Postdoctoral fellows must have earned their Ph.D. degree no more than three years before the start of the appointment. Candidates who have had a break in employment due to the birth or adoption of a child will also be considered.

Apollo 11 postdoctoral researchers may be advised by one AAE faculty member — a co-advisor is not required.

Applicants who currently reside outside of the United States must receive endorsement from their proposed advisor(s) to be considered. This endorsement will be requested as part of the internal selection process; applicants are not required to contact the advisor(s) prior to applying.

Purdue University is an EOE/AA employer. All individuals, including minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.

Applying

Candidates applying for these positions will provide:

1. Cover letter identifying the topic(s) they are interested in and describing how the Apollo 11 Postdoctoral Fellowship will advance the candidate’s future career in academia or in a research organization
2. Curriculum Vitae including list of publications
3. One-page research statement that proposes how they would contribute to the meeting goals and deliverables of the topic to which they are applying
4. Two letters of recommendation that provide an assessment of (a) the candidate’s qualifications for research in the topic for which they have applied and (b) the candidate’s abilities to help the faculty supervisor in the mentoring of graduate students. You will be asked to provide email addresses for the individuals who will submit reference letters for you. Reference letters must also be submitted by the application deadline.

At the end of the postdoctoral appointment, the fellow and the faculty supervisor will provide a short report (two pages maximum) that describes how well the research goals were met; what was learned in the research trying to meet the goals; and a summary of the deliverables generated by the postdoctoral fellow.

The following steps describe the process for selecting Apollo 11 fellows to start in calendar year 2026.

1. The goals and deliverables sections from the proposal (or slightly modified versions of these) will be posted on this web page by November 15, 2025.
2. Candidates must apply February 6, 2026.
3. Faculty members with a posted topic will select their preferred candidate for that topic, if there are more than one applicant, by February 15, 2026.
4. Up to three candidates will be selected as awardees pending a review by the Head / review committee and offers extended to these candidates by March 1, 2026.
5. Awardees will accept their offer by March 15, 2026.
6. If an awardee declines the offer, another acceptable candidate from step 6 will receive an offer by March 15. These awardees will accept their offer by March 31, 2026.
7. The Apollo 11 postdoctoral fellowship will start in calendar year 2026.

Fellowship candidates may work in any research endeavor supported by an Aeronautics and Astronautics faculty member.

Funding for this finite duration fellowship comes from a patent agreement with Adranos, Inc. Brielle Terry, founder and CTO of Adranos, developed the ALITEC solid rocket fuel during her PhD studies in the Purdue School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The innovative technology attracted Anduril Industries to purchase Adranos in June 2023, and AAE received a payout from the sale.

Research in the Purdue School of Aeronautics and Astronautics is carving firm footholds in every technical area related to aerospace engineering and working to amplify our impact in each, whether it be safe, efficient, and sustainable air transportation; exploration of and access to space; maintaining defense and security; or using aerospace to facilitate new opportunities.

In the field of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, we have the following rankings:

• Ranked #3 for Aerospace Engineering Undergraduate Program
• Ranked #5 for Aerospace Engineering Graduate Program
• Purdue College of Engineering Graduate Program Ranked #6 in the US