to the Lund University Appointment Rules. 

It is expected that any non-Swedish speaking appointee within a three-year period will master the Swedish language well enough to be able to teach and to communicate with the university administration in Swedish.

Design and content of the application
Your application should be written in English, since it will be assessed by international experts. The application should be formulated according to the Faculty of Science’s Application instructions for teaching positions. Upload the application as PDF-files in the recruitment system.