What are the responsibilities and job description for the Habitable Worlds Observatory Instrumentation for High-Contrast Imaging and Characterization of Exoplanets position at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)?
About the NASA Postdoctoral Program
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.
Description:
This NPP research opportunity is focused on developing innovative exoplanet instrumentation technologies to enable high-contrast imaging and characterization for NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory flagship mission. To enable the direct imaging of reflected light from exoplanets, diffraction leakage and aberrations must be controlled at small angular separations from the host star through the design and active control of the coronagraph instrument. The principal task is to improve the observational efficiency of the instrument by developing early stage technologies and infusing these techniques through a maturation process to the HWO observatory. This research lies at the interface of exoplanet and astrophysical science, adaptive optics, instrument and mission design, and laboratory validation for both in-air and vacuum environments. Our team has developed Multi-Star Wavefront Control (MSWC) a technique that would enable HWO to observe binary stars, developed high-throughput Phase-Induced Amplitude Apodization (PIAA) coronagraphs, and exploring the usage of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for photonic nulling.
Field of Science: Technology Development
Advisors:
Ruslan Belikov
ruslan.belikov@nasa.gov
Dan Sirbu
dan.sirbu@nasa.gov
(650) 604-1981
Kevin Fogarty
kevin.w.fogarty@nasa.gov
Applications with citizens from Designated Countries will not be accepted at this time, unless they are Legal Permanent Residents of the United States. A complete list of Designated Countries can be found at: https://www.nasa.gov/oiir/export-control.
Eligibility is currently open to:
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U.S. Citizens;
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U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR);
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Foreign Nationals eligible for an Exchange Visitor J-1 visa status; and,
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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
Questions about this opportunity? Please email npp@orau.org