Structure and Energetics of Planetary Atmospheres

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

This research combines the acquisition, reduction and analysis of remote-sensing data on planetary atmospheres with theoretical models of structure and dynamics. Much of the data involves infrared imaging and spectroscopy, and data have been acquired from experiments on spacecraft such as Galileo, Cassini, Hubble and Spitzer. Observations are also acquired from a vigorous ground-based astronomy program emphasizing the near and middle infrared, but including other spectral regions. They have involved traditional, remote or service observing at NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility, Palomar, Keck, Gemini, Subaru and the Very Large Telescope. These observations have focused on deriving thermal structure, bulk and trace constituent abundances, and cloud properties. This work on data acquisition and analysis is combined with more recent efforts to simulate atmospheric dynamics and model energy transfer mechanisms in these atmospheres, as constrained by our acquired data.

Requirements

• Research proposal
• Three letters of recommendation
• Official doctoral transcript documents

Qualifications

A Doctoral Degree is required.

Skills

Experience with remote sensing data acquisition and analysis, theoretical modeling of atmospheric structures and dynamics, and infrared spectroscopy.

Benefits

NASA Postdoctoral Program fellows receive:

• Salary commensurate with experience
• Accommodation and travel support
• Professional development opportunities

Pay

Salary is commensurate with experience.

Schedule

The fellowship is for one to three years.

Contact Information

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