All applications must be submitted in Zintellect
Description:
Follow the Volatiles!
The next decades will see the first atmospheric characterization of potentially habitable planets around other stars, taking the first step in the search for biosignatures beyond the Solar System. The search for spectroscopic signatures of biogenic gases in the atmospheres of extrasolar planets is a pillar of astrobiology and one of the most promising avenues for finding evidence of life beyond the Solar System. While the road to living worlds stretches decades into the future, the decade in front of us will include discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and other extremely large telescopes that will be distinguished by statistical studies of atmospheres over a broad range of planet and host star properties.
To prepare for the search for life and this epoch of atmospheric characterization, UC Santa Cruz partnered with University of Hawaii at Manoa, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Kansas, and NASA Ames Research Center to assemble a team with a data-driven approach that focuses on the questions that can be hypothesis tested today to accelerate and support the search for biosignatures in the near future. This interdisciplinary team is carrying out a synergistic program of observations, laboratory experiments, and modeling to understand the journey of volatiles, particularly but not limited to carbon and oxygen-containing species, from protoplanetary disks to exoplanet atmospheres.
More information at: https://astrobiology.science.ucsc.edu/icar/
Applicants who apply for this research opportunity and are subsequently selected for an NPP award are expected to attend the Astrobiology Graduate Conference (AbGradCon) and/or the Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon) using the travel funds that are conferred as part of the NPP award.
Field of Science: Astrobiology
Advisors:
Natalie Batalha
Natalie.Batalha@ucsc.edu
831-459-3747
meredith.macgregor@colorado.edu
303-492-9629
huberd@hawaii.edu
808-956-8573
rjensenc@ucsc.edu
831-459-2944
Jonathan Williams
jw@hawaii.edu
808-956-8335
Bin Chen
binchen@hawaii.edu
808-956-6908
Jonathan Fortney
jfortney@ucsc.edu
831-459-1312
Eric Gaidos
gaidos@hawaii.edu
808-956-7897
ghuss@higp.hawaii.edu
808-956-9342
Andy Skemer
askemer@ucsc.edu
831-459-5753
xiz@ucsc.edu
831-502-8126
mtelus@ucsc.edu
831-502-8784
Francis Nimmo
fnimmo@ucsc.edu
831-459-1783
dobrica@hawaii.edu
808-956-5370
Ian Crossfield
Eligibility is currently open to:
- U.S. Citizens;
- U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR);
- Foreign Nationals eligible for an Exchange Visitor J-1 visa status; and,
- 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
- Degree: Doctoral Degree.
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