The Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON) and the Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC (JIVE) announce up to 7 grants to participate in their 2024 Summer Research Programme.

The Programme is an opportunity for students (graduate or advanced under-graduate) with astronomy, physics, computer science or comparable backgrounds to spend the summer (10-12 weeks) at a world-leading research institute and to conduct astronomical studies under the supervision of ASTRON and JIVE staff members. There are this year six astronomy positions available and there is one position available for an engineering or electronics project.

There are many possible topics of research, including radio galaxies and quasars, aspects of observational cosmology, continuum and line emission/absorption from normal and starburst galaxies, stellar maser astrometry, faint radio sources, pulsar timing, pulsar searching, synchrotron transients, fast radio bursts, molecular clouds, cosmic magnetism, space science as well as algorithm development.

The projects are defined from ongoing active research and the final research plans will be discussed and refined together with the successful candidates.

ASTRON operates the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR), a cutting-edge, low-frequency, multi-field aperture array telescope that is using transformational technologies and novel software approaches to explore the Universe between 10-240 MHz.

JIVE is the main data processor centre of the European VLBI Network (EVN) and is leading the development of real-time e-VLBI in Europe. For more information see the institutes’ websites.

The research grants will provide successful candidates with accommodation in the locality of the Observatory in Dwingeloo, a modest stipend for up to three months of €190,- per week, and full travel reimbursement. We expect the participants to start in the first week of June 2024 to ensure overlap of the participants so they can fully benefit from the scheduled lectures and social activities. The Observatory is located in a tranquil environment at the edge of a national park. Public transport is in the vicinity and can lead you to a more vibrant environment. Please be aware that the costs of public transport are high in the Netherlands.

More information about recent summer student programmes can be found at https://www.astron.nl/education/summer-research-programme/

In case it is necessary to change or even cancel the 2024 programme, we will inform all selected participants well in advance.   

Applications for the programme should be sent via the registration form at the above website. Please note that two letters of referenceare needed; names and contact information of referees should be filled in BEFORE you can submit your application. Deadline for applications is 31 January 2024 23:59 CET (Central European Time). Please check with your referees if they indeed have received an email from the application committee (it may end up in the spam filter).