POSTDOC IN SOLAR PHYSICS AT EÖTVÖS UNIVERSITY, BUDAPEST


Applications are invited for a postdoctoral position at the Department of Astronomy of Eötvös University, Budapest, Hungary, in the field of solar and solar-terrestrial physics. The position is part of the SOLAIRE European Research Training Network. The successful applicant is expected to carry out an independent research program in a field covered by the SOLAIRE network, and collaborate and interact with other members of the SOLAIRE network in Budapest and elsewhere.

The appointment is for two years. The position should be ideally taken up from early 2009, but an earlier commencement during Fall 2008 can also be arranged.

As a general rule, nationals of all countries except Hungary are invited to apply, provided that they have a PhD degree and no more than 10 years of postgraduate research experience. The gross annual salary will be the Hungarian Forint equivalent of approximately 27,000 euros. More detailed conditions of eligibility and finances are given below.

Apply with a CV, list of publications, a research proposal summarizing current and planned research, and the names and addresses of 3 reference persons. The CV should include the exact dates of the PhD and MSc (or equivalent) degree certificates. Applications and inquiries should be addressed to Dr Kristof Petrovay (K.Petrovay@astro.elte.hu). Review of applications will start on 21 August and will last until a suitable candidate is found.



Who can apply?

Applicants for the Solaire postdoctoral positions must be

  • researchers having at least 4 years of research experience (full-time equivalent) since gaining a university diploma or degree that gives them access to doctoral studies
or
  • researchers already in possession of a doctoral degree, independently of the time taken to acquire it.
The following requirement must also be fulfilled:
  • Researchers must have less than 10 years of research experience (full-time equivalent).

According to EU rules for the Marie Curie Research Training Networks,

  • the appointees must be nationals of any State in the world other than that of the host organisation.*

  • at the start of their appointment, they may not have resided or carried out their main activity in the country of their host organisation for more than 12 months in the previous 3 years.
*The European Commission grants an exception to this rule for researchers who have demonstrably resided outside the EU for at least 4 of the last 5 years.

Complete EU rules for eligibility  and policies are given in point 2.5.3 of the Human Resources and Mobility Marie Curie actions Work Programme. Also can be obtained from the network coordinator: solaire@iac.es


Work conditions at the host

We are located in the new campus of Eötvös University (ELTE), in south central Budapest, on the shore of the Danube river (Buda side). Applicants can expect to be provided with a desktop running Linux or Windows as preferred, with the usual software (IDL, Maple etc.) installed. Any special software needed may also be purchased. The network is Fast Ethernet. For larger scale numerical tasks a number of higher capacity resources are available for ELTE researchers, including a 44 processor, 12 GB RAM domain on a Sun Enterprise 10000.

All the most important journals are subscribed electronically. A small manual library is available at the department. A much more extensive dedicated astronomical library is available for use at Konkoly Observatory, elsewhere in town.

Funds are available for travel to conferences and to other teams from SOLAIRE.

The solar team at ELTE is a small group consisting of three staff members (one of them permanently abroad), and currently two PhD students. Our research interests include turbulence and turbulent transfer in the solar plasma, magnetic flux emergence, magnetic reconnection, helicity dynamics, etc; see http://astro.elte.hu/astro/en/research for more information. In the selection process, some preference may be given to research plans related to our research, but applications from all fields covered by SOLAIRE may be admitted, the main selection criterion being the quality of the researcher.


Financial conditions

EU rules determine the total budget allocated for the financing of this position, in the form of 4 different allowances:
  • Monthly Living Allowance (MLA): 32,430 EUR/year, to be paid in monthly instalments
  • Mobility Allowance (MA): 4140 EUR/yr or 6624 EUR/yr, depending on family situation; to be paid in monthly instalments
  • Career Exploratory Allowance (CEA): 2000 EUR, lump sum, to be paid during the contract
  • Travel Allowance (TA): depending on country of origin, ca. 750 EUR, lump sum, to be paid both at the start and end of contract.
These allowances are subject to    indirect taxes (ITX)    and    direct taxes (DTX)    as determined by Hungarian law:

Allowances = Gross Income + ITX = Net Income + DTX + ITX

Indirect taxes:   ITX = Employer's Social Security Contribution + Employer's Health Service Contribution
  Under current Hungarian legislation (note that this may change in coming years, but any change is likely to reduce the taxes):
    Employer's Social Security Contribution = 32% of Gross Salary
    Employer's Health Service Contribution = 13 x 1950 HUF/year (= ca. 80 EUR/yr)

Applying these indirect taxes to the allowances given above results in the following gross incomes:
  1. a gross annual salary of about 27,000 EUR or 29,500 EUR, depending on family situation ( = MLA + MA - ITX )
  2. a lump sum payment of ca. 570 EUR upon incorporation ( TA - ITX)
  3. a lump sum payment of ca. 2100 EUR upon termination of contract ( CEA + TA - ITX)

Direct taxes:   DTX = Personal Income Tax + Employee's Social Security Contributions
  Under current Hungarian legislation (note that this may change in coming years, but any change is likely to reduce the taxes):
    Employee's Social Security Contributions = 17% of Gross Salary
    Personal Income Tax = ca. 10,000 EUR/yr for the given income (!)

Tax exemptions
Nationals of many countries may significantly reduce the heavy tax burden detailed above. Hungary has agreements on taxation with most major countries in the world, and these agreements often contain very favourable terms for researchers. In many cases, the payment of personal income tax can be completely (and legally) avoided, or the fellow may opt to pay the tax in his/her home country where the rate may be lower. EU nationals who have an European health insurance policy from their home country may be exempted from the Employer's Health Service Contribution and some part of the Employee's Social Security Contributions; etc.
It is the fellow's responsibility to get informed about the legal conditions for such tax exemptions in his/her particular case and to obtain the necessary certificates for such exemptions.

Currency
All payments will be made in Hungarian Forints (HUF or Ft) at a fixed exchange rate. Any discrepancies resulting from currency fluctuations will be corrected in the form of a lump sum payment at the end of the contract.
[1 EUR = ca. 250 Ft, fluctuating within 10% or so.]

Costs of living in Budapest
Monthly rent of furnished apartment: starting from 70,000 Ft
Month ticket for public transport: 8250 Ft
Gasoline: about 320 Ft/l
Complete lunch on campus: about 1000 Ft
Dinner in medium restaurant: about 3000 Ft
For prices of regional flight connections check www.wizzair.com or www.malev.com.