Postdoctoral Assistant Researchers in the Planetary and Space Sciences related to Astrobiology at the University of Hawai’i

The School of Ocean and Earth Sciences & Technology and Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa are studying the behavior of the light elements (CHNOPS) critical to habitability and life during planet formation.  We are recruiting outstanding postdoctoral researchers to conduct interdisciplinary/synergistc research related to high-pressure mineral physics and planetary interiors (experimental approaches to understand the behavior of light elements in rocky planet interiors during accretion and early evolution, control by conditions at formation, and the effect on planetary outcomes); cosmochemistry and meteoritics (investigation of meteorites and laboratory samples to understand the distribution, behavior, and transformation of key volatile elements in the primordial nebula and building blocks of the inner Solar System); protoplanetary disks and planet formation (investigations of the inner planet-forming regions of disks related to disk chemistry, the distribution of biogenic elements, and the abundance of short-lived radionuclides using ground- and space-based observations); and exoplanet astronomy (confirmation and characterization of transiting planets, and studies of their host stars, including young planetary systems, to understand the composition, origins, evolution, and escape of their atmospheres).  Successful applicants will join a team of experts in astronomy and Earth and planetary sciences as part of a NASA-funded multi-institutional Interdisciplinary Consortium for Astrobiology Research (ICAR), and have access to all telescopes on Maunakea and cutting-edge instruments for laboratory investigation of planetary materials.   Applications must have a PhD in astronomy/astrophysics, or planetary or Earth sciences.  Appointments are initially for one year, with an additional two years contingent on satisfactory performance.