Observational Extragalactic Astronomy

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

The postdoctoral researcher will carry out independent scientific research generally related to one or more of the following topics:

• Multi-wavelength investigations probing various aspects of galaxy evolution.
• Observations through awarded time on space and ground-based facilities, and observational planning for future time on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).
• Investigations of isolated versus cluster galaxies of various morphological types (early-type galaxies and dwarf irregulars), identifying environmental dependencies of evolution through spectroscopic analysis of their stellar populations and star formation histories.
• Structural analysis of spatial light distributions within galaxies.
• Improving methods for determining spatial chemical abundance distributions within galaxies.
• Developing new approaches in spectral stellar population synthesis to take full advantage of available long wavelength baselines.
• Enhancing techniques for deriving star formation histories.

Requirements

Qualified candidates should have a Ph.D. in astronomy, physics, or a related discipline. Expertise in the reduction, analysis, and interpretation of imaging or spectroscopic data are essential, and experience in multi-wavelength (UV-IR) analysis is highly desirable. Experience working in a scientific team environment is a plus, as are excellent organizational and problem-solving skills.

Qualifications

A Ph.D. in astronomy, physics, or a related field is required. Expertise in the reduction, analysis, and interpretation of imaging or spectroscopic data is essential, and experience in multi-wavelength (UV-IR) analysis is highly desirable. Experience working in a scientific team environment is a plus, as are excellent organizational and problem-solving skills.

Skills

Expertise in the reduction, analysis, and interpretation of imaging or spectroscopic data are essential, and experience in multi-wavelength (UV-IR) analysis is highly desirable. Experience working in a scientific team environment is a plus, as are excellent organizational and problem-solving skills.

Benefits

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.

Pay

Details regarding pay are not specified in the provided information.

Schedule

Details regarding the schedule are not specified in the provided information.

Contact Information

To apply, interested applicants should contact the advisor at pamela.m.marcum@nasa.gov. For questions about this opportunity, please email npp@orau.org.