Fellowship Description

Nomination for PIMS Postdoctoral Fellowship to be held at the University of Saskatchewan (*Step 1 of a 2-Step Process)

The University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada is a member of the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS), a network that includes a number of academic institutions in the west of Canada and the northwest of the United States and which convenes and supports activities in the mathematical and computational sciences.  From the PIMS web site:

"The PIMS mandate is to promote excellent research and applications of the mathematical sciences, to facilitate the training of highly qualified personnel, to create an equitable, diverse and inclusive community in the mathematical sciences, to enrich public awareness of and education in mathematics and to create partnerships with similar organizations around the world."

PIMS offers prestigious Postdoctoral Fellowships that may be held at one or more sites within the network.  We at the University of Saskatchewan PIMS site are seeking to nominate individuals for the PIMS Postdoctoral Fellowships to be held at our site (either exclusively or in conjunction with another PIMS site).  We invite applications for consideration through this job advertisement, to be received on or before Friday 1 November 2024.  This is step 1 of a 2-step process.  Applicants who we intend to nominate will be contacted on or around Wednesday 20 November 2024 with instructions on how we will work with you to advance your nomination to the full competition (step 2).  Materials for the full competition will be submitted through another advertisement, https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/list/25313, with a deadline of Sunday 1 December 2024.  Please note that you cannot submit materials for step 2 unless you have first received an endorsement and have been assigned to one or more nominating faculty through step 1.  (One of the reference letters in step 2 will be a nomination letter produced by the assigned mentor(s) from the University of Saskatchewan.)

Compensation, Duties, and Other Logistics

If successful in both steps, a nominee may take up their fellowship any time between 1 July 2025 and 1 January 2026. This fellowship is awarded for one year and is renewable, contingent upon satisfactory performance, for at most one additional year.  The base value of the fellowship at the University of Saskatchewan site will be 55,000 CAD in Year 1 and 60,000 CAD in Year 2.  The primary duties of a PIMS Postdoctoral Fellow will be to further — and broaden, where desired or applicable — their research program with the support of their faculty mentor(s).  Interactions with members of the PIMS network at other sites (e.g. through seminars, either in person or virtually) are highly valued.  The appointment may include limited teaching duties, but this depends on the specific arrangement with the nominating faculty as well as the policies and needs of their home academic unit within the University of Saskatchewan.

Potential Nominating Faculty at the University of Saskatchewan PIMS Site

The following University of Saskatchewan faculty are available to mentor PIMS Postdoctoral Fellows.  We have included some relevant keywords regarding their research programs.  You may indicate your interest in working with one or more of these faculty via the application portal:

• Quantum computing-assisted molecular modeling of immunodynamics and immune regulatory logic circuits towards antigen discovery and improved host-mediated immunity (Gordon Broderick / Steven Rayan)
• Novel methods for detecting early warning signals of emerging infectious diseases (Juxin Liu)
• Algebraic geometry, moduli spaces and their topology, geometric aspects of representation theory, quantum computing and information (both foundations and applications), and quantum matter (Steven Rayan)
• Combinatorial and stochastic modelling with statistical physics and DNA topology applications (Chris Soteros)
• Numerical analysis, scientific computing, and high-performance computing; scientific machine learning; operator-splitting methods; large-scale real-world applications in numerical weather/climate prediction, disaster prediction/mitigation, and vaccine/drug design and personalized medicine (Raymond Spiteri)
• Representation theory and its interactions with algebraic geometry, quantum groups, and mathematical physics (Alexander Weekes)
• Representation theory of quantum groups, quantum symmetric pairs, and infinite-dimensional Lie algebras (Curtis Wendlandt)
• Developing novel machine learning algorithms for large-scale genomic data and application of interpretable machine learning methods to health and social studies (Li Xing)
• Computational material discovery and simulation, materials by design, crystal structure prediction, density functional theory, first principles calculations (Yansun Yao)

In your application, you will have an opportunity to describe in detail your own research interests and achievements.  While the work of a PIMS Postdoctoral Fellow is expected to have significant mathematical, statistical, and/or computational components, interdisciplinary intersections outside the mathematical sciences are welcome and encouraged.

Eligibility Notes

An applicant must hold a PhD or an equivalent degree in a relevant subject or subjects (or is expected to hold such a degree by 31 December 2025)

Applicants are strongly encouraged to read PIMS' tips for preparing a successful application before completing step 1.

Applications for this step of the 2-step process must be submitted through mathjobs.org and must include:

(i) your selection of proposed mentor(s) from the drop-down menu titled "With which faculty member(s) are you seeking to work?" found within the section "More questions for this fellowship";

(ii) an up-to-date CV;

(iii) a publication list (highlighting your 3 most important publications, with a brief explanation of the significance of each);

(iv) a research statement or plan;

(v) a cover letter which clearly indicates the name of the proposed supervisor in the Department (matching step (i));

(vi) an Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity statement; this statement should highlight your current contributions and future plans to advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion, with attention to your own experiences and any supporting activities for the success of students from equity-deserving groups in mathematics; if you have not yet had the opportunity for such experiences, we ask that you please focus on outlining any future plans and contributions;

(vii) at least three letters of recommendation, one of which should address your teaching and/or mathematical communication abilities; at least one reference should be from an arm's length referee who is not the candidate's PhD supervisor and not a direct research collaborator.

Please submit all of these materials on or before Friday 1 November 2024.  As mentioned above, applicants who we intend to nominate will be contacted on or around Wednesday 20 November 2024 with instructions on how we will work with you to advance your nomination to the full competition (step 2, deadline Sunday 1 December 2024).

The University of Saskatchewan’s main campus is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis. We pay our respects to the First Nations and Métis ancestors of this place and reaffirm our relationship with one another. Together, we are uplifting Indigenization to a place of prominence at the University of Saskatchewan.