This fellowship offers an opportunity to carry out independent research and to be connected with two vibrant programs. Stanford and UCSC are located 50 miles apart. Fellows will split their time between the two institutes over the duration of the fellowship, including the option to spend two years at each institute. The fellow will choose a mentor at each institute. The selected candidate will have access to the Lick Observatories, and, through collaborating faculty, to the Keck Observatories. Fellows will also have access to extensive computing facilities at Stanford, SLAC, and UCSC, and will have the opportunity to organize joint workshops between UCSC and Stanford.

KIPAC is a joint institute between Stanford University and SLAC, which is the lead laboratory for the construction and integration of the LSST camera, and the host laboratory for the LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration; KIPAC members are playing leading roles in both enterprises as well as in the Dark Energy Survey and DESI. KIPAC is playing a leading role in CMB experiments including BICEP/Keck Array, the South Pole Telescope, the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, LiteBIRD, the Simons Observatory, and planning for CMB Stage 4. KIPAC is also involved in X-ray observatories including the NuSTAR, IXPE (X-ray polarization) and the future Athena and Lynx missions. The KIPAC exoplanet group is working on adaptive optics and science development for the GPI2 upgrade of the Gemini Planet Imager. Other Stanford exoplanet work includes terrestrial planet evolution and atmospheric origin.

At UCSC, the Astronomy and Astrophysics department, Physics department, and the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics (SCIPP), maintain a diverse and vibrant research program in theoretical and experimental particle physics, cosmology, and high-energy/particle astrophysics (https://cosmology.sites.ucsc.edu). In Astronomy and Astrophysics and Earth and Planetary Sciences there exists a wide-range of research groups in many areas of exoplanet theory and observations (https://owl.ucsc.edu/). UCSC has a strong expertise in instrumentation in both particle physics and astronomy, and has access to Lick Observatory and the twin Keck telescopes. Postdocs can serve as PI on any of the Lick Observatory facilities (APF, Shane 3m) and collaborate with UC faculty to obtain Keck time. In addition to those listed above, faculty at UCSC are involved in a variety of programs including the Hyper Suprime Cam Survey, LSST Camera construction and characterization, science verification with the DESI spectrograph, astrophotonics instrumentation development, and next-generation Keck instruments including FOBOS, SCALES, KCRM, IGNIS, and an adaptive secondary. UC faculty are working on adaptive optics technology development at the Laboratory for Adaptive Optics, with a particular focus on ground-based exoplanet imaging technology at the new Santa Cruz Extreme AO Lab (SEAL) testbed.

Existing research programs at KIPAC and UCSC include cosmology, galaxy formation, exoplanets, high energy astrophysics, interstellar medium, star formation, instrumentation, and numerical simulations. KIPAC and UCSC are both active in cosmic surveys including DES, DESI, and LSST. Other joint activities include participation in the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope and planning for the Roman Space Telescope and Lynx missions. Joint exoplanet programs include the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI), the coronagraph instrument on the Roman Space Telescope, the origin and evolution of planetary atmospheres, and development of technologies and science cases for future exoplanet instruments on the Thirty Meter Telescope.

Candidates should have or expect to receive a Ph.D. in astronomy or physics by Fall 2022. Preference will be given to candidates starting their first postdoctoral fellowship, or who received or expect the PhD during or after 2021.

Please submit your application materials at https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/fellowship/19389. Candidates should provide a curriculum vitae including a publication list, and a 3-page statement of research interests, and arrange to have at least three letters of recommendation submitted to the same site. Please address how you would make optimal use of a joint Stanford--UCSC fellowship in your research statement and list one or more faculty members at each institution that you would be interested in collaborating with. We encourage applicants, as a component of their research statement, to discuss their experience with or commitment to engaging in mentoring, outreach, teaching, fostering inclusive and equitable environments, or activities that diversify the field. The deadline for applications is November 1, 2021. Late applications will be considered at the discretion of the search committee. More information about KIPAC can be found at http://kipac.stanford.edu/ and about UCSC astronomy at https://www.astro.ucsc.edu. KIPAC and UCSC are committed to an inclusive work environment and encourage applications from candidates that will diversify the workforce in astrophysics and cosmology.