New SAO Employee / Affiliate Resources

Welcome / About

This website is intended to provide introductory information to incoming employees and affiliates of the CfA (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian). Please see the navigation for specific topics and resources.

**Note about 1st Day at SAO**

Please note that most of your first day as an SAO employee or affiliate will be spent doing various administrative tasks, such as collecting your ID badge and office key, and training (see Onboarding Checklist).

Events for New Employees & Affiliates 

• Onboarding sessions for new employees and affiliates are held 3 times per year (March, June, Sept./Oct.) by the Early Career Researchers Coordinator. These sessions are very general and offer a broad overview of the CfA and include introductions to various personnel. In-person sessions are held at 60 Garden St. in Cambridge, MA and also include a Zoom component for remote personnel, or those based in Arizona or Hawaii. You should receive a notification of a session a week in advance. If you do not receive a specific invitation, check the CfA intranet calendar and the weekly Director’s Office newsletters for scheduling. If you have have any questions, or for more information about the onboarding sessions you can email ecr-coordinator@cfa.harvard.edu or your division administrative contact.

• The CfA Postdoc Council hopes to organize a yearly symposium for early career researchers (e.g., interns, predocs, and postdocs) to allow these individuals to meet and get to know one another, and also to help familiarize new personnel with the CfA.

General CfA Information

• The CfA intranet (accessible once you have a CfA Google account) is a valuable resource with information on a variety of topics

• Information about the history of the CfA, its scientific divisions, and a personnel directory, can be found on the CfA public webpage.

• For a nice overview of the CfA and some of the main scientific projects please see the slides from the June 11, 2024 CfA-wide meeting

CfA Locations & Sites

• For a listing of CfA sites, locations, and directions, please see the CfA Facilities page of the public CfA site.

• Useful information for the following locations can be found on this site under "Pre-arrival Resources" which can be found in the sidebar on the left.

  • • Cambridge, MA + Burlington, MA including

      • • 60 Garden St. (Cambridge)

        • 160 Concord Ave. (Cambridge)

        • 100 Acorn Park Drive (Cambridge)

        • 15 Wayside Drive (Burlington)

    • Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory [FLWO] - Amado, AZ

    • Submillimeter Array [SMA] - Hilo, HI

Help with Specific Questions - Administrative Staff & Program Contacts

For a listing of the best personnel to reach out to with questions see the page "Points of Contact" on this site, which can be navigated to using the sidebar on the left.

Handbooks

Please note that handbooks are variable by your role at the CfA - if you have questions about which specific handbook may apply to you, please contact your division administrator or their delegate (see above)

• SAO Human Resources (HR) Handbook - applies to SAO employees (does not apply to contractors, non-employee postdoctoral fellows, interns, visitors, or research associates)

  • • • This resource will be accessible with an @cfa email address.

• Smithsonian (SI) Academic Appointment Handbook (does not apply to employees [including employee postdoctoral fellows], contractors, or research associates)

The reference material below is produced by the Smithsonian Office of Fellowships and provides information to fellowship holders in Washington, D.C. Please note, some information may not be applicable to fellows at the Smithsonian Astrophysical (SAO) Observatory. Consequently, it is important to check with the ECR Coordinator or your Division Administrator about any differences.

• • • • Frequently Asked Questions about the SI Academic Appointment Handbook