CEICO Postdoctoral Research position in Gravity with focus on Global Positioning System

The Central European Institute of Cosmology and Fundamental Physics (CEICO) at the Institute of Physics (FZU) of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague welcomes applications for a Postdoctoral research position dedicated to the development of a relativistic global positioning system (GPS).

The researcher will be jointly supervised by Dr Constantinos Skordis (CEICO - FZU) and Dr Sante Carloni (Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague) and will work on the formulation of a consistent Relativistic Positioning System (RPS) and its analytical and numerical implementation. More specifically, the work will concern different aspects of a practical RPS implementation, including the integration of atmospheric models, the implementation of inverse satellite tracking for the reduction of errors in satellites’ ephemerides and timing errors, and the development of more efficient numerical codes to link timing data to the reconstruction of the geometry of spacetime around Earth and the orbital motion of the positioning system satellites.

The employment is expected to start in September 2024 with a standard contract duration of two years with a possibility of a one-year extension. An earlier starting date is negotiable. The monthly gross salary is in the range 60 000 - 65 000 CZK (approx. 2400 – 2600 EUR), from which tax, social, and health insurance are deducted. We offer an annual 100 000 CZK (4000 EUR) travel budget. Applicants are expected to have completed a Ph.D. degree in Physics or a related field, or equivalent research experience in Space Engineering with a focus on navigation, before taking up the post.

As a CEICO member, the successful applicant will have access to the team’s 2000 CPU-core and multi-GPU computer cluster and be part of a vibrant team with an active visitor programme.

The application:

Applicants are requested to submit (typeset with font size no less than 11 points)

• their Curriculum Vitae
• a one-page statement of their past research achievements.
• a one-page statement of how their experience would benefit the position
• a list of their publications.

Up to three academic referees, including the current or recent employer/supervisor, must be identified to this application system. As the application system will contact the referees automatically, it is the applicant’s responsibility to inform them of their application and the deadline.

Ensure your application (including reference letters) is fully submitted by the end of 3 March 2024 to receive full consideration.

Inquiries may be addressed to Ignacy Sawicki. Please note that applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted.

CEICO is a research centre within the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences established with funds from the Czech Academy of Sciences, the Czech Science Foundation, the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the European Commission. The team’s areas of research are: cosmology, gravity, string theory, and instrumentation for cosmological observations. The Cosmology and Gravity team is headed by Costas Skordis and comprises staff members Ignacy Sawicki, Alex Vikman, and Federico Urban, as well as several postdocs and graduate students.

CEICO values diversity and is committed to equality of opportunity.

Further information about CEICO, its current members and its research programmes can be found at https://www.ceico.cz. The pages of the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences can be found at https://www.fzu.cz/en/home.

Contact: Ignacy Sawicki (sawicki@fzu.cz)

Other open opportunities: https://www.ceico.cz/jobs