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Author: Marcus Mohring

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LISA PhD fellowships, Italian national PhD in Space Science and Technology

PhD fellowships are now open for application in the national PhD school "Space Science and Technology", in particular 5 fellowships in the newly created "gravity" curriculum in which a number of Italian LISA colleagues are involved.  There are exciting possibilities for both data analysis (3 fellowships) and experimental (2 fellowships) focused research,  and 4 of the 5 fellowships are directly dedicated to LISA (a 5th regards application of LISA GRS technology to geodesy). The deadline for application is 16 July.

The specific fellowships of interest to the LISA community are:

  • (8A) The “global fit” challenge in the data analysis of the space mission LISA (University of Milano Bicocca, contact Monica Colpi)
  • (8B) Development of algorithms for low-latency observations of mergers of massive black holes with the LISA space mission (University of Milano Bicocca, Massimo Dotti)
  • (8C) Multi-sensor analysis of the data stream from terrestrial and space (LISA) gravitational wave observatories (University of Pisa, Walter Del Pozzo)
  • (8D) From the LISA Pathfinder mission to the LISA observatory for gravitational waves at mHz frequencies: measurements of the fundamental limits for free-falling masses (University of Trento, William Joseph Weber)
  • (8E) Design, analysis, and testing of a gravitational reference test mass system for geodesy (University of Trento, William Joseph Weber)

Students will enter a network with some of the top groups collaborating in gravitational waves and in space science in Italy. The fellowships foresee a period abroad (6 months). Please do not hesitate to forward this announcement to your colleagues and/or to contact the references for more information on the specific research opportunities.

Please see the link to the application:

english: https://www.unitn.it/en/phd/space-science-and-technology-sst-national-doctoral-programme

italian: https://www.unitn.it/it/dottorati/dottorato-di-interesse-nazionale-space-science-and-technology-sst

Please find further in this PDF abstracts for different fellowships, which include the INAF LISA fellowship, 1E in the “observation of the universe” program, which may also include other fellowships of interest to the LISA astrophysics community.

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PhD level Position in Gravitational & High-Energy Astrophysics at the University of Tübingen

The Gravitational and High-Energy Astrophysics Groups of the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (IAAT) at the University of Tübingen has an opening for one PhD level position (Wissenschaftliche/r Angestellte/r, m/w/d) starting from 1st of October 2025. The position is for 36 months. The salary will be paid according to the German public service scale (50 % TV-L E13). Deadline for applications: July 25, 2025.

The successful applicant will conduct original research focusing on the dynamics of neutron stars and black holes, as well as their observations in the gravitational and high-energy spectrum. The candidate is expected to have a strong background in astrophysics and computational skills within the broader field of relativistic astrophysics. He or she will be involved primarily in theoretical work with the Theoretical Astrophysics Group (TAT) led by Professor K. Kokkotas, and mainly in observational work with the High-Energy Astrophysics Group (HEA) led by Professor A. Santangelo.

The research activities of TAT focus on the investigation of gravitational wave sources, with particular emphasis on the dynamics of neutron stars and black holes. In parallel, HEA concentrates on high-energy astrophysical sources, covering a broad spectrum from X-rays to very high-energy gamma rays (in the TeV range), and especially on compact objects.

A Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, or other relevant fields is required, as well as excellent written and spoken English proficiency. Documented skills in GR theory, compact objects study, data analysis, and programming techniques are an asset for the position.

Applications, including curriculum vitae, transcript of records, list of publications (if any), statement of research interests and experience, and the names and contact details of two referees (reference letters may be requested later) should be sent to:

Prof. Kostas Kokkotas
Theoretical Astrophysics (IAAT)
University of Tübingen
Auf der Morgenstelle 10
D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
E-mail: kostas.kokkotas_at_uni-tuebingen.de

Prof. Andrea Santangelo
High-Energy Astrophysics (IAAT)
University of Tübingen
Sand 1
D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
E-mail: andrea.santangelo_at_uni-tuebingen.de

Applications by e-mail are welcome. All applications will receive full consideration until the position is filled. The University of Tübingen seeks to increase the fraction of female scientists in research and teaching and particularly encourages applications from women. Disabled candidates are given preference if equally qualified.

Please find here details.

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Expressions of Interest for Advanced Fellowships University of Sussex

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Sussex in Brighton, UK is inviting expressions of interest from candidates to apply for advanced long-term fellowships with the

Astronomy Centre
Experimental Particle Physics group
Theoretical Particle Physics group

We are seeking candidates to apply for:

STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowship (ERF)
Royal Society University Research Fellowship (URF)
Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship

Expressions of interest should be sent by email to Dr Jonas Lindert at J.Lindert(at)sussex.ac.uk (Your email should have the subject “Advanced Fellowships Sussex”.) by 10th July 2025. Please indicate the research group you are interested in.

Expressions of interest should be sent by email to Dr Jonas Lindert at J.Lindert(at)sussex.ac.uk (Your email should have the subject “Advanced Fellowships Sussex”.) by 10th July 2025. Please indicate the research group you are interested in.

To be considered, please submit the following documents:

STFC ERF Expression of Interest Form [DOCX 26.08KB]. This needs to have the scope and detail of an actual research proposal.

OR

A narrative CV in the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format

A research proposal (maximum 3 pages), ideally structured using STFC’s required format, with clearly defined vision and approach sections

Please also arrange for two letters of recommendation to be sent directly to the above contact by the same deadline.

Shortlisted candidates will be notified in late July and assigned a mentor to help develop their full applications.

We are also happy to answer any informal enquiries.

The University of Sussex is committed to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion within our research community. We particularly encourage expressions of interest from individuals from underrepresented groups, including women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ individuals.

Contact: Jonas Lindert (J.Lindert(at)sussex.ac.uk)

Please find here details.

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STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowships at DAMTP University of Cambridge

The Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) will offer to support up to four applications (our quota) for the STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowship scheme. Expression of interest application deadline is 7th July 2025.

Ernest Rutherford Fellowships are highly competitive. They enable early career researchers with clear leadership potential to establish a strong, independent research programme. They are intended for early career researchers who do not hold a permanent academic position. Applicants must hold a PhD qualification or have relevant experience and clear leadership potential.

Potential applicants should first contact a member of DAMTP academic staff in an appropriate area to discuss the possibility of submitting a pre-application to the DAMTP selection committee which will review requests. They should contact gr-secretary(at)damtp.cam.ac.uk if they have any difficulty identifying an appropriate member of staff or have any questions about the selection process.

Once applicants have identified a member of DAMTP academic staff to sponsor their application, a pre-application may be made by submitting:

  • CV
  • Publication list
  • A completed Expression of Interest form
  • An online Equality, Diversity and Inclusion questionnaire (optional)

The CV, publication list and Expression of Interest form should be sent to gr-secretary(at)damtp.cam.ac.uk with attachments as pdf or Word document format files.

Applicants must also ask a referee external to Cambridge to submit a reference letter to the above email address. In addition they must arrange for the DAMTP academic staff member to send a statement of support.
Pre-applications and reference letters must be received no later than 7th July 2025. We expect to inform all applicants of the outcome no later than 17th July.

Successful candidates will be provided with support and advice to develop their application before submission to STFC and will be further supported if selected for interview by STFC.

As per STFC guidelines, candidates will not be put under any pressure to accept an offer to be hosted before 18th July. This is to ensure candidates who submit pre-applications to multiple host organisations are given time to make an informed decision regarding which one to accept.

The STFC closing date for submission of applications is 4pm BST on 1st October 2025.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society. We particularly welcome applications from women and/or candidates from a BAME background for this vacancy as they are currently under-represented at this level in our department.

Please find here full details.

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Call for postdoctoral positions at University of Paris-Saclay

The Graduate School of Physics at Université Paris-Saclay, France, is launching a new postdoctoral fellowship program: UPSaclay-STAR-φ, supported by the EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND.

The program will recruit up to 41 international postdoctoral researchers over two calls, for 24-month projects in one of the 40 laboratories of the Graduate School, working on various fields from fundamental to applied physics. This includes the following two Theoretical Physics institutes :

  • Institut de Physique Théorique (IPhT), Saclay
  • Theory Pole of IJCLab, Orsay

The application deadline for the first call is July 31st, 2025 and the expected start of the fellowships early 2026 (flexible).

Applicants will have to propose their own research project, aligned with the School’s wide-ranging fields, from fundamental to applied physics. They are free to choose the institute at which they would like to carry out their research.

To be eligible, applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity in France for more than 12 months during the 3 years preceding the deadline for applications.

For further information and application instructions, please visit:
http://www.cofund-physics.universite-paris-saclay.fr/

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HEAD 22 Meeting, October 12-16 2025 in St. Louis

The 22nd meeting of the AAS High Energy Astrophysics Division will be held 12-16 October 2025 in St. Louis, Missouri. HEAD 22 promises to provide a lively environment, a jam-packed scientific schedule, and the chance to connect with colleagues and friends.

Science topics include:

  • Active Galactic Nuclei
  • Galaxy Clusters / Large Scale Structures
  • ISM / Galaxies
  • Mission and Instruments
  • Multi-messenger Astrophysics
  • Stellar / Compact Objects
  • Time-domain Astrophysics

Abstracts for oral presentations or posters are due by June 30th at 9:00 pm EDT.

Background for LVK members: The High Energy Astrophysics Division (HEAD) of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) includes gravitational-wave astronomy and astrophysics in its scope. For instance, HEAD newsletters routinely include summaries of LVK observing runs and results, multi-messenger aspects of X-ray and gamma-ray space missions, progress toward LISA, and news from NASA’s GW Science Interest Group. *

Meeting Website

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3rd Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry Workshop, August 20-22 2025 at Leibniz University Hannover

The 3rd TVLBAI workshop follows the formation of the TVLBAI Proto-Collaboration and will focus on discussing the technology and physics drivers for large-scale Atom Interferometry as well as establishing a comprehensive roadmap. The primary objectives are to bring together researchers from diverse institutions and communities, foster strategic discussions, and develop a pathway towards Funding for Terrestrial Very-Long Baseline Atom Interferometer projects expected to become operational in the mid-2030s.

In this third iteration of the TVLBAI workshop, we are gathering in Hannover, providing an opportunity to visit the newly established and now operational 10m VLBAI facility. In addition to the VLBAI visits, we are offering lab tours within the Institute of Quantum Optics and the Einstein Elevator.

Building on the success of the last two editions, this workshop will cultivate a strong sense of community among participants. It will help to establish a supportive network of experts and enthusiasts ready to advance the field of Atom interferometry from all over the world.

International Organisation Committee:

  • Gianluigi Arduini, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Kai Bongs, DLR Institute for Quantum Technologies, Germany
  • Philippe Bouyer, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • Diego Blas, Institut de Física d’Altes Energies, Spain
  • Oliver Buchmueller, Imperial College London, UK
  • Sergio Calatroni, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Benjamin Canuel, CNRS, Institut d’Optique Graduate School, France
  • Marilù Chiofalo, University of Pisa and INFN Pisa, Italy
  • Fabio Di Pumpo, University of Ulm, Germany
  • Michael Doser, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
  • John Ellis, King’s College London, UK
  • Naceur Gaaloul, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany
  • Jason Hogan, Stanford University, US
  • Peter Knight, Imperial College London, UK
  • Timothy Kovachy, Northwestern University, US
  • Ernst Rasel, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany
  • Ulrich Schneider, University of Cambridge, UK
  • Guglielmo Tino, University of Florence and LENS, Italy
  • Wolf von Klitzing, IESL-FORTH, Greece
  • Mingsheng Zhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, China

Local Organisation Committee:

  • Elina Fuchs, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany
  • Naceur Gaaloul, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany
  • Klemens Hammerer, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany
  • Michèle Heurs, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany
  • Jürgen Müller, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany
  • Maria Alessandra Papa, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany
  • Ernst Maria Rasel, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany
  • Dennis Schlippert, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany
  • Michael Werner, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany

Workshop Website

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LISA School for early-career scientists, October 6-17, 2025 in Les Houches

Gravitational-wave observations are providing a new view on the Universe: from the high-frequency observations by ground-based facilities, to the tantalising evidence of low-frequency gravitational waves reported by pulsar timing array collaborations in 2023. It is an exciting time for GW astronomy and the LISA space mission will bridge the gap between the high and low frequency. The LISA mission is led by the European Space Agency (ESA) with NASA partnership. Anticipated observations include black hole binaries (supermassive, intermediate mass), Galactic compact object binaries; extreme mass ratio inspirals, early inspiral of stellar-mass black hole binaries, cosmological sources as well as other possible unforeseen sources.

Last year, ESA formally adopted the LISA mission. This crucial milestone marks the transition from study phase to implementation phase. Launch is planned for the mid-2030s.

Why a LISA School?

LISA is a first-of-its-kind mission. The instrumentation and data analysis challenges will require a significant amount of development. Building expertise and tools to address these challenges is essential to ensure the success of the mission and maximise the scientific returns. This LISA School will gather young researchers interested in LISA science to foster collaborations, encourage interactions, and train them in the multidisciplinary aspects of the missions and its science. The recent ESA Adoption makes the coming years opportune time to bring the early career community of LISA together.
Scientific objectives

The key objectives of this LISA school are:

  • broaden the knowledge of early-career scientists with lectures on LISA science;
  • provide hands-on experience in some of the current LISA software tools;
  • present the pioneering LISA instrumental design and methods;
  • enable early-career scientists (the future research leaders by the launch of the mission) to meet in person, network, share ideas, and foster collaboration;
  • inform early-career scientists on the LISA mission organisational structure and plans;
  • develop general skills and a welcoming collaboration environment.

The school will welcome approximately 50 in-person participants. Sessions will be taught by LISA experts (we anticipate approximately 15 expert teachers). When inviting teachers for the school, we have favoured early-career experts and paid special attention to gender representation.

Registration and timeline

Pre-registrations are now open, and will close July 11th at midnight.

The school is limited to 50 students, and will be served on a first-come, first-serve basis. Your registration confirmation will be sent mid-July and payment is expected before end of July.

We do not allow for partial participation, i.e., students are expected to attend the 11 days of school.

Participation fees

Student participation fees for the whole school amounts to EUR 900.

This includes subsistence (from dinner on the day of arrival to lunch on the day of departure), accomodation, and other organization fees (coffee breaks, library, IT space, leisure facilities). It does not include transport to and from Les Houches, or any extra activities.

We plan to support students with limited financial resources; you can apply for this support by filling the “Support Request” field in the pre-registration form.

Les Houches School of Physics

Les Houches is a village located in Chamonix valley, in the French Alps. Established in 1951, the Physics School is situated at 1150 m above sea level in natural surroundings, with breathtaking views on the Mont-Blanc mountain range.

Les Houches Physics School is UAR 2002 run by Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA).

The 5 School Partners are

  • UGA, the Institut National Polytechnique (Grenoble-INP),
  • the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS),
  • the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA), and
  • the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon (ENS Lyon).

School Website

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Two PhD Positions at University of Hamburg

Two positions for PhD students in geophysics and/or physics in the scope of project "SeiSmart: Research on and with seismic networks in smart cities". Application deadline: July 2nd 2025.

The project is a collaboration between the University of Hamburg, The Helmut-Schmidt University and DESY. SeiSmart explores the potential use and benefits of seismic sensing networks using distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) in cities and research campuses for high precision experiments, structural health monitoring and scientific research and sustainability. SeiSmart research is conducted with a focus on the sensing network developed and operated by the WAVE Initiatve in the Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld and the research connects strongly to gravitational wave detection observatories and experiments.

The two positions focus on:
1) Demonstrating real-time seismic noise prediction for active compensation
2) DAS and seismic wave propagation modeling for structural monitoring of large research facilities

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Fellowship Applications at University of Southampton

The Gravity group and the String Theory and Holography group of the school of Mathematical Sciences are accepting expressions of interest from early-career researchers who wish to apply for following fellowships with the University of Southampton as the host institution:

University Research Fellowship
Ernest Rutherford Fellowships
Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship
ERC grants
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowships

The Gravity group works on theory modelling, numerical simulations and data analysis for gravitational-wave astronomy. The main focus is on the dynamics of neutron stars and black holes, with direct connections to current ground-based interferometers, next-generation instruments (Cosmic Explorer and the Einstein Telescope) and LISA. Permanent group members are Nils Andersson, Leor Barack, Carsten Gundlach, Ian Jones, Ian Hawke, Adam Pound, Andreas Schmitt and Jonathan Thompson.

The String Theory and Holography group works on string theory; quantum field theory; holographic dualities and applications to gravity, black holes, cosmology, particle physics, condensed matter and quantum information and the permanent members of group are Ines Aniceto, Oscar Dias, Fridrik Gautason, Felix Haehl, Carlos Mafra, Kostas Skenderis, David Turton, Ben Withers, Itamar Yaakov and Ida Zadeh.

The University of Southampton also hosts the STAG Research Centre, which supports the coordinated activities with the theoretical physics and astronomy groups in the school of Physics & Astronomy.

If you would like to be considered please arrange submit a PDF document addressing:

  • Vision – What you are hoping to achieve with your proposed work? (up to 500 words)
  • Approach – How are you going to deliver your proposed work? (up to 1500 words)
  • Capability to deliver – Why are you the right individual to successfully deliver the proposed work? (up to 500 words)
  • Career development – Why is this fellowship the right way to develop your career and how will you use it to benefit others? (up to 500 words)
  • Please also include a standard CV.

and arrange for one reference letter to be sent to:
Nils Andersson, n.a.andersson@southampton.ac.uk (Gravity)
Kostas Skenderis, K.Skenderis@soton.ac.uk (Strings & Holography)
To receive full consideration please send your EoI by: Friday July 11, 5pm BST

Contact:

Kostas Skenderis (K.Skenderis(at)soton.ac.uk); Andersson, Nils (N.A.Andersson(at)southampton.ac.uk)

Letters of Reference should be sent to:
K.Skenderis(at)soton.ac.uk, N.A.Andersson(at)southampton.ac.uk

Please find here details.