Category: Uncategorized

DEI survey for OoLEN

Our partners at OoLEN (Origin of Life Early-Career Network) are conducting a survey about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the field of origin of life research. Inclusion and Community are two of OoLEN’s key pillars, and as part of this, they are gathering information on the current DEI climate in the OoL field for early-career researchers (ECR).

Link to the survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdMkmpiJxzcRDR_LcOEOgtvcFjN__pdmKC3ppFjkFxPPTlBWA/viewform

The survey is fully anonymous!

Thank you!

DEADLINE TOMORROW – International Geobiology Course 2026: Call for applicants! (doctoral students)

Join the International Geobiology Course (IGC), hosted by Penn State University

What: 5 weeks of immersive training in geobiology

Where: 2 weeks in Italy and 3 weeks in the USA, hosted at Penn State University

When: 6 June – 10 July 2026.

Eligibility is restricted to doctoral students in the geological or biological sciences. Participants must have valid passports. The course is taught in English.

Applications and details about international travel requirements are on the course website.

Course description: Fieldwork takes place in the Apennine and Sibillini Mountains, and at sulfidic springs, rivers, and cave systems in central Italy. Students will explore Fayetteville Green Lake, a meromictic system in upstate New York. The course includes expert lectures, laboratory and computer-based research.
Students are responsible for transportation to Italy and home from Penn State. Group travel from Italy to Penn State is provided. Housing and meals are provided, both in Italy and the US.

Questions: email us at geobio@psu.edu

Deadline for applications: February 2nd 2026

More information on the website

Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdeFaxcCa0DeKkK_DkWx-s0veCOeaIxUwdRTaYsPYwCpiYeKA/viewform

LAST MINUTE INVITATION: Share your memes! TODAY!

The Massive Exoplanet MEME Exhibition (MEME) would like to invite you to today’s (30th January 2026) opening of their online exhibition hall!

The MEME focuses on communicating topics such as astrophysics, exoplanets, and research in general in a way that is both informative and a lot of fun by using memes. Check out their website. There you will find not only the memes shared by others but also today’s livestream:

16:45 Door opens

17:00 Welcome speech

17:15 Invited talk by Adam Dipert

17:30 Invited talk by Anja C. Andersen

17:45 Explore exhibition and vote

18:30 Closing remarks

All times are in CET (GMT+1)

See you there!

The exhibition hall stays open from January 30th to February 4th

Early Career Network of the UK Royal Astronomical Society

The Early Career Network (ECN) of the UK Royal Astronomical Society would like to welcome expressions of interest from Early Career Fellows to join their Committee.

The ECN Steering Group is a Committee dedicated to building a supportive and welcoming community for early career researchers, supporting them in their career progression, and helping them to build relevant skills such as networking, conducting research and writing funding applications.

The Committee is responsible for, amongst other things, organising the RAS early career events, connecting early career researchers with other Fellows who can support them and act as a liaison between the early career community and the RAS senior Fellows, staff and Council. The Committee expects to meet regularly (approximately once a month), and the meetings are typically hybrid or fully virtual.

If you are interested in joining, please send a short expression of interest to ecn@ras.ac.uk outlining your interest in joining and any experience relevant for a role on the Committee. Looking forward to your comments.

Travel Award for UK and Ireland based Early-career researchers

The Europlanet Ireland & UK Hub is pleased to open a travel award call for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to attend a conference, meeting, or other event pertinent to their planetary science research in 2025. Please submit applications here: https://www.europlanet.org/ireland-uk-hub-ecr-funding-scheme-2025/

Please consider the following when applying:

Applicants must:

  • be affiliated with a UK or Ireland institution.
  • be individual members of Europlanet or be based at an institution with an organisational Europlanet membership. Proof of Europlanet membership must be included in the application.
  • assess applications based on need, while being mindful of meeting timelines.
  • be ECRs, which Europlanet defines as anyone whose last degree was obtained no more than 7 years ago (not counting parental leave, serious illness, and similar career breaks).
  • submit no more than one application each.
  • name in their application the specific conference, meeting, or relevant event taking place in the UK or Ireland in 2025 with publicly available dates and other information.
  • submit their application at least one week before the first day of the meeting they plan to attend.
  • ensure they claim their expenses by 31st December 2025.

The Ireland & UK Hub will:

  • make individual awards of up to €250 to cover registration, travel, or accommodation costs. The total value of the fund is €1,000.
  • inform successful applicants in a timely manner by email and provide instructions on how to claim expenses.
  • act as liaison between successful applicants and Europlanet to reimburse expenses after the event has taken place.

Post-doc position: Modelling Titan’s atmosphere (University of Amsterdam)

Applications are invited for a postdoctoral (PD) position at the Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy (API) at the University of Amsterdam Netherlands (UvA) to work with assistant professor Alessandra Candian on modelling hydrocarbon evolution on Titan’s atmosphere.

Deadline for applications:
February 2nd, 2025

Application and more information here

Opportunity at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) in Bern (Switzerland) and ISSI-BJ in Beijing (China)

The International Space Science Institute (ISSI) in Bern (Switzerland) and ISSI-BJ in Beijing (China) invite proposals for establishing International Teams to conduct, at their respective meeting facilities, research in the Space Sciences. To be eligible, research projects must involve the interdisciplinary analysis and evaluation of space mission data. They may also draw on complementary ground-based data and/or theoretical modelling where this adds scientific value. For the purpose of this call, Space Sciences include Astrobiology, Astrophysics and Cosmology, Earth Observation, Fundamental Physics in Space, Magnetospheric and Space Plasma Physics, Planetary Sciences, Solar and Heliospheric Physics, and Solar-Terrestrial Sciences.

Deadline for proposals:
March 13, 2025

The Call for International Team proposals is available on the ISSI website

Opportunities with ESA

Here are a few very relevant ESA announcements for our community:

1. Open Space Innovation Platform – OSIP – Campaign: ‪Investigating Biological and Physical Effects of Radiation” (IBPER)

 The call specifically includes Astrobiology: Exploring the potential for life in extreme environments by simulating space radiation conditions and studying its effects on microorganisms.

The schedule for the IBPER Announcement of Opportunity is as follows:

  • Release the AO – 13th January 2025
  • Letter of Intent –  13th February 2025
  • Virtual Workshop Q&A session: 24th February 2025
  • The link to the conference: Join the meeting now
  • Full proposals deadline – 23rd  March 2025

Investigator’s Workshop at the GSI site in Darmstadt- Fall 2025 (date to be announced)

2. Open call for members in the ESA Life Science Working Group or Physical Sciences Working Group

Open Space Innovation Platform – OSIP – Campaign: ‪Call for Expression of Interest to become a Member of ESA’s Life Sciences Working Group (LSWG) or ESA’s Physical Sciences Working Group (PSWG)‬

The deadline for submission of expressions of interest in response to the present Call is: 28 February 2025 at 23:59 CET

This call is open to Early Career Researchers. Interested persons are invited to contact current or past members of the LSWG (https://scispace.esa.int/working-groups/life-sciences-working-group/) and PSWG (https://scispace.esa.int/working-groups/physical-sciencesworking-group-pswg/) to know more about these committees.

3. CORA Ground-Based Facilities – SciSpacE (continuously open call)

ESA provides access to a variety of ground platforms and gives scientists an opportunity to conduct research necessary to advance knowledge relevant to the effects of space on humans and/or biological life in general, as well as on physical or material science and systems, aiming to enable space exploration.

Opportunity with the Space Generation Advisory Council on two papers for GLEX 2025

An opportunity for early-career planetary scientists to collaborate with the Space Generation Advisory Council on two papers for the Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX 2025) has come up! They are looking for passionate individuals who are capable of carrying out in-depth research, have a strong critical mind and are natural team players. Applicants who have a background or interest in planetary geology are especially desirable.

The projects are 1) Ocean Worlds 🌊 and 2) Asteroid Hopping ☄️. The role of the selected applicants is predominantly on the selection of landing sites for such missions. 2-3 team members are expected to be selected per project.

Applications are due by Sunday the 3rd of November at 23.59 GMT. Any questions get in touch with Ciaran Jenkins.

This is a great opportunity for ECR planetary scientists to connect with the global space community that you might not meet within academia, including engineers, lawyers and policymakers.

For more information and to apply >> click here <<

AbGradE is on Instagram!

We’re thrilled to announce that AbGradE is now on Instagram! 🎉 Follow us @_AbGradE_ for the latest updates, events, and community highlights. Join us and stay connected with fellow early-careers!

See you there! 📸