We are recruiting a postdoctoral researcher to join a multi-institution project focused on improving our ability to understand, predict, and manage above- and below-ground carbon stocks. This work, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS), will be applied to capturing carbon dynamics across space and time in dryland ecosystems of the western U.S. and around the world. This will include the characterization of carbon stocks for key groups of NRCS Ecological Sites and the integration of carbon storage and sequestration into associated State and Transition Model (STM) frameworks (more about here). The postdoctoral fellow will link satellite- and drone-based remote sensing data with ground-based above- and below-ground carbon measurements and will use cutting edge machine learning and related analyses to create predictive spatiotemporal models. The position will be based in Dr. Brooke Osborne’s lab at Utah State University-Moab and co-advised by Dr. Bill Smith at the University of Arizona. The successful applicant will also work closely with collaborators from the USDA-NRCS, including Travis Nauman and Skye Wills, and the U.S. Geological Survey, including Sasha Reed and Mike Duniway. The position is funded for two years at a salary of $63,000/yr and can begin as early as September 1, 2024.
This position is telework eligible within the state of Utah. Telework outside of the state of Utah is subject to review and approval by the University prior to a job offer being extended.
The position is full-time and 100% research. The postdoctoral fellow will be responsible for developing novel hypotheses, processing and analyzing large satellite- and drone-based datasets, integrating these data with ground-based measurements, and developing innovative geospatial and statistical methods. They will be expected to publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals and present research at national conferences.
Minimum Qualifications:
Preferred Qualifications:
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Employees work indoors and are protected from weather and/or contaminants, but not, necessarily, occasional temperature changes. The employee is regularly required to sit and often uses repetitive hand motions.
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*updated 01/2025
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Executive Director of the Office of Equity Matthew Pinner, discrimination@usu.edu, Distance Education Rm. 401, 435-797-1266
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*updated 09/2023
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