The Ervin Lab (www.garyervin.com) is hiring a postdoctoral researcher to collaborate on the parametrization of processed-based wetland vegetation (GenVeg) models, as part of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Next Generation ecosystem modeling efforts. The position is supported by the USACE Engineering Research and Development Center Environmental Laboratory (https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/Locations/EL/). The postdoc will be based in the Department of Biological Sciences at Mississippi State University in Starkville, MS but will collaborate actively with USACE scientists.

 

The postdoc will assist in:

•    Compiling existing data sets collected on wetland vegetation growth in response to changes in water quality, hydrology, and neighboring plant species;

•    Parameterizing, testing, and evaluating dynamic vegetation growth models (GenVeg), in collaboration with ERDC scientists, and communicating model updates to end users, including travel in support of these duties; and

•    Publishing results of this work in peer-reviewed journal articles.

 

The successful candidate will demonstrate an ability to communicate with diverse ecosystem scientists, from field ecologists and botanists to those who are fully immersed in quantitative ecosystem modeling and computational biology. In this vein, the postdoc will be expected to interact/collaborate with scientists at Mississippi State University (Dept. of Biological Sciences and Geosystems Research Institute) and the USACE ERDC, in addition to potential collaborations at Texas State University at San Marcos and the Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System group at the University of Colorado at Boulder. It is expected that the postdoc would travel among these locations as needed for collaborative activities, but the primary work location will be Starkville, MS and the main MSU campus.

Inquiries about the position can be directed to Dr. Gary Ervin at: gary.ervin@msstate.edu