The Department of Physics at Stanford University is inviting applications for two postdoctoral research associate positions to participate in two long baseline neutrino experiments: MINOS and NOνA, utilizing one neutrino beam from Fermilab and two separate detectors in northern Minnesota.

The MINOS experiment is designed to study neutrino oscillations in the "atmospheric" Δm² region, through disappearance of ν_μ's, ν_μ → ν_e transition and depletion of NC events.  The Far Detector is a multi-kiloton magnetic iron/scintillator spectrometer in the Soudan mine in Minnesota, some 730 km away.  The initial results on  ν_μ disappearance have been recently submitted for publication,  During the next 3-4 years it is expected to increase the data set by roughly an order of magnitude.

NOνA experiment is designed as the next generation oscillation experiment focusing on search for ν_μ → ν_e transition.  It should be sensitive to values of sin²(2θ₁₃) as low as 0.01.  The eventual goal of that program is to measure the mass hierarchy and search for CP violation in the neutrino sector.  This experiment will utilize a detector located in the same beam as used in MINOS but placed offaxis further north in Minnesota.  The detector will be a fine grained liquid scintillator calorimeter.  The experiment has been recently approved by Fermilab and endorsed by the advisory panels and it is hoped that construction on the Minnesota site will start in FY08.

It is anticipated that the successful candidates will divide their time roughly equally between MINOS and NOνA work.  MINOS work will involve mainly participation in data taking and physics analyses.  NOνA work will focus initially on the construction and checkout of the Integration Prototype Near Detector, to be located at Fermilab in the MINOS surface building, and analysis of data from that detector as well as work on improvement of NOνA pattern recognition programs.

It is expected that the majority of the successful candidates’ time will be spent (at least initially) at Fermilab.  The initial appointment will be for three years with the possibility of an extension.

Interested applicants are requested to submit a curriculum vitae and publication list and arrange for three letters of reference to be sent to:

Professor Stanley Wojcicki
Stanford University
Physics Department
Stanford, CA 94305-4060

Electronic submission to sgweg@slac.stanford.edu is encouraged but not required.  The applications should be complete by December 15, 2006; applications submitted after that time may be considered, depending on how far the search process has progressed.

Stanford University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.  We are especially interested in receiving applications from female and minority physicists.