Next-Generation Precision Cosmology

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 the next generation of cosmological surveys including the WFIRST and Euclid space telescopes, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, which will provide unprecedented constraints on the nature of dark energy and the evolution of the universe. The successful applicant will work with Dr. Eric Huff and other members of the large and active cosmology group at JPL on developing new methods for getting accurate cosmology out of future surveys, and on obtaining the best possible constraints on cosmology from existing data. Important problems remain to be solved before we will be able to take full advantage of the power of these future surveys, ranging from improvements in theoretical modeling of the primary observables through parameter inference and measurement to accurate calibration of the instruments themselves.