Postdoctoral Research Associate ; Planetary Materials; UPDATED

Postdoctoral Research Associate I (Planetary Materials) (UPDATED)

• Posting Number: req
  24389
• Department: Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona
• Location: Main Campus, Tucson, AZ, USA

The Lunar & Planetary Laboratory and the Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Arizona have an opening for a Postdoctoral Research Associate I in the field of thermodynamic modeling of planetary materials. The group studies lunar processes, presolar dust, early solar‑system solids, and aqueous chemistry in asteroids. The role involves computational thermodynamics to support the characterization and interpretation of planetary materials.

This is a year‑to‑year appointment, contingent upon funding and performance.

Outstanding UA benefits include health, dental, vision, and life insurance; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; tuition reductions for the employee and qualified family; access to recreation and cultural activities.

• Conduct original research on the origins of refractory calcium‑aluminum‑rich inclusions (CAIs), the first solids to form in the Solar System.
• Construct and catalog thermochemical databases.
• Use density functional theory to compute thermochemical properties of mineral phases relevant to CAIs.
• Build thermodynamic models and calculate phase diagrams for these systems.
• Participate in a team focused on atomic‑level characterization of CAIs via electron microscopy and compare data with model outputs.
• Attend group meetings, present results at conferences, and prepare original scientific manuscripts.

• PhD in Materials Science and Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Earth and Planetary Science, or a related field at the time of appointment.

• Experience with the CALculation of PHase Diagram (CALPHAD) framework.
• Experience with density functional theory modeling of free‑energy functions.
• Experience with Thermocalc software for phase diagram calculation.

NIH salary guidelines, monthly stipend, full benefits package (health, dental, vision, life insurance, paid leave), tuition reduction, and access to university facilities.

Tom Zega
tzega