Atmospheric Molecular Spectroscopy in support of Earth and Planetary Science

About the role

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities to highly-talented scientists to engage in ongoing NASA research projects at a NASA Center, NASA Headquarters, or at a NASA-affiliated research institute. These one- to three-year fellowships are competitive and are designed to advance NASA’s missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology.

Responsibilities

• Research proposal
• Characterization of the spectroscopic line parameters and/or their cross-sections for atmospheric molecules, such as CH4, NH3, hydrocarbons (CxHy), and nitriles(CxHyNz), in a wide temperature range (80 - 1000K)
• Measurements of collision-induced absorption as additional atmospheric opacity source
• Precision-modeling of telluric absorption features to enable the extreme precision radial velocity (EPRV) measurements in search of Earth-analogs in the habitable zone (HZ)
• Producing spectral references and calibration data for Earth atmospheric trace gases and for elusive molecules for Titan and cold giant planets
• Using measurements from our group for various NASA missions (e.g. Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO), Cassini/CIRS, IRTF/NIRSPEC) as well as the HITRAN molecular spectroscopy database

Requirements

• Doctoral Degree
• Must be a U.S. Citizen, U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR), Foreign Nationals eligible for an Exchange Visitor J-1 visa status, or Applicants for LPR, asylees, or refugees in the U.S. at the time of application with 1) a valid EAD card and 2) I-485 or I-589 forms in pending status
• Mandatory drug testing, random drug testing, and testing prior to initiation of fellowship appointment may be required

Qualifications

A complete application to the NASA Postdoctoral Program includes: Research proposal, Three letters of recommendation, Official doctoral transcript documents, and Application documents.

Skills

Strong background in spectroscopy, molecular physics, and atmospheric science.

Benefits

One- to three-year fellowships, competitive funding, access to state-of-the-art equipment, and collaboration with leading scientists.

Pay

Salary is commensurate with experience.

Schedule

Full-time, one- to three-year appointment.

Contact Information

Point of Contact: Mikeala
Email: npp@orau.org

Location

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California