NASA Astrobiology Postdoctoral Opportunity at University of Hawaii

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Current state: Approved and Notify DPS Secretary
Department: Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology
City: Honolulu
State/Province: HI
Country: USA
Contact Person: Sarah Fagents
Contact Email: [email protected]
Institution: University of Hawai'i
Application Due Date: Thursday, November 01 2018

Postdoctoral Research Opportunity at the University of Hawaii: Fluid migration in Titan’s ice shell

As part of the new NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) project “Habitability of Hydrocarbon Worlds: Titan and Beyond”, we are investigating the mechanisms and pathways by which biosignature-hosting materials might be transported from a habitable ocean environment to the surface, where they could be recognized by remote sensing instruments.  These mechanisms might include cryovolcanism, solid state convection in the ice shell, fracture/fault propagation, and the formation of subsurface fluid reservoirs that might facilitate fluid migration to the surface. See nai.nasa.gov/teams/can-8/jpl-titan/ for a more detailed description of the overall project.

An opportunity exists in this area for a postdoctoral researcher to develop a proposal for the NASA Astrobiology Postdoctoral Program, for a project to be pursued at the University of Hawaii.  The desired candidate will have a solid physics, math, or geology/geophysics background, and interests/expertise in numerical modeling, cryomagmatism, ice physics, Titan and/or other icy satellites.  The next deadlines for this program are November 1 and March 1.  If the proposal is selected for funding, the anticipated start dates would be spring/summer 2019 or fall 2019, respectively.  More details are available at nai.nasa.gov/funding/postdoctoral-fellowship-program

Please contact Sarah Fagents at [email protected] for more information.