Eligibility:

Applications are invited from highly motivated young scientists with a proven track record. Candidates are expected to have a Ph.D. in Physics Astrophysics or Astronomy with excellent track record.

Salary and Benefits:

The initial appointment will be for two years, with possibility of extension up to a third year, based on the scientific activity of the Fellow. The position carries a monthly salary of Rs. 60,000 and a housing allowance of Rs. 15,000. Fellows can also opt for free Institute accommodation in lieu of the housing allowance. Fellows receive health insurance and a research grant of Rs. 200,000 per year. Fellows will also have the opportunity to apply for additional travel and research grants offered by the ICTS as well as the national funding agencies.

Astrophysical Relativity at ICTS:

The ICTS Astrophysical Relativity group includes Parameswaran Ajith (faculty), Bala Iyer (Simons visiting professor), Nathan K Johnson-McDaniel, Arunava Mukherjee, Sumit Kumar, Haris M K (postdocs), Abhirup Ghosh, Ajit Kumar Mehta (graduate students) and several visiting undergraduate students. K. G. Arun, Sascha Husa, Mark Hannam, Badri Krishnan and Tarun Souradeep are visiting associates. The group’s research interest include gravitational-wave source modeling, data analysis including parameter estimation, tests of general relativity using gravitational-wave observations and astrophysics. The group is an active member group in the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and the IndIGO consortium. The group hosts a 1,000 core LIGO Tier-3 grid computing cluster and has access to other high-performance facilities at ICTS. We organize several ICTS programs every year, including the annual ICTS summer schools on gravitational wave astronomy.

The Max Planck Partner Group in Astrophysical Relativity was established in 2015 in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Hannover, Germany. The fellows have the opportunity to spend extended periods at the Max Planck Institute.

ICTS is a new initiative in Indian science with a mandate to foster excellence in the basic sciences through its programs and to be a node for scientific information and values. Apart from hosting a large number of visitor-driven academic programs, ICTS runs world-class in-house research programs in three broad areas: spacetime physics, complex systems and mathematics. ICTS hosts strong visitors and associates programs, a highly competitive graduate school as well as a devoted postdoctoral program that forms an integral part of the in-house research. A state-of-the-art residential campus is ready to provide vibrant academic environment. Located in Bangalore, the garden city of India, with pleasant and moderate climate, ICTS maintains close ties with the world-class scholastic ambience of the city.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates can apply online with their CV, list of publications, a research proposal (not more than two pages) and a covering letter (PDF). The applicants also need to arrange at least three recommendation letters to be uploaded here. The nominal deadline is Dec 2, 2016; but applications will be considered until the positions are filled. The nominal starting date of Sep 1, 2017 is negotiable. Informal queries may be addressed to ajith (at) icts.res.in