UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM

 

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

 

INSTITUTE FOR PARTICLE PHYSICS PHENOMENOLOGY

 

 

Lectureship in Theoretical Particle Physics


 Post reference: 0623

 

The Physics Department of Durham University is seeking to fill a University Lectureship in Theoretical Particle Physics from October 2005.  Applications are invited from suitably qualified individuals with research interests in any area of particle physics phenomenology. Candidates with research interests in neutrino physics are particularly encouraged to apply. The successful applicant will be a member of the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology  research group in the Physics Department.

 

 

The Department 

 

The Physics Department at Durham is one of the country's leading centres of physics research.  The Department was graded 5 in both the 1996 and 2001 Research Assessment Exercises and gained a maximum score of 24 in the last Teaching Quality Assessment.  The Department is housed in a modern, well-equipped building on the University Science Site, within easy walking distance of both undergraduate colleges and the city centre.  The Department has four well-defined research groupings: Astronomy, Condensed Matter Physics, Atomic and Molecular Physics and Elementary Particle Theory.  All four groups are expanding and increasing their profile on the world stage.  The world-class standing of research groups in both Astronomy and Theoretical Particle Physics at Durham was recognised by the establishment of the Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics, inaugurated in November 2002. The first two constituent Institutes of the Centre are the Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC) and the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology (IPPP).  The Centre aims to bring together work on both cosmology and particle physics with their increasing overlap in astroparticle physics.  The Centre also houses new Condensed Matter Physics research laboratories to support the Department's experimental research activities. 

 

The IPPP is a joint venture of the University and the UK Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC). The aim is to foster world-class research in particle physics phenomenology, and to provide a forum for interaction between UK experimentalists and theorists, coordinating common interests and future research through a series of discussion meetings, workshops and conferences. An extensive visitor programme brings world-class researchers to the IPPP for periods ranging from a few days to a year. Training for the next generation of UK particle physicists is provided through guidance in research, and dedicated graduate lecture programmes and summer schools. The IPPP is part of the Centre for Particle Theory (CPT) in Durham, based jointly in the Departments of Mathematical Sciences and Physics, with a number of academic staff having joint appointments in the two Departments.

 

 Further information about the Department, the IPPP and CPT may be found at http://www.dur.ac.uk/Physics,  http://www.ippp.dur.ac.uk  and http://www.cpt.dur.ac.uk respectively.

 

 

 

Staff Profile

 

The Department has a full-time academic staff of 44, comprising 12 Professors, 10 Readers, 7 Senior Lecturers and 15 Lecturers.  The age distribution is flat.  The Department currently employs approximately 80 post-doctoral research staff and has approximately 80 postgraduate students studying towards higher degrees.  Two administrators, ten secretaries and two finance staff work in support of lecturers and researchers.  There are 31 technical staff under the direction of the Departmental Superintendent and of those 6 are assigned solely to service the teaching laboratories.  These are supported by a Mechanical Workshop and an Electronics Workshop. 

 

 

Learning Resources

 

The Department currently occupies in excess of 7000 m2 of total floor space.  There are two laboratories and a computer classroom devoted to Level 1 practicals, four laboratories, including electronics and a photographic darkroom, for Level 2, while six laboratories, a darkroom and three reflecting telescopes in domes on the roof cater for Level 3 individual and team project work. Level 4 projects are accommodated entirely within the research facilities and students are closely integrated into the research groups.

 

There are two large lecture theatres (capacities 220 and 130) in the Department and other lecture theatres close by on the Science Site.  The Department has four seminar rooms and a Conference room (capacity 100) which also provides recreational and refreshment facilities for staff and students. The University's main library is less than 100m away from the Department.

 

The Department's internal IT network was replaced in 1997 and together with a new 100Mbit link to the main University network now provides an excellent facility for research and teaching. All academic staff have connections in their rooms.  The 116 m2 networked computer classroom has 27 networked PCs, 4 X-terminals and 3 workstations and although available to all students, is used for formal teaching at Levels 2, 3 and 4.  Level 1 students are formally taught in a 83 m2 computer room housing 14 PCs.   In addition many experiments at Levels 2 and 3 have PCs interfaced for data collection and further PCs are available for analysis.  All Level 4 projects involve computing in some form, such as instrument control and data collection or numerical methods of theoretical physics.  Much of these IT facilities form part of the research infrastructure, but the X-terminals and workstations in the computer classroom are specifically dedicated to the latter activity.

 

In addition to the Departmental facilities, students and staff have full access to the central University IT facilities which include high performance machines, unix workstations and a number of PC-based classrooms around the University, some with 24-hour access. Most Colleges have their own networked PC rooms.  All students have e-mail addresses and access to the World Wide Web.

 

 

Person Specification

 Essential characteristics

  1. A PhD in particle physics phenomenology by the time of starting the post.

  2. A record of publication in high-quality journals.

  3. Demonstrable research plans for the medium and long term.

  4. Commitment to high-quality teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

  5. Good interpersonal and written/oral English language communication skills..

Desirable characteristics

  1. A substantial record of publication and citation.

  2. Research interests that complement the existing research strengths of the IPPP.

  3. International experience or collaborative networks within the discipline.

 
Terms and Conditions

 

 

 

 

 

Applications

 

The closing date for applications is 18th February 2005.  Please remember to quote the reference number: 0623

 

Informal enquiries may be made to the Head of the Physics Department, Professor Richard Abram (r.a.abram@durham.ac.uk), or the IPPP Director, Professor James Stirling (w.j.stirling@durham.ac.uk).

 

In the interests of efficiency, we request that you apply for this vacancy using the on-line application form. If you prefer, we can post an application pack to you, if you telephone our answering service on 0191 3346499