Details for the Euro3D position at Cambridge

The Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge is a major center for astronomy in the UK. The institute comprises around 60 postdoctoral staff and 50 graduate students who's research covers every aspect of modern observational and theoretical astronomy with researchers making full use of many world class observatories, situated primarily in Hawaii, Australia, Chile and the Canary Islands, and computational facilities around the world. The department is situated in the large gardens of the University observatories, a 15 minute walk from the center of town, and adjacent to the Cavendish physics laboratories and the new University West Cambridge science park.

Located within the main body of the Institute, the Instrumentation group has extensive experience with Infrared detector technology. Recent projects include the CIRSI IR mosaic camera, at this time the largest field of view device in operation in the IR. The successful applicant will work with the newly completed Cambridge IR Panoramic Survey Spectrograph, CIRPASS which will be commissioned in July/August 2002 at the Gemini South 8.2m telescope in Chile.

The front view of the CIRPASS focal plain unit showing the 490 elements micro-lens array.

CIRPASS is an IR J and H band (1-1.8micron) spectrograph with a 490 element Integral Field Unit. A fiber optic feed couples the micro-lens array at the telescope focus to a high resolution spectrograph operating at -40C.

The primary science driver behind the CIRPASS system is the investigation of star formation in the redshift range z=1-2 when the H-alpha and H-beta star formation indicators are located redshifted into the near IR J and H bands.

A view of the CIRPASS IFU micro-lens array superimposed on an HST image of a interacting galaxy system.

Contacts: Instrumentation group Ian Parry, e-mail:irp@ast.cam.ac.uk Richard McMahon, e-mail:rgm@ast.cam.ac.uk

Tourist Information Center

Cambridge manages to combine its role as an historic city with a world-renowned University and, in recent years, an internationally acknowledged center of excellence for technology and science. The city center possesses all the facilities one would expect of a modern multi-cultural British city of it's size. There is an ample selection of interesting and varied restaurants and a full complement of cinemas and theaters cater for a broad range of tastes with the Corn Exchange regularly hosting higher profile events. While the town is at it's liveliest during the University term there are ample distractions outside of the University. With London only an hour away on the frequent and inexpensive train service the possibilities are endless for the more intrepid.