Postdoctoral Position in ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATICS with Chicago Wilderness
We are recruiting a POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER in the area of environmental / ecological informatics to work on a two-year ULTRA-Ex project funded by NSF to the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Science Team of Chicago Wilderness (CW). Chicago Wilderness is an alliance of over 250 organizations in the metropolitan Chicago area dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of local biodiversity and the benefits it provides area residents (www.chicagowilderness.org). The Chicago Wilderness Science Team includes researchers from a wide range of key Chicago-area universities and research organizations. The applicant must have expertise in cutting-edge computing platforms (e.g., TeraGRID), ecological metadata language skills, strong knowledge of cyber-infrastructure tools (e.g., php, tcl/tk, ArcSDE), including hub technologies, and other aspects of environmental/ecological informatics. Familiarity with tools like GeoServer, ArcServer or MapServer, and experience with data management within the LTER network, would be a plus. PhD in biology/ecology, engineering, mathematics, statistics, computer science or related field. We seek a creative, innovative, interdisciplinary researcher who will work with the CW Science Team to forge exciting new directions in the ecology of complex metropolitan socio-ecological systems. Postdoctoral applicants will contribute to the ULTRA-Ex project described below, which has three major objectives. The postdoctoral researcher will focus mainly on objective 1 but also play a role in objective 3. OBJECTIVE 1 -- Research options for a multi-faceted Chicago ULTRA-Hub. The Hub will include an interactive web-based platform for managing data, communicating research findings to planners and the public, and collaborating and interacting with scientists and practitioners. The ULTRA Hub will also be an umbrella center for urban ecosystem research and policy, and will be integrated with regional education and outreach programs. A pilot “proof-of-concept” tool will be launched within two years. OBJECTIVE 2 -- Critically examine the connections between the biodiversity-recovery goals of the region-wide Green Infrastructure Vision of Chicago Wilderness and the delivery of critical ecosystem services (from the cultural to the biogeochemical) to human communities throughout the Chicago region.** **OBJECTIVE 3. Through a series of outreach and education activities (e.g. a metropolitan-wide graduate course; quarterly meetings of area researchers, planners and land managers), develop an integrated theoretical and empirical framework for a long-term socio-ecological research program in the Chicago metropolitan region. The informatics post-doc will interact closely with the core of the CW Science Team of researchers. The CW science team includes ecologists, environmental social scientists, conservation biologists, modelers, and urban planners. Team members are from DePaul University, Field Museum, Lincoln Park Zoo, Loyola University, Purdue University, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station. Practitioners from the City of Chicago and other groups within the Chicago Wilderness alliance are integral to the team. This post-doc will also interact closely with the second post-doc being recruited for Objective 2 of this project, and with two other post-doctoral researchers (an ecologist and a social scientist) supported by a recent award to the CW Science Team from the NSF Program in the Dynamics of Coupled Human-Natural Systems. Salary, Benefits and Starting Date -- The position is for two years; the package includes a competitive salary, health benefits and travel funds. The post-doc will have office space at one or more of the participating institutions, as well as office space in a suite at the centrally located University of Illinois at Chicago for the four post-docs working on the two related NSF projects. We are seeking applicants who can start as soon as possible. This is a second announcement of the opening for this position. Evaluation of applications will start November 16 and will continue until the position is filled. Application Procedure -- Qualified applicants should submit a letter of application that explains how their accomplishments and professional goals qualify them for the position; curriculum vita; unofficial copies of all college transcripts, copies of up to 3 publications, and full contact information for 3 referees. These materials must e-mailed as a single pdf file to Prof. David Wise at [email protected]. More information about the position can be obtained by writing to Bryan Pijanowski at Purdue University ([email protected]), Lynne Westphal at the US Forest Service Northern Research Station ([email protected]) or David Wise at UIC. UIC is an Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity Employer
