RESEARCH POSITION IN MODELING TREE RESPONSES The Genetic and Silvicultural Foundations for Management Team, USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station would like to fill a research (post-doc) position in Olympia, WA on modeling tree responses to environment or management. The candidate will contribute to on-going studies that focus on testing hypotheses related to the growth or function of northwest tree species, especially in relation to climate change or variable density management. Examples of on-going studies include: (1) evaluating the impacts of genetic and environmental factors on growth and phenology in both field and greenhouse trials, (2) use of breeding data or other phenological data sets to look at the timing of vegetative and reproductive budburst, and (3) long-term studies on tree and plant responses to variable density management (such as creation of gaps) in large-scale studies. Work would involve limited new data collection (as several data sets already exist) but could involve compilation, editing, and analysis of data from multiple sources. In addition to writing up results for scientific journals, dissemination of research results could include contributions to models, presentations at scientific meetings, or development of web pages or apps for tablets or phones. The candidate may also provide training and equipment support in their specialty to other team members.
More information on the team can be found at: http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/olympia/silv/ Information about the Olympia area is at: http://www.ci.olympia.wa.us/ Initial appointment will be for up to 18 months but may be renewed for 1 or more additional years. Note, this could be a sabbatical opportunity. Position will be filled approximately April 1, 2014. Minimum salary approximately $61,867 per year (GS-11) depending on qualifications. Position includes paid holidays, vacation and sick days as well as health care benefits. Government housing is not available. Qualifications: (1) US citizen with a PhD in natural resources completed prior to beginning of employment; (2) Knowledge of tree physiology, genetics, ecology, and silviculture; (3) High proficiency in R. [Skills in R should include: a) writing scripts to automate the process of combining, querying, and updating large databases and generating graphical reports; b) model fitting using nonlinear mixed-effects models; and c) developing graphical user interfaces for data exploration and model fitting.]; and (4) Experience in publishing in peer reviewed journals. To apply: Send one pdf document by February 10, 2014 to: Connie Harrington ([email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>). The document should include a letter of interest (including date when you could start), resume, list of references, and transcripts. You may send a second document which includes a recently authored publication related to the position if that publication would not be readily available online. This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.
