________________________________________
From: CAR [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, 11 March 2011 9:33 AM
Subject: 3 Postdoc positions with PalEON, USA

Three postdoctoral research positions are available with the PalEON
project (A PaleoEcological Observatory Network to Assess Terrestrial
Ecosystem Models), an interdisciplinary research group of
paleoecologists, ecological statisticians, and ecosystems modelers
working together to study how climate variations shape forest dynamics
across a range of timescales (www.paleonproject.org). All postdoctoral
positions have a desired start date of May, 2011.

Specific PalEON goals include developing a coherent inferential
framework with rigorous estimates of uncertainty for paleoecological
data, applying these techniques to reconstruct variations in forested
ecosystems for the last 2000 years from the Great Lakes to New England,
and then assimilating these datasets into a suite of regional-scale
ecosystem models to infer presettlement biogeochemical cycles. Initial
PalEON efforts towards these goals are emphasizing the development of
methods and datasets, community-building, and interdisciplinary training
in paleoecology, statistical ecology, and ecosystem modeling.


1. Postdoctoral Position in Paleoecological and Paleoclimatic Data
Synthesis and Analysis

The primary responsibilities of this position are to coordinate the
assembly of the witness tree, fossil pollen, charcoal, and
paleohydrological datasets and analyze these datasets for intra- to
interregional patterns of variance and synchrony. The postdoc will work
closely with the other postdocs and the rest of the PalEON team towards
the objective of fitting a full space-time statistical model to the
paleoecological data and assimilating these reconstructions into the
ecosystem model experiments.

Minimum qualifications are a doctoral degree in a relevant ecological or
environmental science. The ideal candidate would have a strong
familiarity with Quaternary paleoecological and paleoclimatic data,
skills in paleoecoinformatics, knowledge of scripting languages such as
Matlab and R, and experience with multivariate statistical methods.
Experience with Bayesian hierarchical models, spatial models, and/or
ecosystem models is also desirable.

This position will be based at the Department of Geography at the
University of Wisconsin and will be jointly supervised by Drs. Jack
Williams (University of Wisconsin) and Steve Jackson (University of
Wyoming). This position is up to two years with a preferred start in
early May 2011. Salary is competitive and this position includes health
and other insurance benefits. See
http://info.gradsch.wisc.edu/admin/hr/info/benefitschart.pdf for
additional information. The University of Wisconsin is an Equal
Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Interested applicants are
encouraged to email a CV and cover letter with the names and contact
information of three references to Alice Halfen ([log in to unmask]) with
the subject line: PalEON Postdoctoral Application. For more information
contact Dr. Jack Williams [log in to unmask] or Dr. Steve Jackson
[log in to unmask] Evaluation of applications will begin April 4 and
continue until the position is filled.


2. Postdoctoral Position in Ecological Statistics

This researcher will lead the development of statistical models, based
on spatial statistics, state space, and data assimilation methods for
the PalEON initiative, interacting with statisticians, paleoecologists,
paleoclimatologists, and ecosystem modelers. Specific modeling
challenges may include spatio-temporal modeling of paleoecological data,
state-space modeling informed by ecological models, modeling uncertainty
in radiocarbon dating, and spatial modeling of vegetation based on
colonial settlement-era historical records. Strong applicants will
possess a background in Bayesian statistical modeling, especially
spatial modeling, state space modeling, or data assimilation. Applicants
must be interested in working at the interface of statistics and ecology.

The postdoctoral researcher will be based at the University of Notre
Dame’s new Department of Applied and Comutational Mathematics and
Statistics and is supported in part by the Notre Dame Environmental
Change Initiative (ND-ECI). This position will be supervised by Dr.
Jason McLachlan at Notre Dame, with extensive input from Dr. Chris
Paciorek at UC Berkeley, and interaction with other PALEON team members.
The position is available for a two-year period, subject to annual
performance review. We will consider applications on a rolling deadline.
Funding is available for an immediate start, but we will consider start
dates as late as summer 2011. Please email your CV and a cover letter
with the names and contact information of three references to Jason
McLachlan ([log in to unmask]). The University of Notre Dame, an equal
opportunity employer with a strong institutional and academic commitment
to diversity, endeavors to foster a vibrant learning community animated
by the Catholic intellectual tradition.


3. Postdoctoral Position in Ecosystem Modeling and Model-Data Synthesis.

The primary responsibility of this position is to coordinate the
model-data inter-comparison activities and shared data among the
modeling teams, to analyze model dynamics to make inferences about
presettlement biogeochemical cycles, and to assess model-data fidelity
across multiple models. The secondary responsibility is to help complete
the Ecosystem Demography model runs for the model-data inter-comparison.
Research questions focus on validating ecosystem models at centennial
time-scales, making inference about pre-settlement ecosystem dynamics
and biogeochemical cycles, and exploring the sensitivity of models to
historical vegetation. Position will be supervised by Dr. Michael Dietze
at the University of Illinois.

Minimum qualifications are a doctoral degree in a relevant ecological or
environmental science. The ideal candidate would have experience with
more than one of the following areas: ecosystem models, paleoecological
data, Bayesian statistics, R, linux, computer programming, data
assimilation, and climate downscaling techniques.

Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications with to two
years of funding available. The University of Illinois is an Equal
Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Evaluation of applications is
rolling with a preferred start May 2011. Interested applicants are
encouraged to send a CV and cover letter with the names and contact
information of three references to Melinda LaBorg [log in to unmask]
For more information contact Dr. Michael Dietze [log in to unmask]