NASA Postdoctoral Program - Astronomical Investigation of Titan's Chemical Complexity

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. This specific opportunity focuses on acquiring and modeling observational data of Titan from ALMA and other large observatories (JWST, SOFIA) across a range of wavelengths. The project involves investigating Titan's chemical composition, including recently identified nitriles that may have astrobiological significance as possible building blocks for membrane structures in Titan's hydrocarbon seas. The postdoctoral researcher will model spectral data using the NEMESIS computer code for radiative transfer in planetary atmospheres, and retrieve new information about Titan's atmosphere including composition and dynamical state. This research will inform development of future NASA missions to investigate the origins of life in the solar system.