Research Fellow in Cosmology with Transients - School of Physics and Astronomy - 108253 - Grade 7

Location: United Kingdom Department: Academic Non-clinical

Position Details

School of Physics and Astronomy

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £37,369 to £46,970 with potential progression once in post to £49,798

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to January 2030

Closing date: 25th November 2026

UK and International travel may be required for this role

Background

The University of Birmingham Astrophysics and Space Research group is looking for one or more postdoctoral research fellow to work on cosmology transient surveys and strong lensing. The position is open to work with the group of Dr. Suhail Dhawan on the UKRI/ERC project NGCOSMO.

The projects can include (but not limited to)

• Inference of H0 with strong gravitationally lensed supernovae
• The local distance ladder measurement of H0
• Dark energy inference with Supernovae
• Synergies between LSST and Euclid surveys

We are members of LSST and Euclid and the applicant will also have access to independent programs with SOAR, Liverpool telescope, GTC, VLT and 4MOST as well as JWST/HST programs as part of large and diverse international collaborations. There are ample supercomputing resources from both local and international collaborative facilities. The position comes with a generous allowance to cover travels to conferences and research visits, and   guaranteed   access   to   the   university’s high-performance supercomputer BlueBEAR. Additionally, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to supervise students, acquire teaching experience, participate in outreach activities, organize international meetings, and get any support or training needed for their personal and career development.

Role requirements

PhD (or equivalent) in physics or a related field or being near to completion

Strong record of research in astronomy, experience with time-domain astronomy appreciated but not required

Ability to build relationships and collaborate with others

Applications must include a CV, statement of past and future research (no more than 2 pages in total), a brief cover letter and arrange to have three recommendations to be sent by email to Nicola Holloway ([email protected]) by the application deadline.

The School of Physics and Astronomy is a world-leading physics department, excelling in both research and teaching. It hosts over 130 academic and research staff, around 50 technical and support staff, and over 130 graduate students. Our physics research was recently ranked top in the UK for 4-star-category research by the national Research Excellence Framework 2021 exercise.

The School is an Institute of Physics Juno Champion since 2014 and holder of an Athena SWAN Silver Award. Both initiatives recognise the School’s commitment to promote equality and diversity, and to encourage better practice for all members of the community, whilst also working towards developing an equitable working culture in which all staff can achieve their full potential.  We welcome applications from all qualified applicants, but applications from traditionally under-represented groups in physics and astronomy, such as women and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, are particularly encouraged.

Role Summary

Work within specified research grants and projects and contribute to writing bids

Operate within area of specialism

Analyse and interpret research findings and results

Contribute to generating funding

Contribute to licensing or spin out deals with demonstrated commercial success (such as revenues, asset or company sales, IP generated) and/or public understanding of the discipline or similar

Main Duties

The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required

Contribute to writing bids for research funding

Analyse and interpret data

Work on telescope time proposals and ongoing survey programs for transient observations

Work towards building a systematics controlled framework for measuring cosmology with lensed supernovae

Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding

Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc

Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline

Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods

Undertake management/administration arising from research

Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration

Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader

Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews, and research interviews

Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars, conference presentations and as posters

Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students (with the possibility of supervising year 4 and PhD students) who may be assisting with the research

Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines

Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.

Person Specification

First degree in area of specialism and normally, a higher degree relevant to research area or equivalent qualifications

PhD in Physics or a related field or be on track for completion by the start date.

Expertise in observations and theoretical modelling of strongly gravitationally lensed transients and their use in cosmology to measure the Hubble Constant

High level analytical capability

Ability to communicate complex information clearly

Fluency