Ref 5356/22 Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Plant Functional Ecology, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment

• Hawkesbury Campus
• Remuneration Package: $100,686 to $121,646 p.a.
• Full-Time, Fixed-Term Position for 1.5 years

About Western

Western Sydney University is a modern, forward-thinking, research-led university, located at the heart of Australia’s fastest-growing and economically significant region, Western Sydney. Boasting 11 campuses – many in Western Sydney CBD locations – and more than 200,000 alumni, 49,500 students and 3,500 staff, the University has 14 Schools with an array of well-designed programs and degrees carefully structured to meet the demands of future industry.

The University is ranked in the top two per cent of universities worldwide, and as a research leader, over 85 per cent of the University’s assessed research is rated at ‘World Standard’ or above.

About the Role

The Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Plant Functional Ecology will join a vibrant research team supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant, “Leaf and wood physiology and biomass allocation as drivers of plant growth”. This project will investigate the interplay between physiological and morphological traits in driving the growth rates of plants, and their role in plant ecological strategies. New theories will be developed and tested using field data collected at sites across Australia, from the tropics to the far south, with parallel tests led by our collaborators at Tsinghua University. This project will build a new understanding of how physiological and morphological traits of plants drive growth rates and reflect evolutionary adaptation to different environments. This is significant because growth rates are pivotal in vegetation ecology and a core element of plant ecological strategies. Expected outcomes include a new cost- benefit theory for plant form and function considered at the whole-canopy scale, with empirical tests from Australian and Chinese ecosystems and via global trait datasets. Benefits include new approaches for predicting plant physiological properties and growth rates, and new knowledge crucial for understanding links between species traits, plant strategies and, ultimately, ecosystem productivity.

In this position you will lead work within the empirical theme of this project, compiling global trait and growth rate datasets, and measuring plant ecophysiological and allometric traits in the field and laboratory.  You will join an international project team of researchers including Distinguished Professor Ian Wright (WSU), Emeritus Professor Mark Westoby (Macquarie U) and A/Prof. Wang Han (Tsinghua U).   You will communicate findings at scientific meetings and publish research in high-impact international journals. A tailored career mentoring plan will be developed and will include opportunities to contribute to teaching and supervising Masters and PhD students as well as leadership and engagement.

Web: www.westernsydney.edu.au/hie

For further information please refer to the Position Description.

This is a full-time, fixed-term position for 1.5 years based at the Hawkesbury Campus.

About You

You will hold a PhD degree or equivalent professional experience (eg progress towards the formal completion of or recently submitted PhD thesis for examination) in a field related to plant functional ecology or plant ecophysiology together with expertise in measuring photosynthesis under field conditions, and measuring sapwood respiration and sapwood hydraulic capacitance under laboratory conditions.

Culture

Western Sydney University highly values equity and inclusiveness. We have a proud history of doing so and consider this an important part of our social and civic responsibilities as a University. We strive to contribute to tackling inequalities and promoting wellbeing within our own institution, the Greater Western Sydney region, nationally and internationally.

Remuneration Package: Academic Level A $100,686 to $121,646 p.a. (salary $85,081 to $102,792, plus 17% Superannuation and Leave Loading).

Position Enquiries: Distinguished Professor Ian Wright via [email protected]

Closing Date: 8:30pm, Sunday 6 November 2022.

Immigration Sponsorship
Employer Visa sponsorship will be provided if required

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Western Sydney University is committed to diversity and social inclusion. Applications from people of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; equity target groups including women, people with disabilities, people who identify as LGBTIQ, and people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent are encouraged.

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