Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

 

The Virginia Climate Center (VCC) of George Mason University is seeking a highly analytic and rigorously trained person for the position of Post-Doctoral Research Fellow to conduct original research in modeling the climate system and the impacts of climate change on Virginia, including extreme precipitation, flash flooding, and compound hazards of overland flooding and coastal inundation. The incumbent will play a critical role in establishing the Virginia Climate Center and have the unique opportunity of bringing state of the art climate science from the lab directly to stakeholders.

 

George Mason University has a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence and diversity among its faculty and staff, and strongly encourages candidates to apply who will enrich Mason’s academic and culturally inclusive environment.

 

George Mason University College of Science (Mason Science) is committed to advancing access, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (A-JEDI) throughout our STEM community, including within our hiring and retention practices. At Mason Science, our values include fostering an organizational culture that promotes anti-racism, belonging, respect, and civility. We believe that a diversity of opinions, cultures, and perspectives is what provides vibrancy, innovation and growth to an academic community. By prioritizing inclusive excellence in academics, teaching, research, and global engagement, we strive to attract a diverse pool of faculty and staff who exemplify the Mason Science mission and vision.

 

About the Virginia Climate Center:

George Mason University has established the Virginia Climate Center (VCC) to serve as a climate extension service for communities in the Commonwealth to increase their resilience to the impacts of climate change. As an extension service, the VCC will conduct research to develop knowledge, products and services for Virginia municipalities, businesses and civic organizations to support risk prevention and resilience strategies for climate change impacts, focusing on under-resourced communities within the Commonwealth that are more susceptible to adverse effects of climate change. An initial two-year (2022-2024) pilot project funded by NOAA will be conducted to test this organizational model in northern Virginia, in partnership with the City of Fairfax, Fairfax County, and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission.

 

Ultimately, the Center will provide products and services to Virginia municipalities and businesses to support infrastructure and policy planning, wise resource management, and sustainable entrepreneurship. Local decision makers will gain access to an unprecedented range of observational data, environmental models, and experts in climate science, sustainability, communication, and engineering solutions for increasing resilience to flash flooding and coastal inundation, degraded air quality, and threats to human health, saving tax dollars and improving the livelihoods of Virginians.

 

About the Position:

This is a two-year appointment, with the possibility of renewal subject to the availability of funds. The VCC pilot project is making a cluster hire with multiple post-doctoral and graduate research assistance positions to join a large interdisciplinary team from multiple colleges, departments and centers across George Mason University, including the Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies, The Institute for a Sustainable Earth, the Center for Climate Change Communication, the Colleges of Science, Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Public Health, and the Schar School of Public Policy and the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. The incumbent will report directly to the VCC Principal Investigator (PI) and manage all aspects of the pilot project. The incumbent will help plan and allocate project resources, monitor progress, and keep the PI and co-PIs informed of progress and issues, in accordance with the mission and goals of VCC. The incumbent will plan, develop, and maintain procedures to ensure that the project is completed in a timely fashion and within budget. The pilot-test will have been deemed successful if there is strong demand for the VCC’s services at the end of the project, and a viable financial model that will allow VCC to meet those demands.

 

Responsibilities:

  • Understanding and executing models of the Earth’s climate, regional hydrology and local hydraulic conditions;
  • Maintaining and organizing data generated in model simulations and obtained from publicly available sources of observations;
  • Presenting results both internally to project team members and externally to stakeholders and other scholars at national and international conferences;
  • Preparing manuscripts documenting results for submission to scholarly journals; and
  • Preparing reports interpreting results for stakeholders.

 

Required Qualifications:

  • Doctoral degree in climate science or engineering;
  • Record of scholarly publications;
  • Familiarity with climate modeling, hydrological modeling or hydraulic modeling;
  • Familiarity with climate change issues; and
  • Excellent analytical abilities.

 

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Excellent oral and written communication skills.

 

Special Instructions to Applicants  

For full consideration, applicants must apply for position number F780AZ at https://jobs.gmu.edu/; complete and submit the online application; and upload a cover letter, resume, and a list of three professional references with contact information.

 

George Mason University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, committed to promoting inclusion and equity in its community. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or veteran status, or any characteristic protected by law.