[UK] Herchel Smith Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at University of Cambridge

The Managers of the Herchel Smith Postdoctoral Research Fellowships Fund invite applications for a Fellowship in the areas of Astrophysics or Cosmology to be held either in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) or in the Institute of Astronomy (IoA) at the University of Cambridge from 1 October 2010 or otherwise by negotiation. The Fellowship is available for between two and three years.
Eligible Candidate
Applicants must have received, or be close to completion of, a PhD, DPhil, or equivalent doctoral-level research degree. If an applicant has not yet formally received their degree, they must present evidence of having completed the academic requirements before commencing the Fellowship. In compliance with the wishes of Herchel Smith, applications are invited from doctoral or equivalent graduates from any university but normally excepting those who have obtained their PhD, or equivalent, from Harvard or Cambridge Universities.

The Fellowship is only available to early career researchers, defined as those who have no more than three years’ post-doctoral experience. The length of post-doctoral experience should be taken from the date of PhD viva (or equivalent) until the date of Fellowship commencement. Exceptions to this time limit will be made in the case of applicants who have taken a career break (e.g. for maternity leave or compulsory national service). In these cases, brief details about the period of interruption must be provided with your application.
Value of this fellowship
The Fellowship provides an opportunity for independent research, although the holder will usually work in close collaboration with established research groups. Preference will be given to applicants whose work is of interest to both DAMTP and IoA. The stipend will be on the University’s Postdoctoral Research Associate scale which currently is between £27,183 and £35,469 per annum. Appointment will be at an appropriate point on this scale.
Closing date: 31 January 2010.
Further details and an application pack are available from the Secretary to the Fund Managers, Tel. +44 (0)1223 761507, e-mail hsf@admin.cam.ac.uk.
* Limit of tenure: two to three years from the start date.