A 2-year position is available with the Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program and in collaboration with a recently funded National Science Foundation Macrosystems Project to study effects of changes in the North American monsoon on ecosystems of the American Southwest. The position is located on the campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM. The successful applicant must have a Ph.D. (in hand by hire date) in biology, natural resources, or closely related field; and one year experience in using or developing quantitative tools, such as simulation models, statistical models, GIS, or remote sensing. Responsibilities include to: (1) Develop biotic parameters to run complex ecosystems simulation models for important native grasses and shrubs currently found in the deserts of the Southwestern US, as well as important exotic grasses likely to be found in the future in these deserts; (2) Apply knowledge of soils, vegetation, climate, and other national databases to obtain model parameters for the Southwestern region; (3) Develop improved approaches for mapping the presence and abundance of exotic grasses using remote sensing and other geospatial data; (4) Develop or modify model routines for simulating conditional plot sizes and spatial extents in the models; (5) Work with data from diverse sources while applying knowledge of various field data collection procedures related to vegetation and soils; (6) Access and analyze long-term data from many sites relevant to ecosystem dynamics in the SW region; and (7) Collaborate with team members from the University of Arizona, NMSU, and other state institutions and federal agencies.
Benefits Offered: Competitive benefits are available, see http://hr.nmsu.edu/benefits/ for complete description. Group medical and hospital insurance, group life insurance, long-term disablity insurance, state educational retirement, workers' compensation, sick leave, annual leave and unemployment compensation. Opportunity for educational advancement. Applications should be emailed to: Dr. Debra Peters ([email protected]) USDA ARS Jornada Experimental Range NMSU, PO Box 30003, MSC 3JER Las Cruces, NM 88003 REVIEW OF LETTER OF INTEREST, RESUME, UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS, AND THREE LETTERS OF REFERENCE WILL BEGIN- 3/1/12. APPLICATION MATERIALS RECEIVED AFTER THIS DATE MAY BE CONSIDERED. NMSU IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER.
