We hate hate hate to vague blog, but… we’re still finalizing paperwork so vague blogging it is.

As we announced back in September, we have been selected by NASA to receive a cooperative agreement that will support the science and educational parts of CosmoQuest for (if all goes well) the next 5 years with the possibility to renew for 10 years. We have all the paperwork in hand from NASA, but things are still working their way through our contracts office, so you’re just going to have to wait for the juicy details. (As soon as we have all the contracts signed, we’ll put out a press release.)

While paperwork is doing its dance from desk to desk, we are trying to move what we can forward so we can hit the ground running. This means, we’re starting to get jobs posted! By the end of the day, we’ll be doing open hires for 7 full-time positions (or some combo of full-time and part-time positions, because we can be flexible like that in some cases).

Here are our first job postings. This is located at SIUE in Edwardsville, Illinois. (This isn’t a remote positions, but we do have some of those coming).

• Fellow,* Data Science
  While CosmoQuest has many educational aspects, this is a data science position, and the successful applicant will be focused on tasks in computer science and data science that will lead to publishable research. We’re looking for an outgoing researcher with experience working with planetary or astronomical data, strong programming chops, and a willingness to communicate with the public. Follow the link above to get all the details.

* I just noticed how gender-biased that title is, but it’s the one our institution uses for all post doctoral “fellows”. Please know, we strive for an inclusive environment and are as annoyed as you may be about that title.