Doctoral Researcher, Space Physics and Astronomy

Faculty of Science, Space Physics and Astronomy

The University of Oulu is a multidisciplinary, international research university, with about 4000 employees who produce new knowledge based on high-standards research and provide research based education to build a more sustainable, smarter, and more humane world. The University of Oulu community has about 17,000 people in total. Our northern scientific community operates globally and creates conditions for the emergence of innovations.

We are now looking for

Doctoral Researcher

to join us in the Space Physics and Astronomy Research Unit at the Faculty of Science. The position is fixed term for 4 years.

In the Ionospheric Physics research group we study the effects of solar storms and space weather on the ionosphere-thermosphere system. We utilize a comprehensive set of measurements from ground-based instruments and satellites in our research, supported by advanced numerical simulations. The research group consists of one professor, three senior researchers, four postdoctoral researchers and about eight doctoral researchers, and has a wide national and international network of collaborators.

About the job

As a doctoral researcher you will be a member of the newly established Finnish Centre of Excellence in Space Resilience, where your task is to study global changes in the ionosphere-thermosphere system induced by geomagnetic storms.

Building on previous work conducted in our research group, you will be using global data-driven modelling based on SuperDARN, SuperMAG and AMPERE data to estimate ionospheric Joule heating and compare it with thermospheric neutral mass density variations measured by satellites (e.g., Swarm, GRACE, GOCE) in order to investigate the changes in atmospheric drag experienced by satellites at low-Earth orbits (LEO). In addition, you will apply those results in development of physics-informed machine learning methods.

What we offer?

The support of an experienced and enthusiastic team of