Research Fellow in Auroral Physics

Location:  Highfield Campus

Salary:   £32,348 to £39,745 Per annum

Full Time Fixed Term (10/04/2026)

Closing Date:  Thursday 05 January 2023

Interview Date:   To be confirmed

You will join our collaborative team in the area of ionospheric/auroral physics, in the Space Environment Physics group at the University of Southampton. You will work on a project studying the fine-scale structure and electrodynamics of the Earth's aurora, turbulent auroral processes, and the substorm onset instability. You will use data from the new state-of-the-art European Incoherent Scatter phased array radar (EISCAT_3D) together with a new high-resolution multi-wavelength auroral imager located near the EISCAT_3D transmitter site in northern Norway. The position is funded by a recently-awarded NERC "Highlight Topic" grant led by the University of Leicester and involving 9 UK institutes, including Southampton. This post will involve particularly close collaboration with Northumbria University and the British Antarctic Survey. It is a 3-year fixed-term position until 10^th April 2026 due to funding requirements.

The Space Environment Physics group forms part of the Astronomy group at Southampton. The two groups have wide-ranging international collaborations involving large ground-based facilities (e.g. EISCAT, SuperDARN, LSST, 4MOST) and space missions (Cluster, MMS, THEMIS, INTEGRAL, NuStar, Astrosat). The Space Environment Physics group has state-of-the-art optical instruments situated in the Arctic, including the ASK (Auroral Structure and Kinetics) multi-wavelength imager and HiTIES (High-Throughput Imaging Echelle Spectrograph), which are used in conjunction with both radar and satellite observations to study magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions from the global scale down to the physics of small-scale auroral processes. We are part of the School of Physics & Astronomy; 100% of the school’s research was rated world leading or internationally excellent for its impact on society in the last Research Assessment Framework, and the University of Southampton is in the top 1% of world universities and the top 10 of the UK’s research-intensive universities.

To be successful you will have a PhD* or equivalent professional qualifications in Space Plasma Physics or a related field and demonstrate the ability to conduct original research as evidenced by peer-reviewed publications.

Informal enquires are very welcome, and should be directed to Dr Daniel Whiter (d.whiter@soton.ac.uk).

*Applications for Research Fellow positions will be considered from candidates who are working towards and nearing completion of a relevant PhD qualification. The title of Research Fellow will be applied upon successful completion of the PhD. Prior to the qualification being awarded the title of Senior Research Assistant will be given.

Application Procedure

You should submit your completed online application form at https://jobs.soton.ac.uk. The application deadline will be midnight on the closing date stated above. If you need any assistance, please call Sian Gale (Recruitment Team) on +44 (0) 23 8059 2750, or email recruitment@soton.ac.uk. Please quote reference 2096722WF on all correspondence.

Further details:

We believe equality, diversity and inclusion are fundamental to making the University of Southampton a welcoming, vibrant and successful organisation. Having a diverse workforce, inclusive of people of all ages and beliefs, from different racial, educational and social backgrounds opens up a wealth of possibilities, makes us more creative and accelerates our impact on society. We welcome applicants that value the diversity of our community and are willing to play their part in supporting the mission of inclusivity. 

Please note that applications from agencies will not be accepted unless indicated in the job advert.

Advert information