The Max Planck Fellowship Program

The Max Planck Society has established a fellowship program for foreign post-doctoral researchers. Outstanding abroad scientists are invited to apply and spend up to two years at the Albert Einstein Institute in Potsdam and Hannover.

The Albert Einstein Institute

The Albert Einstein Institute (AEI) offers a stimulating and dynamic research environment with broad opportunities for junior scientists. The institute is one of the world's leading centers for gravitational physics, and it is unique in the breadth and depth of its approach to the subject. Scientists at the AEI focus on all aspects of Einstein's theory of general relativity. Their research ranges from geometrical and analytical aspects of the theory to the unification of general relativity and quantum mechanics all the way to the modeling, data analysis, and astrophysics of gravitational waves. It also covers experimental approaches and techniques required to open a new window to the Universe and to test predictions of general relativity.

General information

Each year the AEI will grant a limited number of Max Planck fellowships to outstanding foreign post-doctoral scientists who wish to spend up to two years at the institute. 


The Max Planck fellowship program offers three different stipends, depending on research track-record and achievements (net monthly stipend of €2,500, €3,000 or €3,600) plus some benefits and travel costs and subsidy cost of baggage allowance reimbursements for the journey to our institute.

Application information

Candidates interested in Max Planck fellowships should fill out a form (which is different depending on the AEI department they plan to be associated to, please see below) and upload a cover letter, curriculum vitae, list of publications, and statement of past, current and future research interests. Electronic Portable Document Format (PDF) submittals are strongly preferred. Applicants would need to indicate the names of three referees for recommendation letters. Referees will be notified by email on how to upload the letters.

The Max Planck Society is committed to increase the number of women and individuals with disabilities in its workforce in areas where they are under-represented. Thus, it encourages applications from such qualified individuals.


Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity Department (Potsdam)

The ACR department, led by Alessandra Buonanno, is composed of about 45 scientists, including three permanent research group leaders, Jonathan Gair, Harald Pfeiffer and Jan Steinhoff, and the five-year research group leader Miguel Zumalacarregui. The department also hosts several long and short-term visitors, and has ties with the Physics Department at the University of Maryland, the Humboldt University in Berlin, and the University of Potsdam.

The ACR department is interested in several aspects of gravitational-wave astronomy, including (i) analytical modeling of gravitational dynamics and radiation (effective field theory, post-Newtonian and post-Minkowskian expansions, gravitational self-force approach, perturbation theory and effective-one-body formalism), (ii) numerical relativity, most notably simulations in vacuum of compact objects on bound and unbound orbits in general relativity and alternative gravity theories, (iii) observation (including searches and detector characterization) and interpretation of data from gravitational-wave detectors on the ground (LIGO, Virgo, KAGRA, Cosmic Explorer, Einstein Telescope) and in space (LISA), (iv) techniques for the acceleration of gravitational-wave inference, including machine learning, (v) astrophysics of compact objects and binary’s formation scenarios, (vi) cosmography with gravitational waves (including dark energy, dark matter, gravitational lensing), and (vii) tests of gravity in the strong-field and highly dynamical regimes.

Members of the department have the opportunity to join the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, the LISA Consortium, and the Einstein Telescope Collaboration through the division’s membership.

Currently, the ACR department operates a high-performance compute cluster, Urania, with ~6,050 cores, a high-throughput compute cluster, Hypatia, with ~12,000 cores, and two servers, Saraswati and Lakshmi, each with 8 A100 GPUs. Those clusters are used to run numerical-relativity simulations of gravitational-wave sources, and to carry out source modeling and data-analysis studies for current and future gravitational-wave detectors.

To apply, please submit your application via our job portal here.

You will be asked to upload a cover letter, curriculum vitae, list of publications and a statement of past and future research activities of not more than 3 pages. Applicants will need to indicate the names of three referees for recommendation letters. Please register an account with our job portal and fill in the contact information for the referees well before the deadline, so that reference letters can be received in time. Referees will receive an email with instructions on how to upload their letters. In case of technical problems with the application form, please contact jobs@aei.mpg.de.

The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics is an equal opportunity employer, and is committed to provide employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, gender identity, sexual orientation or national origin. The MaxPlanck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individual. The AEI and the Max Planck Society welcome persons with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and ideas who embrace and value diversity and inclusion (Code of Conduct). The institute promotes a healthy work-life balance by offering all employees a family support service, cooperation with a nearby international kindergarten, as well as an in-house parent-child office and nursing room.

For further information please contact Jan Steinhoff: jan.steinhoff@aei.mpg.de.


Computational Relativistic Astrophysics Department (Potsdam)

The CRA department, led by Masaru Shibata, focuses on several research topics in general relativity and relativistic astrophysics, including

(i) numerical relativity with matter, in particular, neutrino-radiation-hydrodynamics, magneto-(radiation-)hydrodynamics, and viscous-radiation-hydrodynamics, for mergers of neutron-star binaries (binary neutron stars and black hole-neutron star binaries), long-term evolution of the merger remnants, and stellar collapse to a black hole and a neutron star,

(ii) modeling of gravitational waves from neutron-star binaries based on numerical-relativity gravitational waveforms,

(iii) modeling of electromagnetic counterparts (macronovae/kilonovae, short gamma-ray bursts, etc.) associated with neutron-star mergers, including the studies of r-process nucleosynthesis,

(iv) studies of the formation processes for a variety of black holes (stellar-mass, intermediate-mass, and supermassive black holes), and gravitational-wave and electromagnetic signals associated with the formation processes,

(v) studies of phenomena associated with supermassive black holes, e.g., tidal disruption of stars by supermassive black holes and emission of gravitational waves by extreme mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs),

(vi) numerical relativity beyond general relativity.

The CRA department has ties with the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University.

To apply, please fill out this form.

For further information please contact Matthias Blittersdorf: .


Observational Relativity and Cosmology Department (Hannover)

Research in this department is focused on the direct observational consequences of Einstein's general theory of relativity, particularly as it relates to astrophysics and cosmology.

The research focuses primarily on searches for gravitational waves in data from the most sensitive ground based interferometric detectors. These include searches for long lived signals from rapidly rotating neutron stars, transient signals from the coalescence of compact objects in binary systems and unmodelled burst signals.

Scientists in the department also search for electromagnetic emissions from neutron stars and have discovered several new radio and gamma-ray pulsars. The group operates the ATLAS computing cluster: with its 40,000 CPU cores and 2,000 GPUs this is the world's largest and most powerful resource dedicated to gravitational wave searches and data analysis. The department also help run the Einstein@Home project, which uses computing power donated by the general public to search for gravitational waves and electromagnetic emission from neutron stars.

Applications for positions in this department are accepted at any time throughout the year.

To apply for a Max Planck fellowship in the Observational Relativity and Cosmology Department please fill out this form.

If you need more information please contact


Quantum Gravity and Unified Theories Department (Potsdam)

Research in this department is purely theoretical and brings together some of the most exciting challenges of modern physics and mathematics. The overall goal is the unification of general relativity and quantum mechanics into a theory of quantum gravity, which should also provide a consistent framework for incorporating the other fundamental forces in nature.

A consistent theory of quantum gravity seems to be required to answer questions about the early universe and the nature of black holes. Several candidate theories have been put forward over the last decades. On the one hand, supergravity and super-string theory aim for a unification of gravity with the other fundamental interactions, and have their roots in quantum field theory. The requirement of mathematical consistency and the non-renormalizability of perturbatively quantized gravity, and the need to incorporate the non-gravitational interactions are likely to force us to modify Einstein's theory at the smallest distances. This may lead an entirely new type of theory, which could explain how space-time is dissolved at very small distances, and in which Einstein's theory emerges only as an effective low energy theory. On the other hand, non-pertubative approaches such as loop quantum gravity, spin foams and group field theory proceed from basic principles of General Relativity. These canonical approaches emphasize the geometrical aspects and appear well suited to deal with unsolved conceptual issues of quantum gravity, such as e.g. the problem of time or the interpretation of the wave function of the universe.

As it is far from clear what a consistent theory of quantum gravity will look like and what its main features will be, the department aims to represent all the major current approaches to quantum gravity.

The department Quantum Gravity and Unified Theories is not offering any Max Planck Fellowships at the moment.

If you need more information please contact .

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