Assistant Professor - Department of Physics and Astronomy

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor with an established research background in observational, theoretical, and/or computational astrophysics to start in fall 2024. 

The successful candidate is expected to actively contribute to and expand the current research activities at UTRGV in gravitational-wave astronomy, optical, and/or radio astronomy.  

UTRGV has strong research groups in these fields, including several members of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration working in the areas of continuous wave and supernova data analysis, lasers, optics R&D, detector characterization and noise modeling, and electromagnetic follow-up of kilonovae. 

Optical astronomy at UTRGV currently focuses on multiwavelength studies of compact binaries and transients. Astronomical research involving radio waves concentrates on transient phenomena and their detection in the low radio-frequency range. Members of the department make use of major astronomical facilities such as HST, TESS, Swift, Chandra, VLA and the Gemini observatories. Furthermore, research is conducted at several state-of-the-art laboratories at UTRGV, as well as through collaborative work with the two LIGO observatories in Hanford, Washington and Livingston, Louisiana, the nationwide Low-Frequency All- Sky Monitor (LoFASM) network, and a dedicated gravitational-wave optical-follow-up facility in the Southern Hemisphere (the TOROS project telescope funded by NSF). Astronomers in the United States have access to NOIRLab's world-class facilities and NASA telescopes. They will also have access to the upcoming Vera Rubin Observatory and other large US astronomical projects. 

Members of the department have access to the local computer cluster and the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) for tasks that demand significant computational resources.  

The prospective candidate should be able to initiate a research program with the potential to secure external funding and provide mentorship to undergraduate and graduate students in the Ph.D. program. In addition, faculty members are anticipated to actively participate in both the educational and service initiatives of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the University. Teaching responsibilities include the instruction of undergraduate and/or graduate-level courses.

 Applications will start to be reviewed on November 30th, 2023 but we will continue accepting applications until the position is filled.   

 The candidate should hold a Ph.D. in Astronomy, Physics, or related disciplines and a minimum of 2 years of postdoctoral experience.