James Webb Space Telescope Postdoctoral Fellowships at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Project at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) invites applications through the NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) to carry out postdoctoral research in astrophysics, astronomical instrumentation or planetary science. The applicant will work directly with one of the JWST Project Scientists and will be resident at GSFC. The science objectives of JWST include the initial formation of galaxies in the early Universe, galaxy evolution including active galactic nuclei (AGN), star and planetary system formation, exoplanets and Solar System objects. Astronomical research relevant to JWST’s science goals could include theoretical studies or be based on observations taken with current space-based or ground-based facilities. Examples of interest to the JWST Project Scientists include deep or wide galaxy surveys; lensed galaxies; highly-obscured AGN; multi-wavelength galaxy evolution, integral field unit or multi-object spectroscopy; Hadamard transform spectroscopy; debris disks; circumstellar envelopes; exoplanets using coronagraphic or transiting techniques; comets; and infrared instrumentation, including advanced detectors and optics. Additional information about JWST is available through the website http://jwst.nasa.gov, and from the review paper Gardner et al 2006, Space Sci. Rev. 123, 485 (astro-ph/0606175), http://www.springerlink.com/content/h2374012xk30qpw5/fulltext.pdf.

The next NPP Fellowship application deadline is November 1, 2017. Please contact Jonathan Gardner, [email protected] before the deadline for assistance in preparing the application. The NPP Fellowship appointment is initially for one year, and can be renewed for up to two more years based on acceptable performance and availability of funding. Appointments come with competitive stipends and a generous travel budget. Applicants will be judged on their academic accomplishments, letters of reference, the merit of their research proposal and its relevance to NASA programs. Applications should be submitted through the NPP website to research opportunity 18283 at: http://npp.usra.edu/.