PhD Scholarship

This PhD scholarship at the University of Newcastle offers a unique opportunity to use James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations to study exoplanet atmospheres, with a particular focus on the most promising water world candidates. Water worlds are theorised to bridge the gap between rocky planets and larger ice giants, potentially composed of 10–90% water and other volatile ices such as ammonia and methane, with the remainder made up of silicates and iron. Unlike the rocky planets of our solar system, which are extremely dry, water worlds may lack hydrogen-rich gas envelopes, distinguishing them from ice giants like Uranus and Neptune.

The project aims to empirically confirm the existence and properties of water worlds by analysing their atmospheric chemical composition, a task made possible by the advanced capabilities of JWST. Since its deployment in 2022, JWST has observed over 150 exoplanets, including numerous water world candidates. The research will focus on analysing JWST datasets to identify and characterise the atmospheric properties of these planets.

Key objectives include: analysing JWST observations of sub-Neptune exoplanets, developing new analysis techniques to disentangle planetary signals from instrumental artefacts and stellar noise, performing atmospheric retrieval analyses to infer chemical compositions and temperatures from exoplanet spectra, determining the frequency of water worlds, comparing results to planet formation theories, and evaluating the prospects for water world habitability.

The scholarship provides a generous funding package: $36,000 per annum living allowance, a top-up stipend of $3,778 p.a., tuition fee scholarship for 3.5 years, and up to $1,500 relocation allowance. The project is supervised by Tom Evans-Soma and is available to domestic students. Applicants must meet the minimum eligibility criteria for PhD admission at the University of Newcastle. Required application materials include academic transcripts, CV, a brief statement of research interests, and a proposal specifically linked to the research project.

Applications close at 5pm on 03 June 2026. Interested candidates should send their application materials via email to [email protected]. For further details and to access the application portal, visit the official scholarship page.