The ALMA Project of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) solicits applications for the ALMA Joint Scientific Research Program for the fiscal year 2025. The primary purpose of this program is to promote researchers at Japanese universities to carry out scientific research using the ALMA telescope. Successful applicants are required to lead strong research projects by supervising dedicated researchers who will submit ALMA proposals and produce journal articles using ALMA data.

There are three categories for which an applicant (PI) can choose from.

• Category (A) One Project Researcher (postdoc) + Research Grant 1,000,000 yen / year
• Category (B)-1 Two Project Researchers (postdoc) + Research Grant 2,000,000 yen / year
• Category (B)-2 One Project Assistant Professor + Research Grant 2,000,000 yen / year

Successful PIs are required to release the job advertisement for researchers (Project Researchers or Project Assistant Professor) to the Japanese and the international communities during the recruitment process. Project Researchers (postdocs) hired on an annual contract basis will be paid a monthly salary of 350,000 yen, which is equivalent to the salary paid to NAOJ Project Research Fellows. Project Assistant Professors hired on an annual contract basis will be paid a monthly salary of 550,000 yen, which is equivalent to the salary paid to NAOJ Fellows.

The project will start at the date of employment of the first researcher hired with the project. Starting from that date, the period will be:

(Category A) Three consecutive years, or
(Category B) Three consecutive years, with possible extension to four years (subject to the outcome of the first mid-term review) and five years (subject to the review of the second review)

• Note1: In principle, researchers must start their appointment before the end of March 2026.
• Note 2: In principle, the stating date must be 1st April 2025 or 1st October 2025. In Category (B)-1, in the case that the starting dates of two Project Researchers are different, the amount of Research Grant will be half of the nominal value until the second Project Researcher starts the appointment. Note that if the second researcher cannot be hired after one year from the start of the appointment of the first researcher, the Grant will be downgraded to Category A, but with the possibility to extend it two additional years upon a successful review (similar to the original Category B). Successfully extended Grants will be categorized extraordinarily as Category (A)-2.
• Note 3: If the selected researcher resigns before entering the last year of the project, the PI may select to hire a replacement by issuing a job advertisement. Notice that in any case, there will not be any extension of the total length of the project, since the total length is defined by the start of employment of the first selected person and extends in principle until the end of the period prescribed above.
• Note 4: An interim performance report must be submitted within 18 months from the start of the project. A review will be made based on the report. If the requirements are not fully satisfied, the funding may be suspended even before the scheduled end of the project.

NAOJ plans to accept "one research projects for Category (A) and one for Category (B)" or "three research projects for Category (A)" in FY2025.

The successful PIs are required to meet the following conditions:

For Category (A), including (A)-2:

(1) To publish two or more research papers per year (one of which should be written by the selected researcher as the first author)

(2) To submit two or more ALMA proposals per year (one of which should be written by the selected researcher as the first author)

For Category (B)-1 and Category (B)-2:

(1) To publish four or more research papers per year (two of which should be written by the selected researcher(s) as the first author)

(2) To submit four or more ALMA proposals per year (two of which should be written by the selected researcher(s) as the first author)

Research papers mentioned in the item (1) above must be written using either ALMA data obtained as the principal investigator or ALMA archive data which is open to the public. It is not necessary for the successful PI to be the first author of all papers and proposals. The paper for which the researcher can clearly be judged as the corresponding author will be considered in the review. In order to avoid double counts of research papers by several projects, it is required that the PIs of different projects sharing papers agree which party will count each research paper in their corresponding research reports.

The Project Assistant Professor and Project Researcher(s) for each project will be employed and directly paid by the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS). After the employment, a "secondment agreement" will be made between the NAOJ and the university where the PI belongs. The result of this is that the Project Assistant Professor and Project Researcher(s) will have employment relation not only with NINS but also with the university.

If the PI is transferred to any other university or institute, the Project Assistant Professor and Project Researcher(s) will be transferred together with the PI. However,

• If the new university or institute cannot accept the Research Grant or does not meet the requirements of the program (e.g. institutions abroad), the Project Assistant Professor or Project Researcher(s) will continue their research at the NAOJ ALMA Project Science team (Mitaka, Tokyo). At that time, the project will be terminated and the remaining Research Grant funds will be used by the ALMA Project to support the researcher's work.
• If the new university or institute cannot accept the already hired Project Assistant Professor or Project Researcher(s), or in the case the PI joins NAOJ, researchers will continue their research at the NAOJ ALMA Project Science team (Mitaka, Tokyo). At that time, the project may continue but new hirings will not be possible. The PI will be required to continue work with the already hired researcher in order to fulfill the project requirements and to financially support the work of the researcher by the Grant. The project will be terminated if the researcher resigns before the end of the period of employment.
• In both cases above, the researcher's supervisor in NAOJ will be the ALMA Project Scientist and performance will be evaluated considering the original program goals (1 or more ALMA Proposals and 1 or more research papers per year for a Project Researcher, 2 or more ALMA Proposals and 2 or more research papers per year for a Project Assistant Professor)

In principle, the discretionary working system for professional work will be applied to the Project Assistant Professor and Project Researcher(s) hired under this program.

The Project Assistant Professor and Project Researcher(s) will use 100% of their working hours to carry out the scientific research which is specified in the project description. Therefore, they are not allowed to work on tasks which are unrelated to the project (such as education) during working hours.

After the proposal has been accepted, a "joint research agreement" will be signed between the NAOJ and the university where the PI belongs so that the research grant for this project can be allocated to the university. Note that additional fees for late-night/holiday shifts will be paid from the operating budget of the university or within the research grant for this project allocated to the university. Any costs related to the execution of this project (e.g. business trip to the NAOJ, mailing costs, etc.) should be paid from the operating budget of the university or within the research grant for this project. No additional payments will be made by the NAOJ in any case.

We ask the Project Assistant Professor or Project Researcher(s) to attend and present their research achievements at the ALMA Grant Fellow Symposium, which is held every year in December. The attendance of the PIs is not required, but we strongly encourage them to attend and provide stimulating scientific discussion at the symposium.

Proposers must be researchers working at universities in Japan. Applicants of any nationality are welcome to apply.

Fill in the following information on the Application Form: (1) Research theme; (2) Purpose of research; (3) Research plan and methods; (4) Research papers and other past achievements; (5) Confirmation of disclosure of your name (and other information) with seal or electronic signature; (6) Confirmation of prior approval to accept staff members assigned to the ALMA Joint Scientific Research Program with signature of the dean of the faculty or someone in a higher position (in the field A) and of the administrative manager (in the field B); and (7) Confirmation of the terms and conditions on the secondment of staff member(s) assigned for the project, which should be described by the person in charge of administration at the university where the proposer belongs. The Application Form should be sent by e-mail and its original copy should be sent by post to the submission address below.

• ALMA Joint Scientific Research Program Application Form (English)
  
• ALMA Joint Scientific Research Program Confirmation Form (Japanese)
  

Submission Address

2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, JAPAN
National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS)
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)
ALMA Project
To the persons in charge of the ALMA Joint Scientific Research Program
E-mail address: alma-grant-application _atmark_ml.nao.ac.jp (Replace_atmark_by @)

September 2, 2024 17:00 (JST)
* Application documents should be submitted either by e-mail or by post to the address above by the deadline.

Selection results will be notified in early October, 2024

The term of the project is three consecutive years, but it may be changed as a result of the review based on the interim performance report.

• An interim performance report must be submitted within 18 months from the start of the program. A review will be made based on the report. If the requirements are not fully satisfied, the funding may be suspended even before the scheduled end of the program.
• For Category (B) and (A-2) models, the term will be extended to a total of 4 years if the above mentioned interim performance report passes the review. A second review based on the corresponding performance report will be held 3.5 years after the start of the project. If successfully passed, the project will be extended to a full 5-year duration.
• The results of the different reviews will be notified within 3 months of the submission of the interim performance reports.

The PI is required to submit a final report upon completion of the project.

The NAOJ ALMA Project invites applications for a Project Assistant Professor position and Project Researcher position(s) to carry out the research theme entitled "□□□□" using ALMA observation data (including ALMA archive data). Under the supervision of Professor ○○○○, the proposer of the research theme adopted for this project, the successful candidate for a Project Assistant Professor position or Project Researcher position(s) will carry out the research of □□□□ and submit ALMA proposals actively devoting their working hours fully to this task. As deliverables of the research activities, it is required to publish one or more papers (two or more for Project Assistant Professor) in journals and submit one or more ALMA proposals (two or more for Project Assistant Professor), plus it is also required to supervise and support students' research who are dealing with this research theme.

Also, the announcement of the call for applications should include the following requirements:

• In □□□, fill in a research theme, and if necessary, provide a link to a website.
• In ○○○○, fill in the name of the proposer of the ALMA Joint Scientific Research Program.
• Employment contracts will be renewed annually except the first one that will remain in effect for 2 years. Depending on the review results, there will be possible extension of one more year for Category (A) or extension of two plus one years for Category (B).
• It should be explicitly stated that if a candidate has an employment record by NINS six months prior to the appointment, the total period of employment may not exceed 10 years. In this case, the period of employment for the new position will be limited to the remaining years up to 10 years.
• It should be explicitly stated that employees will be entitled to commuting allowance (within limit) and have obligations to pay the health insurance (by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Mutual Aid Association), pension insurance (employees' pension), employment insurance, and workers' compensation insurance.
• It should be explicitly stated that the approval of the NAOJ Advisory Committee for Research and Management will be required prior to the appointment of a Project Assistant Professor for this ALMA Joint Scientific Research Project.
• It should be explicitly stated that the approval of the NAOJ Fixed-Term Employee Selection Committee will be required prior to the appointment of a Project Researcher for this ALMA Joint Scientific Research Project.
• It should be explicitly stated that if the proposer of the adopted research theme is transferred to other universities or institutes that are not able to accept a Project Assistant Professor or Project Researcher(s) for this project, they will continue the research at the NAOJ (Mitaka, Tokyo). Also it should be explicitly stated that if the proposer is transferred to the NAOJ or other institutions where the researcher cannot follow the PI, the employment is terminated at the end of the employment contract at that time without extension.
• It should be explicitly stated that a Project Assistant Professor or Project Researcher(s) employed for this ALMA Joint Scientific Research Project are allowed to seek for external funds such as Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) at the discretion of the NAOJ ALMA Project as long as such external funds are in accordance with the research theme being implemented within the framework of the ALMA Joint Scientific Research Project.

The Selection Committee consists of up to 5 members. The PI of the accepted proposal will serve as a chair of the committee, which should include some members appointed by the NAOJ ALMA Project. A selection report will be prepared by the chair and submitted to the NAOJ ALMA Project. The final decision for the selection will be made after the review by the NAOJ Fixed-Term Employee Selection Committee for the selection of a Project Researcher, or after deliberations at the NAOJ Advisory Committee for Research and Management for the selection of a Project Assistant Professor.

The amount of the research grant for the first and final fiscal years will be determined on a pro-rata basis. Research grant for the first fiscal year will be allocated approximately a month after the commencement of the project. Research grant funds thereafter will be provided annually around the end of June.

• Note 1:For Category (B), it is possible that the date of employment of the first and second hired researchers will not be the same. The date of the first hiring will determine the start of the Project.
• Note 2: Late-night/holiday shifts should only be carried out on request. Such work should be done in consultation with the NAOJ ALMA Project to see if that work is considered as late-night/holiday shifts. Any costs related to late-night/holiday work must be paid from the operating budget of the university or within the research grant for this project. No additional payment will be made by the NAOJ in any case.
• Note 3: Since the purpose of this program is purely to promote academic research, no extra funding to cover overhead costs will be allocated to the research grant.

The Project Assistant Professor or Project Researcher(s) employed by NINS for this ALMA Joint Scientific Research Program will be assigned to: 1) the university where the proposer belongs, and 2) NAOJ. Therefore, it is required to explicitly mention "NAOJ" as an affiliation in published papers.

Also, the following phrase must be included in the Acknowledgments of any and all papers and reports on the research results produced by this ALMA Joint Scientific Research Program:
"This work was supported by NAOJ ALMA Scientific Research Grant Code YYYY-NNN."

If this phrase is missing, such papers and reports will not be deemed as a result of this program. Please follow every specified rule so as not to cause any negative impact on the continued operation of this program by any malicious conduct in implementing the program.

ALMA Project Scientist - Bunyo Hatsukade
ALMA Project Manager - Misato Fukagawa
Email: alma-grant-inquiry _atmark_ml.nao.ac.jp (Replace "_atmark_" by @)