Beatrice Tinsley Postbac Research Assistantship 2026

Dr Khan Muhammad Bin Asad announces the inaugural Beatrice Tinsley Postbac Research Assistantship (TRA) — a paid, full-time, year-long research position for women who have completed their bachelor’s degree and intend to pursue graduate study in astronomy, astrophysics or a related field. Two Tinsley RAs will be appointed for 1 September 2026 – 31 August 2027: one in Dr Asad’s CHronOS program and one in his GATE program, based at the Center for Astronomy, Space Science and Astrophysics (CASSA) at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB). The TRA is funded by Dr Asad’s Sponsored Research Grant (SRG) at IUB and is planned as an annual program, subject to the grant’s annual renewal.

The postbac year is the bridge between a bachelor’s degree and a funded graduate position abroad — and it is exactly where many talented women leave physics. The TRA is built to close that gap: a Tinsley RA spends twelve months doing publishable research at CASSA, finishes with at least one submitted paper as a principal author, and applies to graduate programs with a manuscript in hand and recommenders who have watched a full year of her work.

Who was Beatrice Tinsley?

Beatrice Muriel Hill Tinsley (1941–1981) was a New Zealand–raised astrophysicist and cosmologist who pioneered the modern study of galaxy evolution. In her University of Texas PhD thesis she showed that galaxies change measurably as their stellar populations age — overturning the then-standard assumption that galaxies could be treated as fixed standard candles for measuring the fate of the Universe, and turning galaxy evolution itself into a quantitative science. Her models of how a galaxy’s stars form, evolve and die — the foundation of today’s stellar-population synthesis — remain at the heart of how galaxy observations are interpreted, and in a career of barely fourteen years, ended by melanoma at 40, she tied galaxy evolution to chemical enrichment and observational cosmology in nearly a hundred papers. She was a professor of astronomy at Yale University, and the American Astronomical Society’s Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize, awarded for research of an exceptionally creative or innovative character, is named for her.

The two positions

Each applicant applies to one of the two programs — choose the one that fits your background and interests.

TRA (CHronOS)

CHronOS — Cosmic Hydrogen Observation and Simulation — aims to detect cosmic neutral hydrogen from the dark ages and the cosmic dawn through the redshifted 21-cm signal, combining simulation, instrumentation, theory and observation. The Tinsley RA in CHronOS will:

1. Carry out original research toward at least one principal-author paper — modelling the 21-cm signal (e.g. with 21cmFAST on CASSA’s Timaeus HPC), building simulation pipelines that produce simulated radio observations, and characterising the instrumental systematic errors — such as primary-beam and polarization-leakage effects — that the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) must overcome to detect the signal, in synergy with PrimaBERA.
2. Develop and run Python-based simulation and analysis pipelines on the Timaeus HPC.
3. Present her work at CASSA colloquia and journal talks, and participate in the weekly research meetings of the program.

TRA (GATE)

GATE — Galaxies And Their Environments — studies galaxy clusters, the intracluster medium (ICM) and the galaxies within them by combining radio and X-ray observations. The Tinsley RA in GATE will:

1. Carry out original research toward at least one principal-author paper — imaging diffuse radio halos and mini-halos of galaxy clusters with MeerKAT, mapping the ICM in archival Chandra X-ray data through MIMIC, or classifying radio-AGN morphologies with the RGC deep-learning pipeline and the GAZE annotation platform.
2. Develop and run Python-based radio/X-ray analysis and machine-learning pipelines on the Timaeus HPC.
3. Present her work at CASSA colloquia and journal talks, and participate in the weekly research meetings of the program.

Deliverables

By the end of the assistantship, each Tinsley RA is expected to:

• Submit at least one paper to a peer-reviewed journal as one of the principal authors.
• Prepare for graduate school — shortlist programs, contact potential supervisors, and complete any required tests.
• Apply to graduate programs toward the end of the RAship, with the paper and a year of research experience behind her.

Eligibility

1. Women only. The TRA exists to widen the participation of women in astronomy and astrophysics in Bangladesh.
2. Must have completed an honours (bachelor’s) degree in physics, mathematics, engineering, computer science or a relevant subject, with good grades — a minimum CGPA of 3.0 out of 4.0 (or equivalent).
3. Must not hold any other job during the period of the assistantship — this is a full-time position.
4. Must work in person at CASSA on all weekdays; some work-from-home days are negotiable with the supervisor.
5. Must have a laptop running Unix (Linux or Mac), or one on which Ubuntu can be installed if selected.

Terms

• Positions: 2 — one TRA (CHronOS), one TRA (GATE).
• Duration: 12 months, 1 September 2026 – 31 August 2027.
• Remuneration: 30,000 BDT per month.
• Referees: two referees who can comment on your research potential — contacted only if you are shortlisted, so get their permission in advance.
• Deadline: apply by 10 August 2026, 11:59 pm.

Selection

Applications are reviewed by Dr Khan Muhammad Bin Asad, principal investigator of the supporting SRG, and an external expert — a female Associate Member of CASSA, to be announced. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed in the second half of August, and the selections announced before the end of the month; the assistantship begins on 1 September 2026.

How to apply

Use the Apply now button on this page to open the official application form. Have your certificate, transcript and CV ready as PDFs; the statements on your research experience, purpose and graduate-school plan are written directly in the form, within the stated word limits. Apply to one program only — CHronOS or GATE. After you submit, we email you a copy of your responses with a private link to review or edit them any time until the form closes.

For inquiries, write to Dr Khan Muhammad Bin Asad at kasad@iub.edu.bd.

CASSA is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from diverse backgrounds. This assistantship is restricted to women by the terms of its founding grant; for positions open to all, see the Opportunities page.