Research Support-Assistant

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Job Summary

The successful candidate will lead the data reduction, analysis, and publication of millimeter-wavelength observations of the moon Callisto (and potentially the asteroid Ceres) obtained with the millimeter-wavelength observatory ALMA, to characterize their surface properties.

Essential Job Duties

• Calibration and imaging of millimeter interferometry data of Callisto (and potentially Ceres) using the software package CASA
• Running of a thermophysical and radiative transfer model to produce model satellite/asteroid images to compare to observations
• Application of statistical methods to determine the model parameters that best fit the data
• Interpretation of the results in terms of the surface properties and surface modification processes dominant on the targets’ surfaces
• Leading the publication of the data, results & interpretation
• Perform other related duties as assigned

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in physics, astronomy, or a related field by the time the position begins
• Research experience with millimeter interferometric data processing
• Experience with the radio astronomy software package CASA and with scientific programming in Python

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with data from the Atacama Large (sub-)Millimeter Array (ALMA) calibrator catalogue
• Experience working with continuum imaging data of resolved Solar System targets with ALMA
• Experience running thermophysical modeling software to simulate thermal images of planetary bodies

Required Documents

• Resume