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To: The Academic Recruitment Adviser, University of Bristol, Senate House, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TH, U.K.

March 27, 2007

Subject: Application for a Lectureship/Readership in Astrophysics, Ref No:12953 Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to apply for one of the two p ositions of Lecturer/Reader at the University of Bristol in the Astrophysics Group. At present, I hold the p osition of Senior Research Asso ciate at the Arecib o Observatory of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC) where my service role (50% of my time) is in the area of VLBI op erations, while my research interests are in extragalactic astronomy-related topics. In this letter, I address the question as to why I am seeking this app ointment and briefly summarize my research and student sup ervision exp erience. The Arecib o Observatory is funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and is op erated by Cornell University as a US national center for radio astronomy. The Arecib o 305-m radio telescop e is the world's largest single-dish instrument (http://www.naic.edu). Recently, due to an overall shortage of funding and a growing desire in the US community to construct newer and bigger (optical) telescop es, NSF instituted a "Senior Review" to recommend the future direction of pro jects within the country. Despite the numerous outstanding achievements of Arecib o over the years and its continued (highly over-subscrib ed) demand by the astronomical community, the Senior Review Committee recommended large and immediate budget cuts. This has unfortunately resulted into a reduction in opp ortunities for the staff astronomers here and, although I will continue to lead the VLBI efforts at Arecib o, b eginning in July 2007 my p osition will b e only half-time. This prompts me to lo ok for full-time employment elsewhere where I can dedicate my future efforts in astronomical research and student development. I received my PhD in 1990 from the Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore, India) for my work in the areas of the variability of compact extragalactic radio sources and radio wave propagation in the ionized interstellar medium. For this, I used the Ooty Synthesis Radio Telescop e in Southern India. Following this, I sp ent two years as a p ost-do ctoral fellow at the Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy (NFRA), and then joined the Arecib o Observatory as a staff astronomer in 1992. Over the years, I have b een involved in many astronomical investigations for which telescop e time has b een granted on the basis of the scientific merit of the prop osals. These include observing with the VLA, VLBA, Arecib o, GMRT, EVN, WSRT, MERLIN, and Mt. Palomar. Results from many of these are now published in refereed journals (see attached CV and publication list).


I have b een invited to referee articles for a numb er of the ma jor international journals and have also participated as a panel memb er in the refereeing of grant applications to the NSF. In 1999, I was invited to serve on the Committee on Radio Frequency (CORF) in the US, although I declined due to conflicting commitments at that time. I am also a memb er of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the American Astronomical So ciety (AAS). The fo cus of my research has b een the application of radio astronomical techniques to the studies of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and their hosts, the inter-galactic medium as seen via absorption lines against compact radio sources, and the magneto-ionic interstellar medium. I have had a wide exp osure to radio single-dish and interferometric observations, b oth in continuum and sp ectral-line mo des. Also, when appropriate I have used optical, IR and X-ray data in my research. Arecib o Observatory is a U.S. national facility and not sp ecifically asso ciated with a particular b o dy of students. However, each summer a 10-week long nation-wide research program is organized under the auspices of the Research Exp eriences for the Undergraduates (REU) program of the NSF. In most years since 1993, I have participated in the Arecib o REU program mentoring a student, lecturing, and organising "hands-on" exp erience with the 305-m telescop e. I include details of my students and their pro ject titles in my CV. e Between 1997 and 2000, I co-sup ervised the PhD thesis of Josґ Francisco Salgado, who was registered for his do ctoral degree with the University of Michigan, and sp ent a two-year p erio d as a pre-do ctoral fellow at Arecib o. I have also lectured to, and conducted data-reduction workshops for, each of the biennial NAIC/NRAO Single-Dish Summer Scho ols, and will do so for the fourth such scho ol to b e held in Green Bank, WV., this July. The level of this scho ol is appropriate for p ost-graduates, p ost-do cs and professional astronomers from other fields. I enjoy working with students, although to date my exp erience of classro om teaching has b een limited. For over 6 years, I also served as the co-editor of the NAIC/Arecib o Observatory Newsletter giving me an exp osure to desk-top publishing metho ds, and editorial skills. I should p erhaps end by mentioning that my husband, Dr. Chris Salter, also of the scientific staff at Arecib o Observatory and a British Citizen, would accompany me to Bristol should this application b e successful. Thanking you,

Yours Sincerely, Tapasi Ghosh (Sr. Research Associate, Arecibo Observatory, NAIC.)