Postdoctoral Scholar - Postdoc at University of California, Davis

Postdoctoral Position in Experimental

Neutrino Physics at UC Davis
 

The experimental Neutrinos and Dark Matter (NDM) group at the University of California, Davis

invites applications for a postdoctoral position with an anticipated start date of October 1, 2016. A

Ph.D. in particle physics is required. The successful candidate will participate in the design,

construction, and commissioning of the proto-DUNE detector at CERN. In particular, interest at UC

Davis centers around the Data Acquisition system (DAQ) and the low-level triggering system needed

for the DUNE experiment. Thus experience with high-speed, low-noise electronics and real-time

triggering is a plus. Note that Davis is also a lead institution in developing the cross-section model of

low-energy neutrino interactions on argon and implementing them into the design of the DAQ of

DUNE, so the successful candidate will also have the opportunity to participate in this effort. After

an initial period of at Davis working on the DAQ (which we are doing in collaboration with SLAC),

the successful candidate will relocate to CERN for the commissioning and initial running of proto-

DUNE, now scheduled for 2018.
 

In addition to the proto-DUNE test beam project, UC Davis is participating in the Accelerator

Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE). ANNIE is an experiment in the Booster

Neutrino Beam (BNB) to measure the neutron yield as a function of momentum transfer for neutrino

interactions in the range of 0.1-1 GeV/c. This is very important in understanding background and

nuclear effects in future long baseline and underground experiments and is also a test bed for the

Large Area Picosecond Photo-Detectors (LAPPD’s). ANNIE Run 1 is now in progress to measure

BNB backgrounds, and ANNIE Run 2 has gotten initial approval under the Intermediate Neutrino

Program to move ahead with final development of the LAPPD’s for the neutron yield measurements.

Thus in addition to proto-DUNE the successful candidate would also have the opportunity to

participate in the ANNIE physics analysis program.
 

The UC Davis NDM Group is very strong, consisting of three professors, five postdocs, and

ten graduate students. In addition to the above experiments, we are also involved in LUX/LZ,

DarkSide, and DUNE. The campus has excellent shop facilities, a 1.5 MW TRIGA reactor and a 67

MeV cyclotron with variable energy proton and neutron beams for use in detector development. Our

proximity to LBL, SLAC, and LLNL also allows for collaborative projects and convenient access to

national lab facilities. Please submit a cover letter, curriculum vita, and statement of research

interests and experience, all in PDF format, and arrange to have at least three letters of reference sent

to rsvoboda@physics.ucdavis.edu. Apply by September 1 for best consideration, but the position will

remain open until filled.
 

The University of California, Davis, is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer with a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of diversity among its faculty and staff.