Physicist: Research Scientist Position; Onsite

Physicist:
Research Scientist Position (Onsite Opportunity)🔍School of Humanities and Sciences, Stanford, California, United States📁Research📅Feb 27, 2025 Post Date📅106065 Requisition #

The School of Humanities and Sciences (H&S) is the foundation of a liberal arts education  school encompasses 24 departments and 24 interdisciplinary programs. H&S is home to fundamental and applied research, where free, open, and critical inquiry is pursued across disciplines. As the university’s largest school, H&S serves as the foundation of a Stanford undergraduate education no matter which discipline students pursue as a major.

Graduate students work alongside world‑renowned faculty to pursue and shape foundational research that leads to breakthroughs and discoveries that shed new light on the past, influence the present, and shape the future. Together, faculty and students in H&S engage in inspirational teaching, learning, and research every day.

The Communication Department is home to the world’s leading scholars studying political communication. The area focuses on how communication and media affect political attitudes and behaviors, as well as what communication reveals about the workings of political institutions and political systems. The area is also known for its innovation in research methods and focus on scientific inference. (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..edu

Position Summary:

The Department of Communication is seeking a Physicist:
Research Scientist.

A physicist is sought for an interdisciplinary study of observer effects as it relates to the quantum measurement problem. The study will be a comprehensive assessment of observer effects in wave function collapse but will uniquely include psychological perspectives and methods in the development of research designs. The primary investigator will be a psychologist and the study will be conducted within the Institute for Research in Social Sciences at Stanford University.

The position will require that the researcher have a strong background in experimental methods, necessary to execute the Tonomura double slit design (using a BBO crystal) and the Mach‑Zehnder interferometer design. A strong background in the quantum measurement problem would be desirable.

The project will begin with a comprehensive review of the literature—both theoretical and experimental—on variables influencing wave function collapse and developing a plan for replicating or testing a wide range of them. It will then develop and apply methods for assessing and controlling variables related to observation, drawing on ideas from psychology as well as quantum physics. Data will be analyzed, and results will be published in peer‑reviewed outlets.

The researcher will devote 80% of their time to the research project. The other 20% can be devoted to other research interests and taking advantage of other opportunities at Stanford University.

This is a 100% FTE, 1 year fixed‑term position with the possibility of renewal. This position will be based on the Stanford campus and will be considered for an option of telecommuting (hybrid of working on‑site and off‑site), subject to operational need.

If you believe that this opportunity is a match for your knowledge, skills and abilities, we encourage you to apply. Thank you for considering employment opportunities with the School of Humanities and Sciences.

PhD in empirical physics is preferred.

A successful candidate will have a PhD in empirical physics, experience collecting data in laboratory settings, conducting analysis of empirical data, experience reviewing published literature in physics and writing manuscripts reporting empirical results, and carrying papers through the revision and publication process.

This on‑site role is open to candidates anywhere in the United States. Stanford University has five Regional Pay Structures. The compensation for this position will be based on the location of the successful candidate. The expected pay range for this position is $70,000 to $99,000 per annum.

Stanford University provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the university reasonably expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a…