1 Postdoctoral Research Grant 

Applications are open for a postdoctoral research grant within the framework of project 2024.16728.PEX - Ciao PCS: the extreme adaptive optics of the extremely large telescope, funded by national funds through FCT/MECI , under the following conditions:

Scientific Areas:  Physics Engineering, Optical Instrumentation, Physics, Astronomy

Admission requirements: Candidates who cumulatively meet the following requirements may apply:

a) Hold a PhD degree in Physics Engineering or closely related field, obtained in the last three years before the application to this grant;

b) The Post-doctoral research be carried out at a host institution other than the one where the research work that led to the award of the PhD degree was developed.

c) Do not exceed a cumulative period of three years under this type of grant, whether consecutive or intermittent.

If the degree has been awarded by a foreign higher education institution, it must comply with the provisions of the Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of 16 of August; any formalities established therein must be fulfilled until the time of signing the contract.

Activity Outline: 

• Develop computational optics methods applied to wavefront sensing, in particular super-resolution and joint wavefront and amplitude estimation to improve extreme adaptive optics (XAO) performance of the Extremely Large Telescope’s future Planetary Camera and Spectrograph instrument
• Compare via Monte Carlo models viable wavefront control strategies for PCS, integrating the findings from the previous item
• Perform experimental work and data analysis from scaled-down PCS XAO prototypes

Legislation and regulations: Law No. 40/2004, of 18 of August, in its current version (Scientific Research Grant-Holder Statute), and the Research Grant Regulations of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), currently in force and the Research Grant Regulations of the University of Porto, currently in force.

Work place: The work will be developed at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), under the scientific supervision of Professor Carlos M. Correia.

Grant duration: Initial duration of 12 months, with starting date expected on June 2026, on exclusive basis eventually renewable but never exceeding the project duration.

If it is not possible to ensure the duration of 12 months estimated in the previous paragraph, this duration will be adjusted according to the end date of the project, provided that the minimum duration of 3 consecutive months be guaranteed, in accordance with paragraph 6 of article 7 of the Research Grant Regulations of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P.

Stipend: The grant stipend amounts to 1851,00€ according to the table of values of the grants awarded directly by FCT, I.P. in the Country. Monthly instalments will be made by bank transfer.

Selection procedure: The selection of the grant holder will be based on a curricular evaluation, which will focus on the merit of the candidate, and an interview with candidates with classification higher than 14 points in the curricular evaluation. The criteria for the curricular evaluation are:

• Academic profile of the applicant: PhD in Physics Engineering or closely related field  (5 points); PhD in other areas (2 points);
• Participation in R&D projects in an area relevant to the research project (5 points); Participation in R&D projects in areas not closely related to the research project (2 points);
• Relevant publications (1-5 points);
• Motivation letter, which will allow, amongst other aspects, the assessment of the candidate’s English proficiency. (1-5 points).

Past interview, the ranking of the candidates will be made applying the relative weights:

• 60 %: curricular evaluation.
• 40%: Interview.

If none of the candidates achieves a minimum final score of 16/20 points, the scholarship will not be awarded.

Selection Jury:

President:  Professor Carlos Manuel Correia da Silva

Effective member:  Professor Paulo Jorge Valente Garcia

Effective member:  Professor Carlos Daniel Diogo Matias Pintassilgo

Supplementary member:  Professor Jaime Enrique Villate Matiz 

Supplementary member: Professor António José dos Santos Silva

Advertisement of final decision: The results of the evaluation will be announced to the candidates by email to the address indicated in the application.

Application Deadline and Submission Process:

The call is open from 11/03/2026 to 30/04/2026 (until 23h59m, Lisbon time).

Applications must be sent by email to carlos.correia@fe.up.pt and to recursoshumanos@fe.up.pt, should clearly state the reference FEUP- Ciao_2024.16728.PEX and must include:

• Motivation Letter,
• Certificates of academic degree(s),
• Curriculum Vitae,
• Declaration on honour that the candidate fulfils the requirement contained in paragraph c) of the admission requirements (template provided below);
• Other documents considered relevant by the applicant.
•  

Declaration on honour

I, [Candidate’s Full Name], holder of [Citizen Card/Visa/Residence Permit] no. [Document Number], valid until [Expiry Date], hereby declare on my honour, in accordance with paragraph e) of no. 3 of Article 7 of the Research Grant Regulations of FCT, I.P. (Regulation no. 950/2019, of 16 of December), that I will not exceed, including possible renewals of the scholarship contract in question, a cumulative period of three years in this type of scholarship, whether consecutive or intermittent.

Porto, ___ / ___ / _____

__________________________________

(Signature of the Candidate)