China is offering over a million dollars for a foreigner to run the world’s largest telescope, so why is nobody applying?
Only a handful of astronomers might be qualified to run the Fast facility in Guizhou – and the challenges of the job could be putting them off
China is offering more than US$1.2 million to hire a foreign astronomer to run the world’s largest radio telescope, but is struggling to find applicants.
Fast, the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope, is looking for a chief scientist from overseas to oversee the daily operation of the 1.2-billion yuan (US$178 million) facility. Over the last few months, it encountered unexpected difficulties in finding a qualified, willing candidate as the job faces many challenges, according to people involved in the hiring process.
Whoever becomes Fast’s director of scientific operation would receive a financial package consisting of eight million yuan research funding, a salary comparable with such a role in Western countries and numerous subsidies, such as free housing.
Such financial incentives have become common as many senior positions for scientists have opened up on the mainland and the nation steps up its efforts to attract high-quality candidates for its rapidly growing research sector.
Fast (the Five hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope) is a giant dish hidden in the remote mountains of Guizhou, a province in southwest China. Guizhou has some of the nation’s largest karst caves and limestone hills. These form depressions that naturally fit the shape of the dish – making it the ideal terrain for a giant telescope.