Research Associate Astrophysics

Company description:

We are a world class research-intensive university. We deliver teaching and learning of the highest quality. We play a leading role in economic, social and cultural development of the North East of England. Attracting and retaining high-calibre people is fundamental to our continued success.

Job description:

Salary:

Research Assistant: £33,002 - £33,951 per annum

Research Associate; £35,608 - £37,694 per annum

The Role

The School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics (MSP) at Newcastle University are seeking to recruit a fixed-term Research Assistant/Associate in extragalactic astrophysics to join an exciting UKRI-funded research program managed by Dr Chris Harrison. The post will be hosted at Newcastle and will involve working closely with collaborators at Durham University, via Prof. Dave Alexander and his team.  

The project will combine observations with predictions from hydrodynamic simulations to make significant scientific progress in understanding how Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) influence the formation and evolution of galaxies. There is a particular interest in understanding the role of dust and obscuration in driving AGN feedback.

This post is expected to focus on spectroscopic surveys including 4MOST and MOONS. Newcastle and Durham are members of the extragalactic surveys of MOONRISE and the 4MOST IR AGN surveys, both of which are expected to start operations in 2026. There will also be close ties with collaborators based in Garching (Germany) at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE).

In addition to project-specific activities, you will be encouraged to pursue your own, related, independent research interests and training/development. Furthermore, you will be encouraged to undertake outreach/engagement activities, particularly those designed to increase accessibility and inclusion to science, e.g., through Newcastle’s Audio Universe project.

Successful applicants will join the growing astronomy and astrophysics group at Newcastle University, which has wider expertise in galaxy evolution, cosmology, compact objects, stellar evolution, and magneto-hydrodynamic simulations. Furthermore, you will be part of the Newcastle-Durham “Accretion Alliance” collaboration, which is a network of those interested in accretion related physics across the two institutions.

The post can commence from March 2026 and is provisionally expected to last until February 2029.. Funds are available for travel, training and other support.

We embrace equity and particularly welcome applications from community members that are under-represented in physics and/or if you have demonstrable experience in showing a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion then please outline this in your application.

We are committed to building and maintaining a fair and inclusive working environment.

We would be happy to discuss arrangements for flexible and/or blended working.

To apply, please complete the online application, attaching a CV, covering letter and 3-page research statement.

In your covering letter, please outline how you are either working towards, meet or exceed all the essential requirements for the role holder.

For all information enquiries, please contact Dr Chris Harrison via email: christopher.harrison@newcastle.ac.uk.

For more information, see the following:

• The 4MOST IR AGN survey.
• The MOONS spectrograph.
• Dr Chris Harrison’s personal webpage.
• Prof. Dave Alexander’s personal webpage.
• The wider astrophysics and observational cosmology research group at Newcastle.
• The Audio Universe project.

Advert information