Postdoctoral Researcher, Planetary Mapping of Impact Craters

The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), part of the Universities Space Research Association, invites applications for a postdoctoral fellowship in the area of planetary mapping of impact craters.

The successful candidate will work with Dr. Paul Schenk at the Lunar and Planetary Institute (Houston, TX) on the mapping and cataloging of impact craters on Ceres, Vesta, and icy satellites. Half of the fellowship will be funded by a NASA grant to study impact-related morphologies. The remainder of the fellowship would be available for planetary research of the applicant’s choice, and for service to NASA and participation in Education and Engagement activities. The successful applicant will have access to computer resources at the LPI.  Candidates with backgrounds in planetary mapping are strongly encouraged to apply.

Completion of the PhD by the beginning of the appointment is required. The fellowship would be for two years, with a possible extension to a third year. The candidate must be able to pass a detailed government background investigation. Technical questions should be addressed to Dr. Paul Schenk (schenk@lpi.usra.edu). Interested applicants should apply to the posting before August 1, 2021 at USRA Careers, and must submit there a cover letter, a curriculum vitae with list of publications, a two- to three-page statement of research interests and plans, and a list of three or more professional references. For information about LPI please see https://www.lpi.usra.edu/. 

USRA is an independent, nonprofit research corporation (https://www.usra.edu), where the combined efforts of in-house talent and university-based expertise merge to advance space science and technology. USRA works across disciplines including biomedicine, planetary science, astrophysics, and engineering and integrates those competencies into applications ranging from fundamental research to facility management and operations. 

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