Contact: astro[AT]samsi.infoLocation: Raleigh, North Carolina (US)
We would like to announce a year-long program at the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI, www.samsi.info), Raleigh, North Carolina, an NSF institute funded by the Division of Mathematical Sciences, running from August 1, 2016 to May 31, 2017, focusing on gravitational waves, cosmology, exoplanets, and synoptic surveys.
The goal of this program is to bring together scientists and statisticians with the hopes of finding novel statistical solutions to tough science problems.
The overall themes for the ASTRO program are:
Astronomy: Gravitational Waves, Population Modeling, Exoplanets, Cosmology, and Synoptic Surveys
Mathematical & Statistical: Time Series Analysis, Uncertainty Quantification, Reduced Order Modeling, Inference with Inexact Models
With the following proposed working groups:
Working Group I: Uncertainty Quantification and Reduced Order Modeling in Gravitation, Astrophysics, and Cosmology
Working Group II: Synoptic Time Domain Surveys
Working Group III: Time Series Analysis for Exoplanets & Gravitational Waves: Beyond Stationary Gaussian Processes
Working Group IV: Population Modeling & Signal Separation for Exoplanets & Gravitational Waves
Working Group V: Statistics, computation, and modeling in cosmology
The ASTRO program leaders are G. Jogesh Babu, Jessi Cisewski, Rebekah Dawson, Eric Ford, Ben Farr, Eric Feigelson, Matthew Graham, Jeff Jewell, Tom Loredo, Ashish Mahabad, Ilya Mandel, Chad Schafer, Manuel Tiglio, and Michele Vallisneri.
Participation in a working group requires remote participation in biweekly meetings. You are also highly encouraged to visit SAMSI at some point during the year, as well as the multiple workshops that will take place as part of the program. The first workshop will take place on August 24-26 2016, with the possibility of introductory tutorials on August 22-24 2016.
Extended visits can be anywhere from 2 weeks to the whole program (9 months), or several shorter visits that add up to that. SAMSI will cover travel (from within US) and local lodging and transportation, up to $2500/month. Postdoctoral and graduate fellowships are also available.
A second program on Optimization (OPT) will be running in parallel to ASTRO, and applications can be submitted to participate in both programs.
There are a number of opportunities associated with the ASTRO program, from postdoc and graduate student fellowships to short and long term visits and participating in one or more of its working groups. For more details see http://www.samsi.info/opportunities/opportunity-types
Those interested in participating as a long term visitor at SAMSI should email the Program Liaison, Sujit Gosh (ghosh[AT]samsi.info), including a CV and brief cover letter containing the name of year long program (ASTRO), your anticipated activities and interest, and the (rough) dates you anticipate visiting. The visitor list is filling quickly, so any requests for visits should be submitted as soon as possible.
Postdoc SAMSI positions as part of the ASTRO program are for two years. Pending on availability of funds at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), there is the possibility of joint funding between SAMSI and UCSD, or an extended position at UCSD after the SAMSI program, on the topic of Reduced Order Modeling and Uncertainty Quantification. However, candidates should apply to SAMSI directly and contact Manuel Tiglio (tiglio[AT]ucsd.edu) to inquire about options at UCSD aligned with the SAMSI program.