Deadline:
February 03, 2025
Location(s)
Online
Overview
LEAPS is an opportunity for students with an interest in astronomy and astrophysics to perform a 10 week summer research project in collaboration with a research scientist from Leiden Observatory or ESA/ESTEC. The program is open to all students not currently engaged in a Ph.D. program.
Details
Students are selected for the program based on their academic achievements and research potential. Each applicant has the opportunity to choose up to two projects of interest, and they are selected by project advisors based on what they indicate their scientific interests and experience to be. Research at Leiden Observatory and ESA/ESTEC takes place on a diverse array of topics (see below for LEAPS 2025 projects), and student projects will likely consist of anything from the analysis of data from world-class telescopes, to large computer simulations, to hands-on work in the astrochemistry laboratories.
Leiden Observatory
Leiden Observatory (located in the Gorlaeus Building, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC, Leiden) is a world-class institute for research in astronomy and astrophysics based in the Netherlands, approximately 35km from Amsterdam. The atmosphere at the observatory is dynamic, with approximately 100 faculty/research scientists and 70 graduate students engaged in astrophysical research on a wide range of topics. Major fields of interest include extrasolar planets, star formation, cosmology, galaxy formation, instrumentation, and astrochemistry. Multiple research projects will likely be available within these fields.
European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC/ESA)
ESTEC is ESA’s largest establishment, and its technical and organisational hub. It is based at Keplerlaan 1, 2201AZ, Noordwijk, around 10 km from Leiden Central Station. ESA develops and manages many types of space missions, from exploration, telecommunications, to earth and space science. The Research and Scientific Support Department at ESTEC consists of approximately 40 staff scientists, with research interests ranging from the geology of planets in our solar system, to plasma physics in the magnetosphere of the Earth, space weather, to observational astronomy with ESA's space missions such as Planck, Herschel, GAIA and EUCLID.
Research Projects, Categories and Supervisors
Below are the proposed research projects from LEAPS 2020. Please note that not all listed projects go ahead, and projects may be added after an initial list for 2021 is posted in mid-January. Final funding decisions lie with the Faculty sponsors.
Please note that for ESA projects (Type of project: ESA), in case of equivalent qualifications preference will be given to nationals of the following ESA member states: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom plus Canada, Latvia, and Slovenia.
Opportunity is About
Eligibility
Candidates should be from:
Description of Ideal Candidate
The program is open to all international students provided they are not currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program. For ESA projects (Type of project: ESA), in case of equivalent qualifications, preference will be given to nationals of one of the following ESA member states and cooperating states: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom plus Canada, Latvia, and Slovenia. The working language of the observatory is English, and students should be sufficiently proficient in English to perform a research project.
Dates
Deadline: February 03, 2025
Cost/funding for participants
Students accepted into the LEAPS program will be provided with travel costs to/from Leiden. We will also provide housing accommodations near the observatory, a modest stipend to help with living costs during the internship (approximately 197 EUR/week), and health insurance. Leiden is a small, picturesque university town located between the major cities of Amsterdam and The Hague. Summer is a beautiful time of year to be in Leiden, and we encourage LEAPS students to socialize and use their free time to enjoy the numerous summertime activities available in Holland. English is widely spoken throughout the Netherlands and international students should find it easy to live in the Leiden area. We are planning several field trips for LEAPS students including visits to the ESTEC complex where many ESA satellites are being built, and potentially to the LOFAR radio array, the world's largest low-frequency radio telescope,
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