September 7, 2004
Professor Martin Grant, Chair
Physics Department, Rutherford Bldg.
McGill University
3600 rue University
Montreal, Quebec,
H3A 2T8, Canada
Dear Committee Chair:
In response to your faculty’s recent advertisement I am writing to express my interest in available
faculty positions. From what I have learned about your department, I believe that my scientific
background and academic ambitions will complement your department’s focus and leadership in
both atmospheric research and student training extremely well.
I am presently a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) where I am exploring a range of research topics. At Caltech I
am working with Prof. Yuk Yung where my main emphasis is on solar system and planetary
atmosphere evolution, viz., Jovian and extrasolar planet atmospheric research and the evolution
of 13C in the Martian atmosphere. As an astrobiologist with the Virtual Planet Laboratory (VPL)
at JPL, I work with Dr. David Crisp, Dr. Vikki Meadows, Dr. Mark Richardson and Prof. Jim
Kasting in a variety of capacities. My primary research is the building of a hydrodynamic escape
model with application to the evolution of the early Earth’s biosphere, early Venus and Martian
atmospheres, and Extrasolar Giant Planets (EGP’s). Additionally, I have assembled a cloud
model as part of a climate model (again with application to the Early Earth, Venus and Mars
atmospheres) as well as co-ordinating the large task of assembling and integrating the core
component modules for the VPL with the end goal of investigating planetary habitability and life
detection.
While my graduate courses at York University provided a rigorous background for past and
current research, it was working with the Voyager UVS team during the Voyager 2 flyby of
Neptune that I was first able to engage in cutting edge scientific research. Employing
photochemical and radiative transfer models for aeronomical computational simulations of
planetary atmospheres, I was able to better quantify earlier analyses and make new predictions
regarding planetary atmospheric emissions. This has continued with my investigations of other
planets by my involvement with other research groups to model Voyager data, Galileo data, as
well as being a co-investigator on Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and Far Ultraviolet
Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) missions and research projects. In particular, being a member of
the FUSE team during the tenure of my Bourse Postdoctorale Chateaubriand award at the Institut
d’Astrophysique de Paris before I came to Caltech/JPL was stimulating and productive. The
numerous resulting publications over time demonstrate my ability to work both independently
and in a scientific team setting to get quality results.
My areas of expertise are atmospheric science, astrobiology, planetary science as well as the core
areas of mathematics, physics and chemistry. I have experience with teaching introductory-level
science and math courses, which would be directly transferable to teaching undergraduate
courses. I have taught all high school level maths, physics and chemistry at Danforth College in
Toronto. As a graduate student I had teaching assistantships that included general Earth science,
mathematics, physics, and numerical modelling. I have also had experience in Education and
Public Outreach, having given several astrobiology lectures to local schools and amateur
astronomy clubs while a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech/JPL. I also have had the opportunity to
contribute lectures in atmospheric dynamics, radiative transfer and physics to graduate courses in
atmospheric science while at York University and Caltech. Additionally, I have mentored new
graduate students as a senior graduate student and more recently as a postdoctoral scholar.
I also have experience working in the private sector that has been obtained running my own
computer consulting company for several years. While private sector experience may seem
somewhat orthogonal to academic pursuits, I gained valuable corporate experience with the
product development cycle “business case to roll out” that is not dissimilar to the academic
“proposal to publication” cycle. I demonstrated a strong track record of performing high quality
work in a timely fashion, requiring the ability to work well both independently and as a member
of a team environment, skills which have served me well in my academic career to date.
I intend to pursue my present research as described in the attached “Research Interests”
document. With a strong background in planetary science and astrobiology and a demonstrated
excellence in research and teaching, I feel that I am the ideal candidate for this position. I have
enclosed a copy of my curriculum vitae, a statement of research interests, and the names and
contact details of three colleagues from whom I have requested letters of recommendation.
Sincerely,
Christopher Parkinson