AbGradE’s 10th Anniversary – International Astrobiology School in Florence, Italy

As of this year, AbGradE is 10 years old!🥳

We have had many really cool events, and to celebrate all these years of activity we have decided to organise our biggest event yet: a 4-day astrobiology school!

Held in beautiful Florence (Italy) May 21-24, this school is organised in collaboration with the Arcetri Astrobiology Laboratory.

At the moment, we are asking all interested people to record their interest by filling out this form by Sunday 11^th of February.

🇮🇹We look forward to seeing you soon!🇮🇹

Planetary Science PhD projects at The University of Manchester (UK)

There are several PhD projects available at the University of Manchester for a September 2024 start. These projects are in the fields of isotope geochemistry, cosmochemistry, and planetary science.

Available projects:

History of the Lunar Surface
Investigating the formation of lunar agglutinates
Investigating the origin of water in primitive asteroids
Petrogenesis of lunar mare basalts from the nearside eastern limb of the moon

>> Deadline: 5^th of February 2024 <<

Full details of the projects, application process, and supervisors can be found >>here<<.

Funded PhD studentships at UCL’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory (UK)

There are several PhD projects available at UCL’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory, for a September/October 2024 start. These opportunities are within the Department of Space and Climate Physics, and projects are in the fields of space science, planetary science, astrophysics, and systems engineering.

Funded Studentships:

STFC Studentships (Deadline: 26^th January)
UCL Research Excellence Scholarship (Deadline 12^th January, for prospective and current students)
UCL Research Excellence Scholarship for Cross-disciplinary Training (One-year; Deadline: 12^th January, for prospective and current students)

Additionally, applications from self-funding students are welcome at any time. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact their prospective supervisor and discuss the proposed PhD project before their application.

Full details of the application process, supervisors, and projects can be found >>here<<.

Webinar on how to apply for US National Science Foundation grants (all career stages)

The Earth Science Women’s Network will be hosting a webinar later this month that might be of interest to you:
a virtual workshop on Monday, January 22^nd 2024, at 8:00-9:30 PM CET!

Get your questions answered by US National Science Foundation Program Officers!

How can you craft a strong proposal?
What makes a strong Broader Impact?
How do you find a program that fits your work?
This virtual workshop is open to all and will be particularly helpful to early-career to mid-career participants, especially graduate students, post-docs, researchers, and tenure-track faculty thinking about applying for NSF funding for the first time.

> Click here to register <

If you have any questions about ESWN’s events, you can email them at events[at]eswnonline[dot]org

PhD studentship on the origin of life at alkaline hydrothermal vents at Newcastle University (UK)

A PhD is available based at Newcastle University on the origin of life at alkaline hydrothermal vents, as part of the Iapetus2 Doctoral Training Scheme.

The student will use a set of state-of-the-art pressurised continuous flow hydrothermal reactors to mimic the mixing of hydrogen-rich alkaline hydrothermal vent fluids with carbon dioxide-rich seawater or freshwater over a range of different mineral substrates. They will extend exciting recent work on the successful generation of long chain fatty acids using this apparatus and assess the potential for generating a range of further biological relevant organic molecules.

This studentship aims to make a step change in our understanding of how life originated on our planet, and the potential for life to have started on other worlds.

>> Deadline: 15^th of January 2024 (12PM GMT) <<

Full details of the project and the application process can be found here.

For any questions.an informal chat, you can contact Dr. Jon Telling

Funded PhD studentships at the Natural History Museum in London (UK)

There are several PhD projects available at the Natural History Museum, for a September/October 2024 start. These projects are in the fields of meteorites, mineralogy, and remote sensing.

STFC projects: (up to 2 studentships)

UK Space Agency project: (guaranteed funding)

Mars meteorites and missions: Optimisation of spectral analyses for the ExoMars Rover

>> Deadline: 4^th of February 2024 <<

Full details of the application process, supervisors, and associated universities can be found on all the project pages.

Fully funded PhD studentships at the University of Stirling (Scotland, UK)

Fully funded PhD studentships in the realm of astrobiology and Mars exploration are available within the Earth and Planetary Observation Research Group at the University of Stirling.

Preservation of Organic Carbon Compounds and Potential Biosignatures by Reactive Iron Minerals on Mars (guaranteed funding from the UK Space Agency).
Carbon sequestration processes in the rusty carbon sink (competition-funded through UKRI NERC DTP Iapetus).

>> Start of programme: 1^st of October 2024 <<
>> Deadline: 5^th of January 2024 <<

Please contact Dr Christian Schroeder for further details and how to apply.

Registrations open for RED24 – An Astrobiology Introductory Course

The 2024 edition of the Rencontres Exobiologiques pour Doctorants (RED’24 / Astrobiology Introductory Course) will take place from March 17 to 23, 2024 at the Reserve Ornithologique du Teich (France).

Its aim is to offer interdisciplinary training in astrobiology to students and young scientists with a Master’s degree in astronomy, planetology, geology, chemistry, biology, or the history and philosophy of science.

Thanks to the support of the school’s partners, they will be able to cover almost all registration costs. Participants will only have to pay for their own transport.

Lectures will be held in English.

>> Registrations are open until January 16^th, 2024 <<

Discover the program and the speakers of this session on the school website

Fully funded PhD project at Dublin City University (Republic of Ireland)

Novel Biosignatures for Microfossil Interpretation

About the lab
The ProtoSigns Lab led by Dr. Seán Jordan in the School of Chemical Sciences at Dublin City University is at the forefront of pioneering research in the fields of Geobiology and Astrobiology. Their mission is to expand the experimental space for protocells, further our understanding of the origin of life on Earth, and develop innovative biosignatures for microfossil interpretation from Earth and beyond.

Position Overview:
This project aims to create a semi-automated microfluidic system, allowing for the rapid study of protocell formation, stability, and silicification under various environmental conditions. The resulting microstructures will undergo a suite of state-of-the-art analyses to generate a database of physical and chemical control data which will be statistically interrogated to identify novel biosignatures. The biosignatures will then be verified by applying them to geological microstructures from early Archean (ca. 3.5 billion years old) and Devonian (ca. 400 million years old) deposits. The successful candidate will contribute to the development of novel biosignatures and their application to microfossils from the early Earth and
potentially elsewhere in our Solar System.

Application deadline: 20^th November 2023
Start date: 8^th January 2024 (or as soon as possible thereafter)

For inquiries and to submit your application, please contact Dr. Seán Jordan

>> More details about the project can be found here <<

The Two-Body Problem in USA Academia

Are you considering applying for a faculty position in the USA this year? Facing a two-body problem? Worried if you should include this information in your application package, or during the interview?

The Earth Science Women’s Network will be hosting a webinar on November 7^th, 2023, at 2:00 pm Eastern Time (19:00 UTC) to answer all these questions and more. A panel of assistant/associate professors within multiple earth science disciplines will share their experiences and “lessons learned”. This workshop is geared towards graduate students and post-docs considering an academic career in the USA.

The panel includes:

Rachel Bernard – Assistant Professor, Department of Geology, Amherst College
Alexandria Johnson – Assistant Professor, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University
Katherine (Kat) Allen – Associate Professor, School of Earth and Climate Sciences, University of Maine
Maria Rugenstein – Assistant Professor, Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University

There will also be an opportunity to network with our speakers after the panel discussion.