Astrophysics: Discovery and Characterization of Transiting Exoplanets

Astrophysics:
Discovery and Characterization of Transiting Exoplanets

1 week ago Be among the first 25 applicants.

Organization

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Reference Code

0145-NPP-MAR
26-GSFC-Astrophys

How To Apply

All applications must be submitted in Zintellect. Please visit the NASA Postdoctoral Program website for application instructions and requirements:

How to Apply

| NASA Postdoctoral Program (orau.org). A complete application to the NASA Postdoctoral Program includes:

• Research proposal
• Three letters of recommendation
• Official doctoral transcript documents

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.

Mission Overview

• Goddard manages a variety of NASA missions that are well‑suited for transiting exoplanet science. These missions include the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Roman). Transiting exoplanets found around nearby, bright stars with TESS are some of the best targets for detailed atmospheric characterization with state‑of‑the‑art facilities like HST and JWST.
  
  HST provides ultraviolet to near‑IR observations, while JWST extends from optical to mid‑IR wavelengths. These observatories enable high‑precision exoplanet transmission and emission spectroscopy. NASA's next flagship observatory, Roman, is currently being built and tested, with an anticipated launch by May 2027. Roman will perform large‑scale surveys with a wide‑field optical/IR camera, providing high‑cadence light curves for hundreds of millions of distant stars and enabling the study of transiting planets across our galaxy.

Research Focus

• Developing tools and techniques for extracting light curves and for searching light curves for transits.
• Modeling scientific yields, developing methods for assessing the completeness of survey data, and making statistical inferences from survey data.
• Planning and techniques for follow‑up observations to measure masses and/or atmospheric properties of discovered exoplanets.
• Generating models of the atmospheres of discovered exoplanets and performing retrievals to aid interpretation of atmospheric observations.
• Performing simulations of transiting exoplanets with Roman and developing light‑curve detrending and transit‑search algorithms.

If you are interested, please contact at least one advisor listed below before the Final date to receive applications to express interest and discuss potential research projects.

Location

Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

Field of Science

Astrophysics

Advisors

• Elisa Quintana – elisa.quintana (301‑286‑0851)
• Knicole
  
  D. Colon – knicole.colon (301‑286‑4560)
• Avi Mandell – Avi.
  
  Mandell (301‑286‑6293)
• Mike McElwain – Michael.
  
  W.McElwain (301‑286‑6094)
• Joshua Schlieder – joshua.e.schlieder (301‑286‑2584)
• Ravi Kumar Kopparapu – ravikumar.kopparapu (301‑286‑1548)
• Allison Youngblood – allison.a.youngblood (301‑286‑6318)
• Thomas Barclay – thomas.barclay (301‑286‑5079)
• Eric
  
  D. Lopez – eric.d.lopez (301‑614‑6951)
• Rob Zellem – robert.t.zellem (301‑286‑8605)

Eligibility

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

Applications from citizens of Designated Countries are not accepted unless the applicant is a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States. A complete list of Designated Countries can be found at: https://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..

Eligibility Requirements

• Doctoral Degree

For questions about this opportunity, please email npp.

Point of Contact

Mikeala