23 June 2020
Dear colleague,
The mandate established by ESA to the Athena Science Study Team (ASST) includes serving "... as focus for the involvement of the broad scientific community" in Athena. In order to fulfil this duty, and to gain the needed support for the studies and development of the Athena mission, the ASST has established a structure of Working Groups (WG) and Topical Panels (TP), which has been populated via open calls to the community. The Athena Community currently consists of 862 researchers from around the world participating in these WG/TPs. Full information about the terms of reference, structure and membership of the WG/TPs can be found here.
In order to offer new opportunities to join the Athena Community, a new call to serve in the WG/TPs is issued. Applications are open to all researchers with appropriate background and a strong interest in scientific and technical matters related to the Athena mission, especially — but not only — to early career researchers. Admission of researchers working for industrial partners is possible if appropriate justification is provided.
Candidates fulfilling the above requirements and willing to join the Athena Community are invited to fill this form (only one per applicant).
Applications will be internally assessed by the ASST, with help from the WG/TP chairs. We expect interested scientists to apply for membership of one single WG/TP. In exceptional circumstances, the membership of two panels could be considered. In this case, a specific justification needs to be provided in the application.
The deadline for applications is 31 July 2020, 14:00 CET. The expectation is that appointments to successful applicants will be issued within Q4 2020.
We’d appreciate your help to spread this announcement among your collaborators.
Should you have any questions about this call, please contact the Athena Community Office.
Thanks for your support,
Matteo Guanazzi on behalf of the Athena Science Study Team