(Astrobiology Graduates in Europe)
There is a 17-month Post Doctoral Research Associate position available at the University of Manchester to undertake research into heavy noble gas isotopic signatures in extraterrestrial samples.
Please see this link for further information, and details of how to apply.
Closing date 8th October 2024
The appointed Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) will undertake research on the use of image analysis to assess whether natural materials (e.g., from the early Earth or other planetary bodies) are biological in origin. This work will further the objectives of the Human Frontiers Science Program grant “Unambiguous Biosignatures for Life Detection”. The PDRA will take advice and supervision from Sean McMahon and the external PIs of this project. The aim of the grant is to develop new strategies for discriminating between non-biological and biological materials and patterns, i.e., for recognizing “biosignatures”, by leveraging new “big data” approaches, while also addressing the fundamental question of how, and to what extent, biology differs from non-biology.
Location: University of Edinburgh, Scotland
Application deadline: August 20th
Start date: December 2024
Project duration: 3 years
This is a full-time position based within the UK Center for Astrobiology in the Institute for Condensed Matter and Complex Systems in the School of Physics and Astronomy. The key contacts are S. McMahon (University of Edinburgh), J. Cleaves (Howard University) and M. van Zuilen (Naturalis Biodiversity Centre). Applicants with experience in extracting quantitative descriptions of shapes and structures from image data and analysing the results (e.g., with machine learning methods) are encouraged to apply.
The research project “PRIN MICRObes under ICY-moon simulation: supporting Solar System exploration (MICRO ICY)” aims to study extremophilic microorganisms adapted to live in Icelandic hydrothermal springs as analogues of subsurface environments of the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn. The goal of the project is to understand what kind of metabolism may be favoured in those conditions and identify possible biological signatures, through analysis of gas composition, to be sought in robotic exploration missions to the Solar System. Knowledge of these environments and the adaptation mechanisms of their inhabitants is of fundamental importance for astrobiological research.
The post will be held at the Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies (IFN), which is part of the National Research Council (CNR), in Padova (Italy).
Deadline: 18th July 2024
For more info, click here. Any questions can be asked to Dr. Lorenzo Cocola.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has an opening for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join the Astrobiochemistry Lab. This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research at the intersection of astrobiology, planetary science, and sedimentology.
Key Responsibilities:
Ideal start window: September 2024 – January 2025
For more information or to apply, click here.
The postholder will be welcomed into AstrobiologyOU, an interdisciplinary research group investigating the feasibility of life beyond the Earth, and the associated scientific, governance and ethical implications. The role would be based within the School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences. The role will be to lead and foster interdisciplinary research on space ethics and sustainable futures in space.
Deadline: 26th April 2024 – 12 noon UK time
For more info, click here.
The Aix-Marseille University is seeking a 24-month Postdoc to work on a Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP)-funded project ‘The atmosphere: a living, breathing ecosystem?’. The project is a collaboration involving the Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography in Marseille (France), the University of Guelph (Canada), Monash University in Melbourne (Australia) and Arizona State University in Phoenix (USA). The position is under the supervision of Dr. James Bradley.
The overall aim of the project is to resolve the composition, capabilities, and activities of atmospheric microbes at a global scale, to distinguish whether the atmosphere exhibits structure and microbial activity characteristic of a true ecosystem, or if it is simply a passive dispersal medium for microorganisms.
Deadline: Friday 10th May 2024
For more info, click here.
Informal inquiries should be made to Dr James Bradley.
The University of Oslo’s Centre for Planetary Habitability has announced two new postdoctoral opportunities related to Mars Sample Return.
Deadline: Thursday 29 February 2024
Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oslo.
The aim of this position is to built, under the supervision of Pr. Grégoire Danger and in collaboration with Dr. Robert Pascal, Dr. Louis Le Sergeant d’Hendecourt, and Dr Vassilissa Vinogradoff, a chemistry lab dedicated to prebiotic chemistry
experiments.
The research will be carried out within the ASTRO team at the Physique des Interactions Ioniques et Moléculaires (PIIM) laboratory of the Aix-Marseille University
in France. This team is part of the Origins Institute of the Aix-Marseille University.
Application Deadline: February 15th, 2024
Starting date: June, 2024
End Date: June, 2027
>> Click here << for details on the role and how to apply.
For further information, please contact Grégoire Danger.
The Open University is recruiting for a PDRA position in Mars atmospheric research. The position is funded by the UK Space Agency, for a duration of three years.
Applications are invited from the community to join their group and undertake research using the latest data from the NOMAD instrument on the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter mission. The role holder will undertake an exciting combination of retrievals from instrument observations with global climate modelling studies to understand the behaviour of trace gases in the atmosphere of Mars.
>> Click here << for details on the role and how to apply.
For further information, please contact Manish Patel
Deadline: 12 February 2024 (noon GMT)
A Research Associate position is available at The University of Manchester for a planetary scientist to undertake research into the metal segregation processes on planetesimals in the early Solar System. The position is in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, under the direction of Prof Rhian Jones and in collaboration with Drs. Margherita Polacci and Romain Tartèse.
The goal of the project is to understand the fundamental process of melting and core formation that took place in the first planetesimals that formed in the Solar System.
>> The deadline for applying is February 19th 2024 <<
Further information can be found *here*
AbGradE 