Breakthrough Listen sponsored Summer Internship with I-LOFAR

Would you like to spend the conducting research at a world-class radio telescope located in the beautiful historical setting of Birr Castle Demesne? Are you interested in the quest for a scientific answer to one of humanity’s oldest questions: Are we alone in the Universe?

If so, the I-LOFAR Summer Research Internship with Breakthrough Listen is for you!

Breakthrough Listen (BL) is a world-leading, comprehensive program to search for intelligent life in the Universe.  Successful candidates will get an opportunity to participate in conducting experiments with the newly installed instruments at I-LOFAR in collaboration with the BL team.  Over the course of 12-weeks, candidates will gain experience in radio astronomy, data analysis, and instrumentation, and will also have the opportunity to take observations with the I-LOFAR telescope and work with the wider LOFAR research team. They will draw on their knowledge of physics, specifically astrophysics and radio astronomy, to engage with a wide range of visitors to the I-LOFAR Education Centre and through online channels.

The successful candidates will be working closely with our I-LOFAR Education and Public Engagement Manager at the I-LOFAR site in Birr Castle Demesne, Co Offaly, and remotely supervised and mentored by Dr Evan Keane, Jodrell Bank, UK, and Dr Vishal Gajjar, Breakthrough Listen, UC Berkeley, USA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a 12 week placement with Trinity College Dublin School of Physics and I-LOFAR, running from June to August 2020 (specific dates TBD), with a stipend of €300 per week.

To apply, please send your CV (max 2 pages), a cover letter, a letter of support from your degree course director confirming your registration in the degree and one letter of reference to education@lofar.ie with subject line I-LOFAR Research Internship no later than Tuesday 31st of March.

For any questions or queries about this role, please feel free to reach out to Vishal Gajjar (vishalg@berkeley.edu) or Evan Keane (evan.keane@gmail.com), cc’ing education@lofar.ie.

This new addition to the I-LOFAR Summer Internship Programme is made possible thanks to support from Breakthrough Listen. This is open to second and third year undergraduate students registered at Irish third level institutions. Applications will be accepted from students of physics, astrophysics and related disciplines.

NOTE: This position is based at the I-LOFAR Education Centre in Birr Castle Demesne, Birr, Co Offaly. Interns will be supervised locally by Prof Peter Gallagher, Director of I-LOFAR (peter.gallagher@dias.ie).