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51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellowship

The Heising-Simons Foundation is accepting applications to the 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellowship, which supports Fellows conducting research related to planetary science, planetary astronomy, and astrobiology. Starting this application cycle, UC San Diego is a new host institution for the Fellowship program. At UC San Diego, we are building a future of interdisciplinary planetary research that bridges the related fields of astrophysics, Earth science, and chemistry and spans key frontiers in the study of planets and planetary systems.

Applicants can apply to the Heising-Simons Foundation to work with relevant faculty at UC San Diego in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics (A&A), the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), and/or the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Key research areas of UC San Diego faculty include: the detection and characterization of exoplanets and substellar objects; the formation and evolution of planets and planetary systems; solar system astronomy and spacecraft exploration; planetary geophysics; atmospheric dynamics; cosmochemstry; and planetary habitability and astrobiology.

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In addition, UC San Diego offers access to the world-class Keck and Lick observatories and is home to several cutting-edge facilities, including the UC San Diego Optical and Infrared Laboratory, the Scripps Isotope Geochemistry Laboratory and Joint Analytical Facility at Scripps, a unique ice grain accelerator/hypervelocity impact mass spectrometer system, and the San Diego Supercomputer Center.

Potential UC San Diego faculty hosts for 51 Pegasi b Fellows include: Adam Burgasser (A&A), James Day (SIO), Robert Continetti (Chem.), Quinn Konopacky (A&A), Eve Lee (A&A), Lia Siegelman (SIO), David Stegman (SIO), Christopher Theissen (A&A), Samantha Trumbo (A&A), Shelley Wright (A&A), Vashan Wright (SIO), and William Young (SIO).

The Heising-Simons Foundation is accepting applications through October 3rd, 2025 at 2 pm PT. Questions about taking the Fellowship to UC San Diego can be directed to Asst. Prof. Samantha Trumbo (satrumbo@ucsd.edu).