The Faculty of Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, has an opening for a

 

 

at the Institute of Physics to be filled by 1st December 2022.

 

The institute of physics hosts a number of experimental and theoretical working groups. The position is assigned to Prof. Alfons Weber as part of the working group ‘Experimental Particle and Astroparticle Physics’. Prof. Weber’s group is part of the cluster of excellence PRISMA+ (‘Precision Physics, Fundamental Interactions and Structure of Matter’), dedicated to explore key questions of the fundamental constituents of matter and its cosmological implications. The cluster of excellence is supported by a well-equipped detector development laboratory, the local 1.6 GeV electron accelerator and TRIGA nuclear reactor. The department is strongly involved in a number of activities in high energy physics (ATLAS, NA62, SHiP), dark matter searches (XENON, ALPS-II, IAXO), detector R&D and neutrinos physics (DUNE, T2K, IceCube, Borexino, JUNO, Project 8, Theia, Eos, ANNIE, LiquidO).

 

The offered position is within the context of the AM-OTech project (Anti-Matter-OTech: Novel Opaque Scintillator Technology for Nuclear Industry Imaging based on Anti-Matter Detection), funded through the European Innovation Council Pathfinder (EIC). AM-OTech aims to monitor the nuclear reactor cores at the Chooz power plant in the Ardennes, France, through their neutrino energy spectra. It is based on the R&D programme LiquidO, an innovative deep-tech detector for fundamental physics of antineutrinos and charged particles. The key innovation is the usage of an opaque scintillator instrumented with a grid of optical fibres, which allows for improved particle identification through the detection of individual energy depositions and event topologies of the incoming particles. It is scheduled to start in December 2022.

 

• Development of the AM-OTech simulation software

• Sensitivity studies and detector optimisation studies

• Physics analysis of AM-OTech data

• Co-supervision of master and PhD students involved in the AM-OTech analysis

• Participation and presentation of the progress at collaboration meetings in several European countries

• Dissemination of results via publications and conference presentations

• Help with teaching activities at bachelor and master-level (taught in English)

 

• PhD degree in experimental physics or equivalent

• Programming skills in C++, Python, Root, Geant4 or related software

• Experience in software development and data analysis

• Experience in neutrino physics or a related field of research is an advantage

• Very good command of written and spoken English

• Initiative character, creativity, communication and presentation skills, result

orientation and analytical skills

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team

• Ability to coordinate work of several persons

• Availability to travel to France and work in an underground laboratory

 

• 26 months fixed-term full-time contract

• Salary according to pay grade 13 of the German collective agreement for the public sector “Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst (TVöD), Entgeldgruppe 13 (E13)”.

• Membership in the AM-OTech and LiquidO collaborations

• Flexible working hours and various opportunities to reconcile work and private life

• Promoting professional development through participation in national and international conferences and through various training programmes

 

The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is aiming to increase the number of women among its scientific personnel and thus encourages women to apply.

 

Disabled applicants will be given preference, if equally qualified.

 

Qualified candidates are asked to submit their full application (including a one page letter of motivation, curriculum vitae, a one page summary of research experience, and a list of publications merged into a single PDF-file) to Katarina Marić (kmaric@uni-mainz.de). Two letters of recommendation should also be sent to the same address by the deadline.

 

Applications and the references should be received before 11th September 2022 for full consideration.