Postdoctoral Fellowship 'History of Modern Physics'

For already 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and connectedness. These values are strongly present on our campuses, in our students as well as our staff. At the VUB, you’ll find a diverse collection of personalities: pure innovators and especially people who are 100% their authentic selves. With about 3.500 employees, we are the largest Flemish-speaking employer in Brussels, an international city with which we are all too happy to be connected, and around which our four campuses are located.

Our education and research are grounded in the principles of free research with an eye on human progress. We disapprove of every purely authoritative argument and guarantee the free formation of judgement that is necessary for this basic principle to be incorporated in the community.

The VUB is autonomous and managed democratically. As such, we guarantee fundamental freedoms within our university, as well as the right of the university community to be involved in making and checking university policy.

The mission of the university includes:

• the development, the transfer and the application of high-standing academic education and scientific research, free from any prejudice;
• community integration of this in a spirit of social compassion;
• critical development of everyone in light of the responsibilities borne in the community.

The Faculteit Wetenschappen en Bio-ingenieurswetenschappen, Vakgroep Fysica, is looking for a postdoctoral researcher with a grant. 

More concretely your work package, for the validation of your doctoral research, contains: 

• Description:
  • The International Solvay Institutes owe their existence to the vision of Ernest Solvay, founder of the International Institute for Physics (1912) and its counterpart for Chemistry (1913). Pursuing his legacy, the Solvay family created in 1970 the International Solvay Institutes in association with the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB);
  • As a token of the Institutes’ dedication for scientific research, physicists and chemists have joined forces with historians and archivists to launch the Solvay Science Project , a multilingual virtual exhibit showcasing a selection of first-hand documents and images from the archival collections of the International Solvay Institutes;
  • Within the framework of the Solvay Science Project, the VUB invites applications for a one-year Postdoctoral fellowship in the history of modern physical sciences; 

• Duties and responsibilities:
  • You will contribute to feed the Solvay Science Project website, i.a. by writing contextual essays alongside the digital resources;
  • You will advance your own research agenda by producing original research leading to academic publications, policy analyses, blog posts, or similar outputs;
  • You will work closely with researchers and faculty from the VUB and the ULB to engage in outreach activities, as well as to provide administrative support, for the Solvay Science Project;
  • You will dedicate as much as half of your time to the project by consulting the historical archives of the International Solvay Institutes held at the ULB; 

For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base. 

What do we expect from you?

• You hold a PhD in History, with a strong focus in the history of modern physics; 

• You have demonstrated evidence of advanced training and experience in archival research;
• You have excellent oral and written communication skills in English;
• You have good passive (reading) knowledge of French and German;
• You have demonstrated experience in communicating to a broader (lay) audience (essential);
• You have willingness and capacity to develop skills in open-source management systems, especially for online collections and exhibits (e.g. Omeka);
• You have experience in digital humanities and social medias;
• You have the ability to work in a multidisciplinary team environment;
• You have autonomy in project management;
• You have readiness to travel to other institutions holding archives related to the Solvay Councils;

• You have not had a residence or employment in Belgium for a period exceeding 12 months in the 36-month period preceding the start date of the postdoctoral scholarship.

Are you going to be our new colleague?

You’ll be offered a full-time postdoctoral scholarship, for 12 months, with planned starting date 01/10/2021. 

You’ll receive a grant linked to one of the scales set by the government.

At the VUB, you’re guaranteed an open, involved and diverse workplace where you are offered opportunities to (further) build on your career.

As well as this, you’ll enjoy various benefits:

• Full reimbursement for your home-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, or compensation if you come by bike;
• Cost-free hospitalisation insurance;
• The space to form your job content and continuously learn via VUB LRN;
• Excellent facilities for sport and exercise;
• Ecocheques;
• Delicious meals at attractive prices in our campus restaurants;
• An open, family-friendly work environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave (based on a fulltime contract). 

Is this the job you’ve been dreaming of?

Send us ONLINE  and at latest on 23/08/2021  your CV, letter of motivation and the highest degree you’ve attained (not applicable for VUB alumni).

Do you have questions about the job content? Contact Prof. Kenneth Bertrams at [email protected]  or on +32 (0)2 650 39 56.

Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to www.vub.ac.be/vacatures  and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.