Post-Doctoral Fellowship or Research Associate
Satellite Remote Sounding for Mars
The Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science at Dalhousie University in conjunction with Canadian industrial partners is developing a satellite-based Fourier transform spectrometer in solar occultation and possibly surface emission/reflection. The instrument will be placed in orbit around the planet Mars to measure atmospheric composition to investigate aspects of the Martian atmosphere of relevance to the history or Mars, its current climate and interactions with the surface. The recent discovery of plumes of methane in the atmosphere gives added impetus to this activity.
As a result of this activity, the remote sounding group has a vacancy for a Post-Doctoral Fellow or Research Associate to work on remote sounding of the Martian atmosphere. The position will involve investigating retrieval techniques and the optimization of the instrument design for measuring the composition of the atmosphere of Mars.
The successful candidate will have a Ph.D. from a recognized institution in the physical sciences (physics, chemistry, mathematics and allied subjects) and should have experience in some combination of satellite instrument design, instrument modeling, retrieval techniques and the Martian atmosphere. The position will be for two years in the first instance.
Dalhousie University is situated on Canada's East coast. It has 17,000 students (3,800 graduates) and is a major research and teaching university within Canada. Halifax is the largest city in Atlantic Canada, and offers an outstanding quality of life (see http://www.halifaxinfo.com/ ).
Applicants should submit a resume and a statement indicating how they would expect to contribute to the above project.
Applicants should also arrange for two academic references to be submitted. Applications should be sent (preferably by e-mail) to:
Prof. James R. Drummond
Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science
Sir James Dunn Building
Dalhousie University
Halifax, Nova Scotia, CANADA, B3H 1Z9
E-mail: james.drummond@dal.ca
Web-site: http://fizz.phys.dal.ca/~jrdrummond/
Review of applications will begin on March 15, 2009 with a view to making a decision before March 31, 2009.
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply. Dalhousie University is an Employment Equity/Affirmative Action employer. The University encourages applications from qualified Aboriginal people, persons with a disability, racially visible persons and women.
