Star Formation and Dust Evolution in Nearby Galaxies
All applications must be submitted in Zintellect
Please visit the NASA Postdoctoral Program website for application instructions and requirements: How to Apply | NASA Postdoctoral Program (orau.org)
A complete application to the NASA Postdoctoral Program includes:
- Research proposal
- Three letters of recommendation
- Official doctoral transcript documents
About the NASA Postdoctoral Program
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.
Description:
The interstellar medium plays a central role in the evolution of galaxies as the birth site of new stars and the repository of old stellar ejecta. The formation of new stars slowly consumes the ISM, locking it up for millions to billions of years. As these stars age, the winds from low mass, asymptotic giant branch stars and high mass, red supergiants, and supernova explosions inject nucleosynthetic products of stellar interiors into the ISM, slowly increasing its metallicity. This constant recycling and associated enrichment drives the evolution of a galaxy’s visible matter and changes its emission characteristics. To understand this recycling, we must study the physical processes of the interstellar medium, the formation of new stars, and the injection of mass by evolved stars, and their relationships on a galaxy-wide scale.
We are conducting observational research of dust and gas emission that are key tracers of star formation, evolved star mass ejection and the interstellar medium in nearby galaxies in which we can separate the dusty stars from the interstellar medium. Observatories used include the James Webb Space Telescope, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, Hubble Space Telescope, and archival data bases include the Spitzer Space Telescope, and Herschel Space Observatory. Targets of recent observations include star formation regions in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, SN 1987A, NGC 6822, and I Zw 18.
Field of Science: Astrophysics
Advisors:
Applications with citizens from Designated Countries will not be accepted at this time, unless they are Legal Permanent Residents of the United States. A complete list of Designated Countries can be found at: https://www.nasa.gov/oiir/export-control.
Eligibility is currently open to:
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U.S. Citizens;
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U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR);
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Foreign Nationals eligible for an Exchange Visitor J-1 visa status; and,
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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
Questions about this opportunity? Please email npp@orau.org
PhD in Astronomy or Astrophysics or related field. Desirable to have a background in studies of star formation, evolved stars, stellar populations, circumstellar matter, dust or the interstellar medium. Bonus if applicant is experienced with observatories mentioned in this opportunity.
- Degree: Doctoral Degree.
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