The University of Potsdam (UP) was founded in 1991 and has firmly established itself in the landscape of scholarship and science. It has also become an out-standing factor in regional economics and development. The University is highly successful in the acquisition of external funding, has received multiple awards for its teaching, and offers a service-oriented administration. About 21,000 students and 3,000 employees work at three locations – Am Neuen Palais, Griebnitzsee and Golm – at one of Germany’s most beautiful academic institutions.

The University of Potsdam, Faculty of Science, Institute of Physics and Astronomy invites applications for a joint professorship under the Jülich Model with the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) to be filled as soon as possible:

Full Professorship (W3)
in the field of Astrophysics and Director at AIP

The position is the first of two anticipated appointments as directors at AIP in the coming years. The appointee is responsible for the scientific leadership either of a research branch covering the wider field of “Stellar, Solar & Exoplanetary Physics” or of a research branch devoted to “Galactic Astrophysics & Stellar Populations.” The appointee is expected, in coordination with the other branch directors, to amalgamize existing expertise at AIP with new, complementing ideas towards a coherent, internationally leading long-term research program of considerable scientific breadth that incorporates observations and the development and construction of state-of-the-art astronomical instrumentation as well as theory, simulation, and data science. As this call is part of an extended research strategy for the coming decade, excellent scientists with research plans in the field of extragalactic astrophysics and cosmology, or other fields that closely connect to AIP’s overall research program, are also welcome to apply.

AIP is a major research center for astrophysics employing more than 200 people. AIP is dedicated to astrophysical research ranging from the exploration of our sun to the evolution of the universe as a whole, supplemented by the development of research technology in the fields of spectroscopy, robotic telescopes, and e-science. The institute is located in the beautiful Potsdam/Babelsberg area, on the southwestern perimeter of the Berlin metropolitan area. AIP is a partner in the GREGOR solar telescope, coordinates the efforts to build the spectroscopic survey facility 4MOST for ESO´s VISTA telescope, and partner in the secondgeneration ELT spectroscopic instruments MOSAIC and ANDES.

We are looking for a researcher with very high qualifications, scientific stature, and vision. Candidates should have experience in managing scientific groups or institutions and/or larger research projects. The ability to engage in interdisciplinary cooperation and scientific team-work is expected. The candidate will be a member of the institute management, which is comprised of three scientific directors and the director of administration.

For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Matthias Steinmetz (matthias.steinmetz@uni-potsdam.de).

The joint professorship is being filled under the Jülich Model, with a teaching obligation of at least two hours per week at the University of Potsdam.

Please submit your application (including a presentation of your research interests, curriculum vitae, copies of academic certificates and documents, list of publications, list of courses taught, teaching evaluations, list of externally funded projects) via e-mail to ausschreibungen@uni-potsdam.de (in a single PDF-file) by March 31, 2023.

The hiring process is subject to the requirements set forth in Section 41 subsection 1 no. 1 – 3, 4a and 4c of the Brandenburg Higher Education Act (BbgHG).
The appointment procedure is conducted in accordance with Section 40 BbgHG.

For more information: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/verwaltung/dezernat3/stellen/