Postdoc in Black Holes and Strong Gravity for Simons Collabor

Position Description

SimonsC-BHSG Postdoctoral Positions

The
Simons Collaboration on Black Holes and Strong Gravity (SimonsC-BHSG),
directed out of the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, invites applications for Postdoctoral Research
Fellowship positions in fields relevant to the collaboration. The Simons
Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Black Holes and Strong Gravity are
two-year awards, with a possible extension for a third year. The
positions include funding for travel among the collaboration’s
institutions, and the applicant can propose to be based at the
institution of any of the 12 Co-PIs, or a combination of them over the
term of the fellowshi03p. The anticipated start date is August 2027;
earlier start dates may be negotiated where appropriate.

SimonsC-BHSG
is a multidisciplinary and multinational collaboration exploring the
nonlinear and dynamical nature of strong gravity and black holes in and
beyond Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity through
gravitational observations. The collaboration brings together
mathematicians, physicists, numerical experts, and data analysts to work
on the following themes:

• The mathematical study of singularities and the stability of rapidly rotating black holes in general relativity.
• The analytical and numerical study of the potential breakdown of effective field theory methods outside black holes.
• The

analytical and numerical modeling of binary black hole dynamics and the
gravitational waves emitted during inspiral, merger, and ringdown,
using perturbative methods (post-Newtonian and black hole perturbation
theory) and nonperturbative numerical methods.

• The connection

between light-ring and ringdown physics within and beyond general
relativity, in light of current and future gravitational and
electromagnetic observations.

• The development of new methods and

tests to extract signatures of strong gravity predicted by general
relativity and beyond-Einstein theories from gravitational-wave
observations.

• The mitigation of systematic errors in

gravitational-wave inference arising from inaccurate modeling of
gravitational waves, astrophysical environments, or detector noise.

• The

development of Bayesian data analysis techniques for parameter
estimation and model selection in nonstationary and non-Gaussian noise,
using traditional and AI-based methods.

The collaboration’s
major goal is to reveal deep insights about our cosmos at the
intersection of strong gravity in general relativity, strong gravity
beyond Einstein, and gravitational observations.

The Principal
Investigators and Co-Principal Investigators participating in
SimonsC-BHSG are Nicolás Yunes, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (nyunes@illinois.edu), Emanuele Berti, Johns Hopkins University (berti@jhu.edu), Vitor Cardoso, Niels Bohr Institute (vitor.cardoso@nbi.ku.dk), Katy Clough, Queen Mary, University of London (k.clough@qmul.ac.uk), Neil Cornish, Montana State University (ncornish@montana.edu), Mihalis Dafermos, Princeton University (dafermos@math.princeton.edu), Jonathan Gair, the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, Albert Einstein Institute (jgair@aei.mpg.de), Daniel Holz, the University of Chicago (holz@uchicago.edu), Gary Horowitz, the University of California Santa Barbara (horowitz@ucsb.edu), Luis Lehner, Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics in Canada (llehner@perimeterinstitute.ca), Alex Lupsasca, Vanderbilt University (alexandru.v.lupsasca@vanderbilt.edu), and Matias Zaldarriaga, the Institute for Advanced Study (matiasz@ias.edu). Applications made in response to this advertisement will be considered by the entire collaboration.

Applicants
must hold a Ph.D. in physics or mathematics earned within ten years of
the position’s start date. Although the appointments will be through the
Department of Physics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign,
fellows may be based at one of the participating PIs’ institutions.
Fellows are expected to travel among the collaboration’s institutions to
work with other members of the network.

Applications should include:

• A curriculum vitae, including a publication list.
• A

research statement of no more than three pages describing the
applicant’s research interests and plans. The statement should identify
the proposed host institution for each of the first two years, the
collaboration members with whom the applicant would like to work, and
the projects they propose to pursue together.

• Three letters of recommendation, submitted directly by the referees.

We encourage applicants to consult the AAS guidelines for postdoctoral application materials when preparing their CVs and research statements.

Applications must be submitted through the University of Illinois Physics job openings page by December 1, 2026. Late applications may be considered at the discretion of the search committee. Please direct questions to Deanna Frye at ddebord@illinois.edu.

This position is intended to be eligible for benefits.
This includes health, dental, vision, life insurance, a retirement
plan, paid time off, and tuition waivers for employees and dependents.

The
University of Illinois must also comply with applicable federal export
control laws and regulations and, as such, reserves the right to employ
restricted party screening procedures for applicants.

The
University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer,
including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and
complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates.
Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters
to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional
information about required background checks, sexual
harassment/misconduct disclosures, and employment eligibility review
through E-Verify.