Postdoctoral Research Associate in Ecology & Coupled Human and Natural Systems at Harvard Forest
Jonathan Thompson's Lab at the Harvard Forest in Petersham, MA
Full-Time
Salary: Salary commensurate with experience, plus health insurance benefits through Harvard University. Outreach/career development opportunities will include funding for local and national meetings.
Job Description: Seeking an exceptional post-doc to advance the Harvard Forest's Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program and a Coupled Natural and Human systems (CNH) project, both focused on socio-ecological impacts of forest insects, land use, and climate change impacts on New England forests. This is an exciting opportunity for a landscape or macrosystems ecologist with interests in global change and coupled human and natural systems. The research will combine empirical and simulated data across multiple scenarios, providing novel approaches to understanding human natural system interactions. Initial appointment of one year is renewable for additional years based on performance. The position is available immediately, and preference will be given to applicants who can start sooner than later.
Job Duties: The post-doc will conduct regional-scale analyses to understand the consequences of forest processes and land-uses, including: insect outbreaks and the landowner response to insects, climate change, land protection, timber harvesting, and alternative development patterns. The incumbent will utilize existing parameterizations of landscape simulations models (LANDIS-II-PnET, Dinamica, land-owner systems models etc). The post-doc will collaborate with PIs to publish results in high-impact scientific outlets and collaborate with science communication experts to maximize the application and impact of the research.
- We've spent several years assembling datasets, engaging with stakeholders, and building simulation models to help us understand the interactive effects of climate and land-use change on the New England landscape. We are now seeking an extremely motivated post-doc to exploit these resources by conducting novel analyses, publishing impactful papers, and creating public-facing tools and publications. The position comes with all the ingredients (data, resources, and support) needed for an early-career scholar to hit the ground running and build a reputation as a leader in the fields of ecology and sustainability science. While the general themes of the work are dictated by the funding, the position comes with considerable autonomy to shape the direction of the research.
- The position is closely linked to a Research Coordination Network called Scenarios and Services for Society. The S3 RCN has resources and relationships that will facilitate the post-doc's collaborations with RCN scientists working throughout the region, including Harvard, Highstead Foundation, Duke, U. of Massachusetts, The Gund Institute at the U. of Vermont, and the U. of New Hampshire.
- The position is partially funded by an NSF CNH grant called: "Assessing the potential for climate change and forest insects to drive land-use regime shifts." The incumbent will collaborate closely with the project Co-PIs including: Dave Orwig and David Foster of Harvard Forest; Marla Lindsay and Dave Kittredge of U. of Massachusetts; Brett Butler of the U.S. Forest Service, and Mark Borsuk of Duke U. As part of this project, we developed a unique coupled modeling framework to mechanistically explore ecosystem and landowner responses to forest pests and climate change. The post-doc will use this model to compare the direct and indirect (socially-mediated) impacts of insects and climate change on forest ecosystems
Qualifications: (1) Ph.D. in forest ecology, forestry, geography, or related field; (2) Evidence of strong scholarship, including high-impact peer-reviewed publications; (3) Capable of conducting complex spatial analyses; (4) Skilled at scripting within the R and/or Python; (4) Proven ability to plan and conduct independent research projects from beginning to end. (5) A strong interest in coupled human and natural systems
To Apply: : Send cover letter, CV, PDFs of relevant publications, and the names and contact info for three references to Jonathan Thompson: jthomps@fas.harvard.edu
