Postdoctoral Fellow: Climate mitigation and adaptation solutions

Department: DGE – Global Ecology

Salary: $77,000 and comprehensive benefits

Location: Stanford, CA

Carnegie Institution for Science Department of Global Ecology (DGE) at Stanford is seeking creative, collaborative postdoctoral scholars to advance our work on climate mitigation and adaptation solutions to food, energy, and water systems. Research will be highly data-driven, through quantitative research and spatial model development. 

Fellows will work primarily under the guidance of Dr. Lorenzo Rosa, with opportunities to collaborate with other researchers at DGE, Stanford University, and beyond. Scientists at DGE conduct basic and applied research into the interactions among the Earth’s ecosystems and people. Fellows will collaboratively design and conduct cutting-edge research, publish results in peer-reviewed journals, and present results at scientific conferences.  

Our research focuses on assessing the potential benefits and unintended climate and environmental consequences of innovations engineered to satisfy the increasing global demand for food, energy, and water. In our work, we aim to address the most urgent questions surrounding the sustainability of the Earth System. There will be flexibility regarding scientific questions to be studied, but potential areas of focus include:

• Analyzing solutions to water scarcity under global warming, including water storage and desalination;
• Quantifying climate change impacts on agriculture and water resources;
• Assessing solutions to achieve net-zero emissions in agriculture;
• Determining the techno-environmental potential of climate mitigation technologies;

Postdoctoral Fellows typically lead projects and help on other projects; peer-reviewed publication of results in high-quality journals is the norm. We want to hire people who see helping the group be successful as a key element in their own success strategy.

Postdoctoral Fellows at DGE have access to valuable research resources to launch successful scientific careers in academia and industry. Research resources include technical support staff, research equipment, and computing/IT resources. DGE seeks to provide a culture of mentoring and professional development for all postdoctoral scientists; additional professional development/training programs are offered internally. 

Responsibilities: 

• Work closely and collaboratively with other scientists to design, implement, analyze and summarize innovative research;
• Publish results in high-quality, peer-reviewed journals; 
• Present results at conferences and seminars. 

Required Qualifications: 

• Ph.D. in any scientific or engineering discipline with a grounding in energy, agriculture, hydrology, earth and environmental science, or related field;
• Analyses of large spatio-temporal agricultural datasets;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills;
• Strong quantitative analysis skills;
• Evidence of ability to work independently and in teams;
• Commitment to a collegial and inclusive workplace. 

Multiple positions are available with flexible start dates to begin within 12 months. Although initial appointments are for one year, the position is renewable and postdocs in the Department usually stay for two to three years. Carnegie offers competitive salary and comprehensive benefits. Applications will only be considered when submitted through our application portal. Applicants are required to submit a CV, a statement of research interests, and the names and contact information of at least three professional references.  Please contact Lorenzo Rosa (e-mail: lrosa@carnegiescience.edu) with any questions about the position. 

Carnegie is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will receive consideration of employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, veteran status or any other characteristics protected by law. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse research community and we encourage applications by members of all underrepresented groups.

Please submit your application by clicking on the Apply Now box below or visit this link here:

https://jobs.carnegiescience.edu/jobs/apply/71446/

Postdoctoral Opportunity: Climate impacts and adaptation

Department: DGE – Global Ecology

Salary: $77,000

Location: Stanford, CA

Carnegie Institution Science Department of Global Ecology (DGE) invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at its Stanford Campus. Founded in 2002, scientists at DGE conduct basic and applied research into the interactions among the Earth’s ecosystems and people. The Carnegie Institution has a deep commitment to scientific excellence and diversity;  we strongly encourage applications from candidates who will enrich and foster a culturally diverse and inclusive environment. 

Selected fellow(s) will join a highly collaborative and productive team of scientists aimed at developing information that can help facilitate a transition to a net-zero emission energy system. This work will be performed under the guidance of Dr. Ken Caldeira, a Senior Scientist with Breakthrough Energy and Senior Scientist (Emeritus) with Carnegie Institution for Science.

Policy decisions rest on evaluation of the social cost of carbon dioxide emissions, which is the net present value of expected climate damage from a marginal ton of additional carbon dioxide emissions. However, this quantity depends on value judgements, accounting conventions, and both knowable and unknowable empirical facts. A goal of this research is to understand from a global perspective how these various factors contribute to estimation of the social cost of carbon. What damage is expected as a result of our carbon dioxide emissions and what is the empirical basis for that expectation? To what extent can adaptation ameliorate this damage? (And what adaptive measures are or are not assumed in the damage estimate?)

Postdoctoral Fellows typically lead projects and help out on other projects; peer-reviewed publication of results in high-quality journals is the norm. We want to hire people who see helping the group be successful as a key element in their own success strategy.

Postdoctoral Fellows at DGE have access to valuable research resources to launch successful scientific careers in academia and industry. Research resources include technical support staff, research equipment, and computing/IT resources. Opportunities to partner with other DGE scientists may also be available depending on Fellow(s)’ interests. DGE seeks to provide a culture of mentoring and professional development for all postdoctoral scientists; funding is available for travel to scientific conferences; additional professional development/training programs are offered internally.

Multiple positions are available with flexible start dates to begin within 18 months of this posting. Initial appointments are for 1 year, with possible renewal up to 4 years. Carnegie offers competitive salary and comprehensive benefits. In addition, a budget is available to partially reimburse relocation expenses for successful candidates and their immediate families.

Responsibilities: 

• Work closely and collaboratively with other scientists to design, implement, analyze and summarize innovative research to inform climate and energy decision-making;
• Publish results in high-quality, peer-reviewed journals; 
• Present results at conferences and seminars. 

Required Qualifications: 

• Ph.D. in any scientific or engineering discipline with a grounding in the physical sciences or engineering;
• Excellent mathematical skills and basic computer programming;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills;
• Evidence of ability to work independently and in teams;
• Commitment to a collegial and inclusive workplace. 

Informal inquiries and questions about these positions should be directed to Ken Caldeira (e-mail: kcaldeira@carnegiescience.edu). Applications will only be considered when submitted through our application portal (see blue bar below). Applicants are required to submit a cover letter, CV, and the names and contact information of at least three professional references. 

Carnegie is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will receive consideration of employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, veteran status or any other characteristics protected by law. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse research community and we encourage applications by members of all underrepresented groups.

Postdoctoral Fellow: Quantifying climate sensitivities of photosynthesis and respiration in Arctic and boreal ecosystems

Department: DGE – Global Ecology

Salary: Competitive with comprehensive benefits

Location: Stanford, CA

Carnegie Institution for Science’s Department of Global Ecology at Stanford is seeking a motivated, creative, and collaborative Postdoctoral Fellow to advance understanding of Arctic and boreal biome responses to climate change.

The Department of Global Ecology, founded in 2002 on the campus of Stanford University, conducts basic and applied research into the interactions among Earth’s ecosystems, land, atmosphere, oceans, and people with a goal of informing the sustainability of the Earth system. Department faculty members, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, undergraduate students, technical and administrative staff work to understand how our planet operates, and how it will respond to future changes. We place a particular focus on research questions that will have a substantial impact on our ability to manage the Earth system, and that have a high likelihood of leading to breakthroughs on timescales that are compatible with the urgency of the climate, biodiversity, energy, and food security crises facing our planet.

The Postdoctoral Fellow will develop innovative strategies for using atmospheric, land surface and satellite-based observations to characterize the sensitivities of boreal and Arctic carbon sinks to climate variability and assess their impact on future climate projections. There will be considerable flexibility in the specific scientific questions to be examined, but potential areas of focus include:

• Assessing how atmospheric observations inform mechanistic understanding of Arctic and boreal carbon balance
• Evaluating how temperature, water availability, and radiation control patterns of photosynthesis and respiration
• Informing the representation of photosynthesis and respiration in climate and terrestrial biosphere models

Required Qualifications: 

• Ph.D. in any scientific or engineering discipline with a grounding in earth and environmental science, climate, ecology, energy, agriculture, hydrology, remote sensing, or related field;
• Analyses of large spatio-temporal climate datasets;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills;
• Strong quantitative analysis skills;
• Evidence of ability to work independently and in teams;
• Commitment to a collegial and inclusive workplace.

The Postdoctoral Fellow will identify compelling research questions, collaborate extensively both within and outside the department, lead and contribute to high-impact research papers, present scientific results at conferences, and create data products to be used by other scientists and stakeholders.

The position is based in Dr. Anna Michalak’s research group and funded through the NASA Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) program. The appointment will be one year initially and with the potential of extensions up to a total of three years based on performance and funding availability. The position is available immediately but the starting date is flexible.

Applications will only be considered when submitted through our application portal. The application must include a cover letter, a CV (including a list of publications), and a list of three references with contact information. Please contact Dr. Anna Michalak at michalak@carnegiescience.edu with any questions about the position. 

At Carnegie, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive community. We believe academic environments should be places where diverse groups of people with a variety of viewpoints and ideas can thrive and work together. As such, we encourage applicants from underrepresented groups and backgrounds to apply. The Carnegie Institution is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of gender, race/ethnicity, protected veteran status, disability, or other protected group status.

Postdoctoral opportunity: Microbial Ecological Modeling of the Marine Nitrogen Cycle

Department: DGE – Global Ecology

Salary: $77,000

Location: Stanford, CA

Carnegie Institution for Science’s Department of Global Ecology (DGE) at Stanford is seeking a motivated, creative, and collaborative Postdoctoral Fellow in the field of microbial ecology and biogeochemistry to advance understanding of how microbial metabolisms and ecological interactions drive nitrogen transformations in the ocean.

The Postdoctoral Fellow will work primarily under the guidance of Dr. Emily Zakem, with opportunities to collaborate with other researchers at DGE, Stanford University, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and beyond. Founded in 2002, scientists at DGE conduct basic and applied research into the interactions among the Earth’s ecosystems and people. Research for this position will use theory and computational modeling to understand how nitrogen-cycling microorganisms drive ocean biogeochemical cycling and provide feedbacks to current changes in the climate system. Specific project focuses are flexible, and may include, for example, the ecology and biogeochemical impacts of aerobic and anaerobic metabolisms in anoxic marine zones or the global-scale ecology of nitrification in relation to the carbon cycle.

Responsibilities:

• Collaboratively design and conduct cutting-edge research
• Publish results in high-quality peer-reviewed journals
• Present results at scientific conferences

Required Qualifications:

• Ph.D. or equivalent by the start of the appointment in the natural sciences, engineering, or mathematics. A background in oceanography, biogeochemistry, ecology, or microbiology is helpful but not essential;
• Strong interest in advancing understanding in microbially driven nitrogen cycling in the ocean or other aquatic environments;
• Experience in scientific programming and numerical modeling;
• Excellent critical thinking and quantitative analysis skills;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Demonstrated ability to drive projects forward in a timely manner;
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and in teams;
• Commitment to a collegial and inclusive workplace.

The start date for the position is flexible, with the earliest possible appointment beginning in August 2023, and review of applicants will be ongoing until the position is filled. Initial appointments are for one year, with possible renewal based on performance and funding availability. The location for the position may be either at the Stanford campus in Palo Alto, CA or at the Caltech campus in Pasadena, CA. Carnegie offers competitive salary and comprehensive benefits, including partial reimbursement of relocation expenses. Applications consist of a cover letter expressing research interests, a CV, and contact information for three references submitted through our application portal (see blue bar below). Please contact Emily Zakem (ezakem@carnegiescience.edu) with any questions about the position.

 At Carnegie, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive community. We believe academic environments should be places where diverse groups of people with a variety of viewpoints and ideas can thrive and work together. As such, we encourage applicants from underrepresented groups and backgrounds to apply. The Carnegie Institution is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of gender, race/ethnicity, protected veteran status, disability, or other protected group status.

Postdoctoral Research Associate: Quantifying climate impacts on inland and coastal eutrophication

Department: DGE – Global Ecology

Salary: TBD Competitive

Location: Stanford, CA

Postdoctoral Research Associate: Quantifying climate impacts on inland and coastal eutrophication

Department: DGE – Global Ecology

Salary: TBD Competitive

Location: Stanford, CA

The Department of Global Ecology at the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS) is seeking Postdoctoral Research Associates to contribute to research that aims to quantify climate change impacts on freshwater and coastal water quality via influences on nutrient delivery to, and on conditions within, water bodies. Our approach is highly data-driven, with a common methodological thread being the development and application of statistical approaches for optimizing the use of limited in situ and remote sensing environmental data.

There will be considerable flexibility regarding specific scientific questions to be examined, but potential areas of focus include:

• Attribution of historical water-quality trends and extreme events to climate change and variability;
• Assessment of historical and future nutrient loading, phytoplankton blooms, and hypoxia in data-poor regions;
• Development of approaches for using modern satellite-based observations for assessing global variability in lacustrine phytoplankton blooms;
• Development of partnerships with other labs on targeted field-based projects for assessing climate drivers of water quality impairments;
• Assessment of water quality management strategies in terms of their robustness to future changes in climate and, conversely, their potential climate impacts.

The position is based in Dr. Anna M. Michalak’s lab and will involve extensive collaboration with researchers at the other institutions, offering excellent opportunities for joint mentoring and career development.

The Postdoctoral Research Associate will be responsible for identifying innovative strategies for developing a quantitative basis for understanding the impacts of climate on water quality, as well as possible feedbacks with the climate system. While we are interested in site-specific studies, our long-term focus is on developing understanding that is at least in part transferable across systems, such that we can inform processes and variability in poorly sampled regions and at aggregate regional scales.

Position Duties

• Identify compelling scientific questions, design and conduct high-level research, and collaborate with other members of the Michalak Lab on topics within the broad area defined above.
• Coordinate with outside collaborators to identify key scientific opportunities and modeling strategies.
• Lead and contribute to research papers to be published in the peer reviewed literature.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in hydrology, limnology, remote sensing, earth science, or related field;
• Experience working with water quantity or quality observations at regional, continental and/or global scales;
• Experience with quantitative data analysis and modeling approaches;
• Experience exploring questions about climate and/or water quality;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

Informal inquiries about these positions can be made by emailing Anna Michalak at michalak@carnegiescience.edu.  Formal applications for employment must be submitted by clicking on the bar below, and must include a cover letter, CV, and list of at least three references.

The review of applications will begin immediately and the position will remain open until it is filled. Compensation is competitive and will be commensurate with work experience and skills.