Modeling structure of galactic nuclei improvement of space geodesy results

Modeling structure of active galactic nuclei for improvement of space geodesy results

Join to apply for the Modeling structure of active galactic nuclei for improvement of space geodesy results role at ORAU

Organization
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Reference Code
0320-NPP-MAR
26-GSFC-Earth Sci

Final date to receive applications
3/1/2026 6:00:59 PM Eastern Time Zone

Description
The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities to highly‑talented scientists to engage in ongoing NASA research projects at a NASA Center, NASA Headquarters, or at a NASA‑affiliated research institute. These one‑ to three‑year fellowships are competitive and are designed to advance NASA’s missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology.

Objective
This opportunity is closed to applicants who are Senior Fellows (5‑years or more past PhD). Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) is the astronomical technique that is used for a number of applications in space navigation, Earth sciences, and astrophysics. Provided the observed radio sources are point‑like, VLBI can reach a millimeter level of accuracy. The major objective of the proposed opportunity is to develop methods of data analysis that mitigate the violation of the assumption that a radio source is point‑like.

NASA heavily contributes to the ongoing international geodetic VLBI observing program for determination of terrestrial coordinate system, celestial coordinate system, and determination of the Earth orientation parameters with the highest accuracy. The presence of unaccounted source structure affects the accuracy of results, and therefore, the agency is interested in mitigation of this source of errors. One of the goals of the proposed research opportunity is to investigate to which extent one can mitigate the impact of source structure contribution using existing radio images.

Field of Science
Earth Science

Advisors
Leonid Petrov
Leonid.

Petrov

This role is not open to citizens from Designated Countries unless they are legal permanent residents of the United States. Eligibility is currently open to:

• U.S. Citizens;
• U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR);
• Foreign Nationals eligible for an Exchange Visitor J‑1 visa status; and,
• Applicants for LPR, asylees, or refugees in the U.S. at the time of application with
  1) a valid EAD card and
  2) I‑485 or I‑589 forms in pending status.

Qualifications
The applicants with experience in imaging VLBI data will receive favorable consideration. The proposed research involves heavy computation under an open source Linux environment. The successful applicant knows Fortran or C and is willing to master modern Fortran programming language.

Eligibility Requirements
Degree:
Doctoral Degree.

Point of Contact
Mikeala

Questions about this opportunity? Please email npp