About the position 

A three-year position as Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Nuclear Fission is available at the Department of Physics, University of Oslo. The position is funded through the Norwegian Nuclear Research Centre (NNRC).

NNRC is a cross-disciplinary collaboration between Norway’s leading institutions within nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry research: University of Oslo (UiO), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), and Institute for Energy Technology (IFE). The Centre addresses major research questions within the nuclear field spanning topics from nuclear properties and medical isotope production, to reactor simulations and environmental radiochemistry.

A fourth year may be considered with a workload of 25 % that normally consists of teaching. This is dependent upon the qualification of the applicant and the current needs of the department.

The starting date should be as soon as possible.

Within the framework of the position, duties may be assigned. Note that it is not possible to be appointed for more than one fixed-term postdoc position at the same institution.

Job description / project description

The Nuclear Physics group at UiO is involved in several Research Themes (RT) within the Norwegian Nuclear Research Centre (NNRC), from fundamental research within Nuclear Properties (RT1) and Nuclear Fission (RT2), to more applied research within Nuclear Simulations (RT3) and Radionuclide Production and Speciation (RT4). 

This Postdoctoral Fellowship will contribute to RT2: Nuclear Fission, which will provide fundamental research on the nuclear fission process, as well as produce nuclear data for both nuclear reactor and nuclear safety applications. Obtaining experimental information about fission is also important to constrain and improve nuclear fission models. 

The current ongoing projects includes measurements of prompt fission gamma rays as a function of excitation energy and angular momentum of the fissioning nucleus. The measurements will be conducted at the Oslo Cyclotron Laboratory (OCL) using the OSCAR array of 30 large volume LaBr detectors. As a part of the project, the experimental setup for fission experiments at OCL will be tested with a new fission detector. The candidate will be in charge of setting up the fission experiments and analyse the data obtained. 

Another fission observable of interest is isomeric yield ratios of fission fragments, as they give insight to the configurations of the initial fission fragments and are thus excellent probes of the mechanisms behind angular momentum generation in fission. Measurements of these will be run abroad at for example IJC Lab and GANIL. 

The Postdoc Research Fellow is expected to take a leading role within the projects described above and is also encouraged to pursue own related research projects. The candidate is also expected to contribute to and partake in activities organised by the Centre.

The main purpose of a postdoctoral fellowship is to provide the candidates with enhanced skills to pursue a scientific top position within or beyond academia. To promote a strategic career path, all postdoctoral research fellows are required to submit a professional development plan no later than one month after commencement of the postdoctoral period.

Qualification requirements 

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education, and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

• A degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree in physics, with specialisation in experimental nuclear physics. Doctoral dissertation must be submitted for evaluation by the closing date. Only applicants with an approved doctoral thesis and public 
  defence are eligible for appointment. 
• A scientific profile relevant for the nuclear fission research program at NNRC
• A solid background in scientific computing and data analysis
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English 

Desired qualificatons:

In addition, several qualifications are considered strongly desirable and will be used in the ranking of the candidates, these are:

• Experience with particle, gamma or fission detectors and data acquisition
• Experience with relevant data analysis techniques and analysis tools such as ROOT
• Experience with nuclear reaction codes such as TALYS
• Experience with teaching and student supervision 

Personal skills

•  Good communication skills
• Ability to work in an international research environment
•  Ability to work both in a team and independently

We offer

• Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development, education, and enlightenment that promote sustainable, fair, and knowledge-based societal development.
• A pleasant and stimulating work environment.
• Good welfare schemes.
• Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours.
• A workplace with good development and career opportunities. 
• Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse, which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes.
• Salary in position as Postdoctoral Fellow, position code 1352 in salary range NOK from 579 700 - 657 300, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund.

Read more about the benefits of working in the public sector at Employer Portal.

Inclusive worklife and diversity at UiO

Inclusion and diversity are a strength. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.

We hope that you will apply for the position. 

More information about gender equality initiatives at UiO can be found here.

Application

• Cover letter with a statement of motivation and research interests 
• CV (summarizing education, positions, scientific awards and achievements, and other qualifying activity)
• List of publications and academic work that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
• Copies of educational certificates and transcript of records
• Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and 
  telephone number)

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link “apply for this job”. Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language). Applications with documents missing will not be considered further. Original documentation may be requested.

The best qualified candidates will be invited for interviews. 

General information

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed twice as a Postdoctoral fellow financed with funds from The Research Council of Norway (NFR).

All candidates and projects will have to undergo a check versus national export, sanctions and security regulations. Candidates may be excluded based on these checks. Primary checkpoints are the Export Control regulation, the Sanctions regulation, and the national security regulation. 

If an applicant has applied for and been granted funding for a fulltime research stay abroad while being employed as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, the employment will be prolonged 
with the equivalent time as the research stay, but for no longer than of twelve months (Thus extending the employment to a maximum of four years).

Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we can't, you will hear from us.

Please refer to Regulations for the Act on universities and colleges chapter 3 (Norwegian) and Guidelines concerning appointment to post doctoral and research posts at UiO (Norwegian).

The University of Oslo has a transfer agreement with all employees that is intended to secure the rights to all research results etc.