To be eligible to apply, an organization must meet all five of the following criteria:
a) have published research in planetary astronomy (defined as exoplanets, solar system planetary science, astrobiology, or closely related fields using observations, modeling, or laboratory work), and
b) must not be purely Earth scientists who could theoretically apply their techniques to the study of other planets but who have not yet done so.
a) An organization described in Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Section 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2), which includes:
i. an organization with an un-revoked determination letter from the IRS that the organization is exempt from income tax under IRC Section 501(c)(3) and is not a private foundation under IRC Section 170(b)(1)(A) or 509(a)(2)
ii. a U.S. or state government, government possession, or political subdivision of a government, under IRC Section 170(c)(1)
iii. an instrumentality of an IRC Section 170(c)(1) governmental unit (regardless of whether such instrumentality’s income is tax-exempt under IRC Section 115)
b) An organization with an un-revoked determination letter from the IRS that the organization is exempt from income tax under IRC Section501(c)(3) and is an exempt operating foundation under IRC Section 4940(d)(2).
To apply, institutions must fill out this form where they will be asked to answer the following six questions:
Please list the names of planetary astronomy/science faculty and briefly describe their research areas. Please also describe where planetary astronomy research is conducted across the institution—i.e. which departments/divisions/etc. (350 words max).
Please list astronomical resources of the institution—i.e. institutional guaranteed telescope access, track record of successful proposals on space/public telescopes, laboratory facilities, instrument development facilities, computational resources, etc. (300 words max).
Please describe opportunities for postdocs to contribute meaningfully to astronomical outreach, education, and efforts to expand participation by underrepresented groups in astronomy (300 words max).
How many total astronomy/planetary science postdocs are there in the institution? Does department/institution have an internal prize postdoctoral fellowship in astronomy/planetary science? If yes, how many postdocs are funded each year through this program?(100 words max).
Does the institution (or department/s) have postdoc office, programming for postdocs, and/or offer postdoc support? Do postdocs have the opportunity to serve as instructor of record and teach courses? Can Postdocs be listed as PI’s on grants/ observing proposals? Please describe postdoc resources and/or provide clarification for any of the answers above (200 words max).
In the past 10 years, has the department/institution ever hosted other external prize postdoctoral fellows in astronomy? (ie Hubble, Sagan, NSF, etc). If yes, please list number of fellows and year/s hosted (200 words max).