IRAP PhD Program
IRAP Ph.D. program is the international joint doctorate program in relativistic astrophysics initiated and co-sponsored by ICRANet. During 2010-2017 IRAP Ph.D takes part in the Erasmus Mundus program of the European Commission. For the first time in Europe the IRAP Ph.D. program grants a joint Ph.D. degree among the participating institutions.
The international Ph.D. program in relativistic astrophysics
Relativistic astrophysics emerged from interaction between general relativity and astrophysics in 1960's. Relativistic astrophysics drives fundamental research and has direct practical applications: Galileo satellites, representing the new generation of GPS technology developed in Europe, are a typical byproduct of this field. New generation of astronomic instruments such as ground-based telescopes (E-ELT, SKA, CTA, Advanced LIGO, etc.) and space missions (JWST, GAIA, LISA, etc.), requires preparation of scientists to handle, operate, plan scientific proposals and analyze results of observations from these and other similar missions.
In 2005 a new international organization was founded: the International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics Network (ICRANet), dedicated to the theoretical aspects of relativistic astrophysics. Together with the University of Arizona, the University of Stanford and the International Centre for Relativistic Astrophysics (ICRA), such states as the Republic of Armenia, the Federal Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Italy and the Vatican are the founding members of ICRANet. As a first step of this organization, the international relativistic astrophysics Ph.D. program (IRAP Ph.D.) has been established in 2005[1]. Among the proponents of the IRAP Ph.D. program are Riccardo Giacconi, Roy Kerr and Remo Ruffini.
The objectives of the program
The IRAP Ph.D. program grants a joint Ph.D. degree among the participating institutions[2].
The core of the program is the international consortium. It assembles expertise of its members for preparation of scientists in the field of relativistic astrophysics, and related fields of general relativity, cosmology and quantum field theory[3].
One of the goals of the program is mobility: every student admitted to the IRAP Ph.D. is part of a team at one of the consortium members, and each year visits the other centers to keep track of developments in the other fields. Within the IRAP Ph.D. program, students are systematically trained in the techniques of research management and in the nature and organization of scientific projects[3].
The consortium
Since 2005 ICRANet has co-organized the IRAP Ph.D. program together with:
- AEI - Albert Einstein Institute - Potsdam (Germany)
- CBPF - Brazilian Center for Physics Research (Brazil)
- Indian Center for Space Physics (India)
- INPE (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Brazil)
- Institut Hautes Etudes Scientifiques - IHES (France)
- Côte d’Azur Observatory (France)
- Observatory of Shanghai (China)
- Observatory of Tartu (Estonia)
- University of Bremen (Germany)
- University of Oldenburg (Germany)
- University of Ferrara (Italy)
- University of Nice (France)
- University of Rome "La Sapienza" (Italy)
- University of Savoy (France)
References
- ^ "The 2005-2007 ICRANet Scientific Report". ICRANet.
- ^ "Objectives".
- ^ a b Chardonnet, Pascal (2015-12-17). "Artium mater in relativistic astrophysics : New perspectives for a European-Latin American PhD program". AIP Conference Proceedings. 1693. AIP Publishing: 070008. doi:10.1063/1.4937221.