Come work with us!!!

A new position for an interdisciplinary postdoctoral research associate to collaborate with a vibrant research team working at the interface of freshwater ecology and resource economics is available in the Carey and Cobourn Labs at Virginia Tech. This position is part of a recently funded NSF project that will model catchment-scale limnological, hydrological, and economic dynamics at Global Lakes Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) sites. Together, we are fundamentally interested in combining modeling and data-intensive analytical approaches from ecology and economics to examine the feedbacks between human decision-making and water quality in socio-environmental systems.

We are seeking a creative and quantitative Ph.D. with significant research and modeling experience in freshwater ecology and/or resource economics. We expect applicants to have demonstrable experience in one or more of the previously mentioned fields, including substantial publications in peer-reviewed journals, and the ability to collaborate in an interdisciplinary environment. We especially encourage applications from candidates with previous experience working in coupled ecological-economic systems.

The successful applicant will collaborate with graduate students, post docs, and faculty associated with the project to address fundamental questions surrounding decision-making and water quality dynamics in lake catchments. Research activities will include integration of ecosystem and economic models and exploration of land use, policy, and climate scenarios within coupled catchment models; the postdoctoral research associate will also assist with project development and coordination. The successful applicant will have access to new distributed computing resources that have become recently available from GLEON-PRAGMA (Pacific Rim Applications and Grid Middleware Assembly) collaborations and data from thousands of lakes in the LAke multi-scaled GeOSpatial & temporal database (LAGOS). The future of freshwater is a major research initiative at Virginia Tech, with >80 faculty across campus conducting research in this area, and excellent facilities and resources for freshwater research.

The targeted start date is January 2016 and review of applications will begin on September 15, 2015. The position is for one year, with the potential for a one-year renewal. Candidates should submit: 1) a cover letter explaining their research experience and future interests; 2) a CV; and 3) names and contact information for three references to https://listings.jobs.vt.edu/postings/59481

Virginia Tech is an equal opportunity employer with a strong institutional and academic commitment to diversity.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions!

Dr. Cayelan Carey                              Dr. Kelly Cobourn
Dept. of Biological Sciences             Dept. of Forest Resources & Conservation
Virginia Tech                                       Virginia Tech
Cayelan@vt.edu                                 kellyc13@vt.edu
www.carey.biol.vt.edu                      http://frec.vt.edu/people/cobourn/index.html