We invite applications for a research fellowship in high energy astrophysics at the Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera (OAB),  starting mid-late 2001. The fellowship is funded by the Italian Ministry  of Research (MURST) and OAB as part of a national project on "Astrophysics of black holes and neutron stars", within a consortium of Italian institutions. The duration of the fellowship is of 1.5-2 years (depending on the expertise and on the monthly salary allocated).

Applicants should have research interests and experience in one or more of the following areas: observations of high energy sources with X-ray satellites, galactic black holes and neutron stars and active galactic nuclei. A good knowledge of the English language (written and spoken) is necessary.
The successful applicant will join the high energy group at OAB and will collaborate with the local staff on on-going and new projects. Both galactic and extragalactic researchers are encouraged to apply. The successful candidate will be based in Merate (near Milan, where the galactic group is active) or in Milan (where the extragalactic group is active).

Our group has access to proprietary data on the BeppoSAX, RossiXTE, Chandra and Newton-XMM satellites and on optical instruments. The successful applicant will participate to the analysis and interpretation of these data and will be involved in new proposals. Moreover, our group has a large expertise in exploiting the available X-ray archival databases from BeppoSAX, RossiXTE, ROSAT and ASCA satellites. Our group will also  interact with researchers from the other groups in the consortium on the above topics. Indipendent research will also be encouraged. The gross annual salary will be commensurate to  experience, within the approximate range from 14,000 to 20,000 Euro, together with an appropriate travel budget and computing support.

The OAB houses one of the most active high energy groups in Italy, with research interests spanning from stars, to collapsed objects, to GRB, to galaxies and cluster of galaxies, AGNs, large scale structure and cosmology. In addition, it hosts leading technological activities  in the field of X-ray mirrors and optical instrumentation. It is directly involved in high energy missions such as Swift, a NASA MIDEX satellite dedicated to gamma-ray bursts, JET-X and Constellation-X. It participates to the construction of instrumentation for the TNG, VLT and Columbus optical telescopes.
Further details on the OAB activities may be obtained from the www page (http://www.merate.mi.astro.it), and related links.

Applicants should send a Curriculum Vitae, list of publications and a statement of research interests to the address given below (e-mail submission are welcome). They have also to include a certificate for their Laurea Degree and (when available) PhD. A reply address should be clearly stated, as well as an electronic address if available.
They should also arrange to have up to three letters of reference sent directly to the same address (or e-mail). Applications sent before 1 June 2001 will be given full consideration.
The selection will be based on the applicants' curricula and possibly on an oral interview/seminar.

Please quote reference "Co-fin2000 - High energy Fellowship" on all correspondence.
Informal enquiries on the job may be made to
Prof. Laura Maraschi (tel.: +39-02-72320308, E-mail: maraschi@brera.mi.astro.it).
Dr. Tomaso Belloni    (tel.: +39-039-9991170, E-mail: belloni@merate.mi.astro.it).

Address where to send the send all the correspondence:

OSSERVATORIO ASTRONOMICO DI BRERA
Attention: Office of the Director (Prof. Guido Chincarini),
Via Bianchi 46,
I-23807 Merate,
Italy

E-mail submission: belloni@merate.mi.astro.it