Theoretical High Energy Physics Groups
Common Deadline for Postdoc Offers
An open letter to the theoretical physics community
June 1, 2007
In recent years, we have seen a growing number of early offers with
short deadlines for high energy theory postdoctoral positions.
This year, the practice has become too widespread to be ignored.
We are worried that this practice is preventing young researchers from
making a free and fair choice among their job opportunities. And,
while there may be some short term advantage for the institutions which
do this, we believe it will have serious negative effects in the long
run.
We should keep in mind that most of these positions are funded by
agencies for the purpose of promoting the training of young scholars in
theoretical physics. That is, the positions are primarily for the
benefit of the young researchers, rather than that of the institution
that hires them. From this point of view, it would be hard to
defend any policy which denied to postdoctoral candidates the maximum
possible choice among fellowships. Note also that the problem is
not with early offers per se, as long as the deadlines are reasonable.
Thus, we commit to make no postdoctoral offer for the fall of a given
year, whose deadline for acceptance is earlier than January 7th of that year. We
urge all of our colleagues at other institutions to follow the same
guidelines.
Please urge all institutions you are in contact with to join our pledge
to set deadlines no earlier than January 7.
Signed by:
Nikita Nekrasov
Simons Center for Geometry and Physics
nikita
insti.physics.sunysb.edu
Daniel Friedan
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
friedan
physics.rutgers.edu
Michael E. Peskin
SLAC Theory Group
mpeskin
slac.stanford.edu
Laurent Baulieu
LPTHE, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris 75005
baulieu
lpthe.jussieu.fr
Igor R. Klebanov
Princeton University
klebanov
princeton.edu
Edward Farhi
Center for Theoretical Physics, MIT
farhi
mit.edu
Luis Alvarez-Gaume
Theory Group, CERN
Luis.Alvarez-Gaume
cern.ch
Yutaka Hosotani
Osaka University, High Energy Theory Group
hosotani
phys.sci.osaka-u.ac.jp
Costas Bachas
LPT of the Ecole Normale
Bachas
lpt.ens.fr
Leonard Susskind
Stanford University
susskind
stanford.edu
Andy Strominger
Harvard University
aestrom
fas.harvard.edu
Antonio Gonzalez-Arroyo
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
antonio.gonzalez-arroyo
uam.es
Stephen L.Adler
Institute for Advanced Study
adler
ias.edu
Eliezer Rabinovici
Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University
Jerusalem 91904, Israel
ELIEZER
VMS.HUJI.AC.IL
Michael Dine
University of California at Santa Cruz
dine
scipp.ucsc.edu
George Sterman
C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics
Stony Brook University
george.sterman
stonybrook.edu
Petr Horava
University of California, Berkeley
and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
horava
berkeley.edu
Tohru Eguchi
Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics,
Kyoto University
eguchi
yukawa.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Massimo Bianchi
Dipartimento di Fisica & Sezione INFN
Universita' di Roma "Tor Vergata"
Massimo.Bianchi
roma2.infn.it
Michael Gronau
Physics Department, Technion
gronau
physics.technion.ac.il
Chris Hill
Theoretical Physics Department, Fermilab
hill
fnal.gov
Michael B. Green
High Energy Physics Group
DAMTP, University of Cambridge
m.b.green
damtp.cam.ac.uk
Amanda Peet
University of Toronto Physics
amanda.peet
utoronto.ca
Wojtek J. Zakrzewski
MATHS-CPT, Durham University
W.J.Zakrzewski
durham.ac.uk
Alexander Sevrin
Theoretical High Energy Physics
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Alexandre.Sevrin
vub.ac.be
Jan Louis
String Theory Group, Hamburg
jan.louis
desy.de
Dieter Zeppenfeld
Institut fuer Theoretische Physik
Universitaet Karlsruhe
dieter
particle.uni-karlsruhe.de
Marc Henneaux
Universite Libre de Bruxelles
International Solvay Institutes
henneaux
ulb.ac.be
Antal Jevicki
High Energy Theory Group, Brown
antal
het.brown.edu
Antoine Van Proeyen
K.U. Leuven, High-energy Physics group
Antoine.VanProeyen
fys.kuleuven.be
Matthias Gaberdiel
Institute for Theoretical Physics
ETH Zuerich
mrg
phys.ethz.ch
Matteo Bertolini
SISSA - Elemntary Particle Physics Sector
bertmat
sissa.it
Joan Simon
School of Mathematic, University of Edinburgh
J.Simon
ed.ac.uk
Ivan Todorov, Emil Nissimov
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia
todorov
inrne.bas.bg - nissimov
inrne.bas.bg
Elias Kiritsis
CPHT, Ecole Polytechnique
kiritsis
alicemail.frg
Bernard de Wit
Inst. for Theoretical Physics, Utrecht University
B.deWit
phys.uu.nl
Hans Peter Nilles
Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Bonn
nilles
th.physik.uni-bonn.de
Chris Hull
Theoretical Physics Group, Imperial College London
c.hull
imperial.ac.uk
Csaba Csaki
Newman Laboratory, Cornell University
csaki
mail.lepp.cornell.edu
Niels A. Obers
Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology Group
Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen
obers
nbi.dk
Csaba Balazs
School of Physics, Monash University
Melbourne VIC 3800, Australia
Csaba.Balazs
sci.Monash.edu.au
Eric Laenen
Nikhef Amsterdam Theory Group
Eric.Laenen
nikhef.nl
Manuel Drees
Bonn University
drees
th.physik.uni-bonn.de
Herbi Dreiner
Theoretische Physik
Physikalisches Institut University of Bonn
dreiner
th.physik.uni-bonn.de
Mark Van Raamsdonk
University of British Columbia
mav
physics.ubc.ca
Hermann Nicolai
Potsdam, Max Planck Institute
Hermann.Nicolai
aei.mpg.de
Robert Myers
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
rmyers
perimeterinstitute.ca
Bengt EW Nilsson
Dept of Fundamental Physics
Chalmers University of Technology
tfebn
fy.chalmers.se
Tom DeGrand
University of Colorado
degrand
aurinko.colorado.edu
Shahin Sheikh-Jabbari
School of Physics, IPM, Tehran
jabbari
theory.ipm.ac.ir
Bill Spence
Centre for Research in String Theory
Queen Mary, University of London
w.j.spence
qmul.ac.uk
Jan Plefka
Quantum Field Theory Group
Humboldt-University Berlin
plefka
physik.hu-berlin.de
Joseph Polchinski
UC at Santa Barbara/Kavli Institute
joep
kitp.ucsb.edu
Laurence Yaffe
University of Washington
yaffe
phys.washington.edu
Graham Shore
Theoretical Physics, Swansea University
g.m.shore
swansea.ac.uk
Jean-Marc Gerard
Ctr. for Particle Physics/Phenomenology, UCL, Louvain
gerard
fyma.ucl.ac.be
Martin Schmaltz
Boston University Particle Theory Group
schmaltz
bu.edu
John Terning
UC Davis
terning
physics.ucdavis.edu
Jim Cline
McGill University
jclin
hep.physics.mcgill.ca
Elizabeth H. Simmons
High-Energy Theory Group
Michigan State University
esimmons
msu.edu
Finn Larsen
University of Michigan
larsenf
umich.edu
Francesco Sannino
University of Southern Denmark
sannino
ifk.sdu.dk
Charlotte Elster
INPP, Ohio University
elster
ohiou.edu
Ofer Aharony
Weizmann Institute of Science
Ofer.Aharony
weizmann.ac.il
Mirjam Cvetic/Burt Ovrut
Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania
cvetic
cvetic.hep.upenn.edu
ovrut
elcapitan.hep.upenn.edu
Alexey A Petrov
Wayne State University
apetrov
wayne.edu
Ulf Lindström
Uppsala University
ulf.lindstrom
fysast.uu.se
Xerxes Tata
Theory Group, University of Hawaii
tata
phys.hawaii.edu
Graham Kribs
University of Oregon
kribs
uoregon.edu
Zvi Bern
Department of Physics and Astronomy
UCLA
bern
physics.ucla.edu
Michael Krämer
Institute for Theoretical Physics
RWTH Aachen University
mkraemer
physik.rwth-aachen.de
Alfonso V. Ramallo
String Theory Group
University of Santiago de Compostela
Spain
alfonso
fpaxp1.usc.es
Gary Shiu
University of Wisconsin, Madison
shiu
physics.wisc.edu
Doug Toussaint
University of Arizona High Energy Theory Group
doug
physics.arizona.edu
R. Sekhar Chivukula
Michigan State University High Energy Theory Group
sekha
pa.msu.edu
Simon Catterall
Syracuse University Theoretical Particle Physics Group
smc
physics.syr.edu
Pavel Nadolsky
Southern Methodist University
nadolsky
smu.edu
John Donoghue
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
donoghue
physics.umass.edu
Paul H. Frampton
Department of Physics and Astronomy,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
frampton
physics.unc.edu
Manfred Lindner
Director, Max Planck Institut fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg, Germany
lindner
mpi-hd.mpg.de
Patrick Huber
Physics Department, Virginia Tech
pahuber
vt.edu
Matthew Headrick
Martin Fisher School of Physics, Brandeis University
headrick
brandeis.edu
Subir Sarkar
Particle Theory Group, Oxford University
s.sarkar
physics.ox.ac.uk
Christopher D. Carone
Physics Department, College of William & Mary
cdcaro
wm.edu
Markus Diehl
Theory Group, DESY, Hamburg Site
markus.diehl
desy.de
Cobi Sonnenschein
Tel Aviv University
cobi
post.tau.ac.il
Michael Klasen
Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Münster
michael.klasen
uni-muenster.de
Joseph Bramante
Queen's University
joseph.bramante
queensu.ca
Pasquale Di Bari and Steve King
BSM, Neutrino and Cosmology group, University of Southampton
P.Di-Bari
soton.ac.uk
John Joseph M. Carrasco
Northwestern University
carrasco
northwestern.edu
Vincent Vennin
LPENS (Laboratoire de Physique de l'Ecole Normale Superieure), Paris, France
vincent.vennin
ens.fr
Frequently asked
questions
1. Who should sign this letter?
2. How can we sign?
3. Why choose January 7, and not some other date?
4. What if our job starts before September?
What if our job covers several fields, not just
theoretical physics, and we have to compete with earlier deadlines in
other fields? What if external
considerations (say a funding agency deadline) force us to set an
earlier deadline?
5. Can we give a suggested response date in
advance of January 7?
6. What should I (a candidate) do if I am given
an earlier hard deadline?
7. Why not use a centralized matching system?
Answers:
1. Who should
sign this letter?
Researchers in theoretical physics who hire postdocs. This
agreement was originally proposed by theoretical particle physicists,
but we are happy to have others join as well.
Of course, the proposal could be of interest beyond these fields.
However, to keep the discussion and signature list to a manageable
size, and because some of the details (such as the date) might be
different in different fields, we would ask others to start independent
agreements.
It is only necessary to have one person sign per group, meaning either
a typical size department in a university, or a group with a coherent
hiring policy within a larger department, lab or other
institution. Of course, that person should be authorized by the
group, and willing to take responsibility for the agreement.
2. How can we
sign?
Send an e-mail to
postdoc-agreement
insti.physics.sunysb.edu
stating the necessary information, including contact information.
Of course, you can also ask to be removed from the agreement.
3. Why choose
January 7, and not some other date?
First, we would like to maximize the time available for candidates to
publish their work and submit their applications. This rules out
deadlines in December and earlier. The holiday break also
provides a natural interval in which candidates can consider offers,
get information, and in some cases make decisions.
On the other hand, all other factors being equal, an earlier date would
be preferable, to speed up the process.
One argument for a somewhat later deadline is the following. Once
some candidates have accepted offers, they will turn down others,
freeing some groups to make early second offers. This will enable
other candidates to switch to these offers, freeing up more
institutions to make early second offers. This procedure can
iterate and we do not want candidates to be forced to accept jobs as it
is taking place. Thus, for the process to be fair, we must allow
some time for this process to converge, before enforcing a hard
deadline on the first round offers.
The holiday break ends on different days, depending on the institution
and the vicissitudes of the calendar. CERN, for example, is
closed the first week of January, and so might not re-open until the
8th. Even for those with more flexibility, if January 1 falls on
a Thursday, it could easily be January 5 before a group could hold a
meeting to make second offers.
Then, allowing several days for the early second offers to complete,
brings us somewhere between January 7 and January 15. We have
fixed on the earliest date in this range.
4. What if
our job starts before September? What if our job covers several fields, not
just theoretical physics, and we have to compete with earlier deadlines
in other fields? What if
external considerations (say a funding agency deadline) force us to set
an earlier deadline?
Although we believe that every effort should be made to follow this
agreement, there are a variety of special situations which are
legitimate reasons for a nonstandard deadline.
To avoid confusion, we are providing a public "opt-out" list, in which
groups can register the fact that a particular position has a
nonstandard deadline, and state the reasons. This can be done by
sending e-mail to
postdoc-agreement
insti.physics.sunysb.edu
(the same address as above), we would hope at the time the position is
first
announced.
5. Can we
give a suggested response date in advance of January 7?
Yes. This agreement applies to hard deadlines, beyond which an
offer is withdrawn, and perhaps offered to another candidate. An
earlier response date can be requested, for any reason. But if
the candidate asks for an extension until January 7, this must be
honored.
6. What
should I (a candidate) do if I am given an earlier hard deadline?
Ask politely for an extension until January 7.
If this is refused, let us (any of the signatories) know.
7. Why not
use a centralized matching system?
In some comparable situations, candidates are assigned to institutions
using a centralized matching system. The example that we know
about is the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) for medical
residencies, described at
http://www.nrmp.org/
In rough outline, candidates and institutions provide rank ordered
lists to the service, which then makes binding assignments attempting
to maximize the preferences of all involved, essentially simultaneously
(over one week).
Candidates and institutions are allowed to informally communicate their
general preferences to each other in advance, so the system allows for
some degree of human contact and maneuver at that stage.
It seems likely to us that, because of the many differences between the
professions and institutions in the two cases, adapting this system to
our situation would require a great deal of work.
And as is evident from their website, the system requires a great deal
of administration to run, and to enforce the agreements on the parties
involved. But this may be an interesting direction to consider
for the future.
No exceptional deadlines listed.
(This page was last edited Dec. 22, 2017. Send comments to postdoc-agreement
insti.physics.sunysb.edu.)