PhD Fellow in the project "Cosmic Dust Injection into the Upper Earth Atmosphere"

The position

The Department of Physics and Technology is thrilled to announce an opening for a PhD Fellow to join the exciting project, "Cosmic Dust Injection into the Upper Earth Atmosphere" (CODIA). The position is funded by the Research Council of Norway. The appointment is for a period of 3 years. The position is affiliated with the Space Physics group of the Department, which at present includes 5 faculty members, 5 PhD Fellows, and 1 Researcher.

The project

The CODIA project is related to studies of meteoric smoke and ice particles in the mesosphere/ionosphere, cosmic dust entering the Earth’s atmosphere, meteors, and space debris. Observation methods include radar meteors and ionospheric phenomena observed with EISCAT and other instruments. We have new observational data from a rocket campaign conducted in the summer of 2025 and are planning new measurements for 2028. The successful candidate will participate in analyses of the measurements and related theory with investigations on the microphysics of dust like condensation, agglomeratiron and charge interaction.

The PhD student will work together with project participants, other PhD students and Master students, as well as local, national, and international collaborators

Qualifications

Applicants must document fluency in English and be able to work in an international environment

We are looking for candidates who have experience in one or more of the following areas:

Background on the physics of cosmic dust, meteor studies, ionospheric studies, in situ measurements, meteorite studies, cloud physics, microscopy, advanced image or data analysis are an advantage.

In the assessment, the emphasis is on the applicant's potential to complete a research education based on the master's thesis or equivalent, and any other scientific work. In addition, other experience of significance for the completion of the doctoral programme may be given consideration. It is very import that you submit all necessary documents as listed in the section "How to apply", otherwise your application will not be evaluated.

We will also emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position.  We are looking for someone with good social and collaboration skills and ability to work independently and in an interdisciplinary scientific environment.

As many people as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.

Admission to the PhD programme

For employment in the PhD position, you must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Science and Technology and participate in organized doctoral studies within the employment period.

Admission normally requires:

In order to gain admission to the programme, the candidate must document sufficient potential for research. The applicant must have a grade point average of C (strong 3.0) or better for the master’s degree, which must contain an independent work. A more detailed description of admission requirements can be found here.

If you are employed in the position, you will be provisionally admitted to the PhD programme. Application for final admission must be submitted no later than two months after taking up the position.

Applicants with a foreign education will be subjected to an evaluation of whether the educational background is equal to Norwegian higher education, following national guidelines from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills. Depending on which country the education is from, one or two additional years of university education may be required to fulfil admission requirements, e.g. a 4-year bachelor's degree and a 2-year master's degree. UiT normally accepts higher education from countries that are part of the Lisbon Recognition Convention.

Inclusion and diversity

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity are a strength, and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.

If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite at least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics.

Norwegian health policy aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their personal finances and where they live, has access to good health and care services of equal standard. As an employee you will become member of the National Insurance Scheme which also include health care services.

More practical information about working and living in Norway can be found here: https://uit.no/staffmobility

How to apply

Your application must include:

• CV

Qualification with a master’s degree is required before commencement in the position. If you are near completion of your master’s degree, you may still apply and submit a draft version of the thesis and a statement from your supervisor or institution indicating when the degree will be obtained. You must still submit your transcript of grades for the master’s degree with your application.

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English.

General information 

The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment.

After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

Remuneration for the position of PhD Fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1017. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted. You will become a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, which gives you many benefits in addition to a lifelong pension: You may be entitled to financial support if you become ill or disabled, your family may be entitled to financial support when you die, you become insured against occupational injury or occupational disease, and you can get good terms on a mortgage. Read more about your employee benefits at: spk.no.

A shorter period of appointment may be decided when the PhD Fellow has already completed parts of their research training programme or when the appointment is based on a previous qualifying position PhD Fellow, research assistant, or the like in such a way that the total time used for research training amounts to three years.

We process personal data given in an application or CV in accordance with the Personal Data Act (Offentleglova). According to the Personal Data Act information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure. You will receive advance notification in the event of such publication, if you have requested non-disclosure.

Assessment 

The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee's mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants' qualifications based on the written material presented by the applicants, and the detailed description draw up for the position. A copy of the assessment report will be sent to all applicants.

The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview should among other things, aim to clarify the applicant’s motivation and personal suitability for the position.