Prof. Trigo-Rodriguez who leads the Meteorites, Minor Bodies and Planetary
Science Group at the Institute of Space Sciences (CSIC/IEEC) encourage applications from African students for master and Ph.D. thesis.

The group current research focuses in the formation of primitive solar system minor bodies (comets and asteroids), the study of their fragments in space (dust, meteoroids) or as surviving rocks arrived to the Earth (meteorites). The so-called “minor bodies” provide important clues on the origin of the solar system because primitive meteorites and particularly chondrites are known to be quite retentive of the chemical and isotopic conditions prevailing in the early solar system.

The study of the physico-chemical properties of meteorites and micrometeorites, the remote analyses of asteroids and comets, and the study of volatiles in planetary atmospheres are some of the lines of his research group. Formation conditions of primitive bodies are also tested in laboratory experiments to decipher their capacity to retain water and organics, or deep into their catalytic properties. The group also coordinates the Spanish Fireball Network that studies the meteor phenomenon, and recovers meteorites in Spain by using all-sky CCD and video
cameras (www.spmn.uji.es).

Prof. Trigo-Rodríguez is involved in several non-governmental initiatives
for the development of Africa and India. He has directed several  Ph.D. theses, master theses, and is currently teaching planetary sciences, meteoritics and astrobiology within
the two following masters:
High Energy Physics, Astrophysics & Cosmology
Máster Universitario en Astronomía y Astrofísica VIU

Contact – Prof. Trigo-Rodriguez, e-mail: trigo@ice.csic.es