PhD Position: Modeling the Enceladus Dust Plume

A PhD position will open at the Astronomy Research Unit, University of Oulu, Finland. The focus of research is the dust plume of Saturn's active moon Enceladus, improving existing models, taking into account recent data. The project is funded by the Academy of Finland and it has a duration of four years. 

It is planned to fill the position by March or April 2017. Those interested should please send their application by email to [email protected] until 1st of February 2013. There should be contained a brief CV (place and date of degrees, titles of theses, any further qualifications and awards), and the contact details of two persons available for recommendation. If possible, please combine the application to one single pdf file.

Multiple observations suggest that Saturn's moon Enceladus harbours a subsurface reservoir of liquid water with hydrothermal activity. This makes Enceladus a prime candidate for a habitable world, outside the classical habitable zone. Improved modeling of the plume activity, using recent data, is the overarching goal of the proposed project, bearing the potential of settling first order questions such as the controversially discussed ice/vapor ratio in the plume.

For further information on the project please contact Juergen Schmidt of the University of Oulu ([email protected], http://cc.oulu.fi/~jrschmid/).