Postdoctoral Positions in Soil/Sediment Geochemistry
The US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Soil & Sediment Geochemistry team (SSGT) conducts research in solid-phase geochemistry to support the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s (USACE) dual civil and military missions. The SSGT supports these missions with a wide variety of research programs in organic/inorganic contaminant environmental fate and transport, environmental sensing, and quantifiable soil processes. We are seeking highly qualified post-doctoral candidates for opportunities of 1 year, with potential for renewal for at least 2 additional years to pursue funded work in one of these areas: (1) speciation, soil interactions, and mobility of Army-relevant contaminants (within the life cycle of new material acquisitions) such as munition constituents, heavy metals, radionuclides, and anthropogenic nano-colloidal materials; (2) soil environmental sensing, such as geochemically specific adsorbents and spectroscopic responses; (3) informatics-based models for predicting soil processes. Successful applicants will have obtained a PhD in soil science, geochemistry, or related discipline with a strong chemistry background. The candidate must possess a strong experimental background in or related to the previously stated disciplines. Expertise with solid-phase speciation methods, such as Synchrotron-based x-ray spectroscopies, solid-state NMR spectroscopies, FTIR, XRD, or XRF is highly desirable. Alternatively, candidates with experience in multivariate statistical techniques are also highly desirable. Particularly, candidates with experience in multivariate dimension-reduction and classification techniques. The successful candidate must possess strong oral and written communication skills as well as a demonstrated ability to propose, plan, and execute laboratory studies and publish results in peer-reviewed journals. Experience with supervising or mentoring graduate/undergraduate students and working in teams is also highly desired. The incumbent will work with an experienced and diverse team of MS and PhD-level scientists with expertise in aqueous geochemistry, soil chemistry, sediment ecotoxicity, material science, and environmental engineering disciplines. Salaries of qualified applicants may be expected to range from $55,000 to $80,000 USD, dependent upon experience. U.S. citizenship is highly desired but not required.
To obtain more information, send or email a resume/CV with a brief cover letter explaining your interests and experience to: Dr. Mark Chappell (mark.a.chappell@usace.army.mil), Soil & Sediment Geochemistry Team Lead, Environmental Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, 3909 Halls Ferry Rd, Vicksburg, MS, 39180. Review of applications will begin by 1 February 2016 and continue until the position(s) are filled.
The Soil & Sediment Geochemistry Team is located within the Environmental Laboratory (EL), one of seven DoD-funded laboratories within the ERDC (http://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/).