PhD Studentship in Stellar and Planetary Astrophysics

PhD Studentship in Stellar and Planetary Astrophysics

Assoc. Prof. Karen Pollard (University of Canterbury, New Zealand) has an opening for a 3-year Marsden-Funded PhD studentship on “Exploring strange new worlds: comets and planetary systems around young nearby stars". Young stars hosting protoplanetary discs are ideal astrophysical laboratories for studying the processes and mechanisms of planetary system formation. Combining high-quality spectra from a worldwide network of telescopes with complementary high-precision TESS photometry, this project aims to characterise the host stars in young stellar systems and reveal details of the properties and orbital dynamics of their exocomets and planets.

For more details: http://www2.phys.canterbury.ac.nz/~krp24/

The ideal candidate would have a strong background in stellar or planetary astrophysics with an interest in high-resolution spectroscopy, asteroseismology, stellar evolution, exo-planet and exocomet studies and/or protoplanetary disk formation and evolution.

A stipend of New Zealand Dollars $35,000 p.a. plus fees for 3 years is available, as well as funding for participation in international conferences.

We will start considering applications from 31 May 2024 and the position will remain open until filled. Start date is flexible, between 1 July 2024 and 1 March 2025. The ideal student will have an excellent MSc degree, first class honours (or a good second class division II) degree or equivalent in Astronomy, Physics or related subject.