Postdoctoral Researcher

Job title:

Postdoctoral Researcher

Company

University of Kansas

Job description

DepartmentKS Biological SurveyPrimary CampusUniversity of Kansas Lawrence CampusJob Description80% – Collaboratively conduct research using existing data. Contribute to team meetings by sharing progress. Receiving and implementing changes based on team feedback. Generate manuscripts publishable in top-quality, peer-reviewed journals.10% – Facilitate data access and version control across faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate/undergraduate students working on the project across the collaborating institutions5% – Mentor undergraduate researchers for relatively small, related projects5% – Contribute to research and lab meetingsDisclaimerThe University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the university’s programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and is the Title IX coordinator for all KU and KUMC campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for Civil Rights and Title IX, civilrights@ku.edu, Room 1082, Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY.Work ScheduleMonday – Friday, 40 hours/weekFLSA StatusProfessionalConditions of EmploymentLimited TermContact Information to ApplicantsDr. Sharon Billings – sharonb@ku.eduLimited Term End Date01-Aug-2025Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in environmental science or related discipline
• Motivation to work as a transdisciplinary scientist, receiving and contributing feedback with team members, as evidenced in application materials
• Ability to code effectively in R, Python, or Matlab
• Experience publishing in peer-reviewed literature as evidenced by authoring or co-authoring publications in top-tier journals
• Ability to both work in a team and to work independently to solve problems, as evidenced in application materials

NOTE: To be appointed at the Postdoctoral Researcher title, it is necessary to have the PhD conferred at the time of hire. Appointments made without a diploma or certified transcript indicating an earned doctorate are conditional hires and are appointed on an interim basis not to exceed 6-months. Upon verification of degree the appointment will be extended to its full duration.Employee ClassU-Unclassified Professional StaffAdvertised Salary Range$55,000FTE1.0Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with machine learning techniques
• Demonstrated ability in mentoring and/or working with students
• Field experience in earth or environmental sciences
• Experience in a research laboratory setting
• Proven dedication to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion and the ability to contribute to a diverse and inclusive workforce

Position OverviewA postdoctoral research position is available at the University of Kansas in the laboratory of Dr. Sharon Billings. The successful candidate will contribute to a NSF-funded Frontier Research in Earth Science (FRES) award and work with team members at Oregon State University, Colorado School of Mines and Technology, University of California-Riverside, Texas Tech University, Penn State University, Kansas State University, and Boise State University. The goals of the larger project are to quantify when and the degree to which bedrock and roots control subsurface and atmosphere coupling, and the impact of these interactions on water and carbon fluxes. The successful candidate will focus on synthesis of existing data and address one or more questions such as the following, depending on the researcher’s interests:

• Exploration of preferential flow controls and relations to soil morphology, aggregate size distribution, and soil moisture with horizon across 7 different systems ranging from grasslands and shortgrass steppe to warm temperate forests and montane forests.
• A multidisciplinary approach focused on changes in soil structure that explores soil development, organic matter changes, and interactions of roots and exudates on soils.
• A meta analysis of root distributions and root water uptake strategies to develop a more accurate representation of plant functional rooting types for hydrologic and Earth System Models.
• Analysis of a continental-scale dataset of soil, vegetation, and climate variables to investigate how land use history can drive soil processes important for biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks, and how those patterns vary with stage of soil development.
• Development of spatially explicit products revealing how hillslope position, aspect, and slope influence soil properties in a diversity of climates, biomes, and land use histories.

Work on these questions requires some combination of analyses of root distributions, periodic and high frequency soil moisture data, and physical and chemical soil data. Specifically, the individual will:

• Work with physical or machine learning models to explore drivers of soil structure, preferential flow, depth distributions of soil carbon and nutrient pools, or root water uptake processes
• Synthesize leveraged datasets into databases for public use, maintain and facilitate sharing of research data with team members and in publicly available respositories; tabulate and display data for presentation in research conferences and for manuscript preparation.
• Publish results of their work in peer-reviewed literature.
• Be an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus, with collaborating institutions, and at all field sites.
• Leading or participating in outreach efforts.
• Assist in the mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students in the laboratory

Reg/TempRegularApplication Review Begins17-Jun-2024Anticipated Start Date01-Aug-2024Additional Candidate InstructionA complete online application will include:

• Cover letter describing how you meet the required and preferred qualifications.
• Resume
• List of three (3) professional references

Only complete applications will be consideredApplication review begins Monday, June 17th, 2024. For consideration, please apply no later than Sunday, June 16th, 2024.Job FamilyResearch-KULPosition RequirementsThis position works on-site but remote work may be considered per mutual agreement between the department and selected candidate.

Expected salary

Location

USA

Job date

Sat, 11 May 2024 07:17:54 GMT

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