The Department of Geography (College Station, Texas, USA) at Texas A&M University seeks a Post-Doctoral Research Associate with experience in Economic Geography to join a $1.5M TAMU Presidential Excellence Fund (“X-Grant”) project entitled “Pathways to Sustainable Urban Water Security: Desalination and Water Reuse in the 21st Century” (PI Wendy Jepson). The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary team, lead by Dr. Wendy Jepson, that includes eight faculty from the law school, public policy and administration, geography, civil and chemical engineering, Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI), and urban planning. S/he will join a team with other post-doctoral research associates, several graduate students, legal scholars, and TWRI staff researchers.
Work Tasks. Successful candidates will have to travel extensively to collect primary data, conduct interviews, and work closely with a wide range of stakeholders, corporate, and institutional contacts. This position also requires successful candidates to utilize strong organizational skills, manage multiple tasks, maintain overall program mission, and work cooperatively in a diverse team environment. S/he will organise and manage project data and contribute to the analysis and dissemination of the research. In addition to pursuing his or her own data collection, the researcher will collaborate with PIs and other research team members in various ways, such as compiling literature reviews and co-authoring publications. The Post-Doctoral Research Associate will deliver the following: 1) a database on the global desalination and water reuse sector; (2) systematic literature review of global sector practice and issues, with specific reference to the case studies (Texas, CA, Israel, Australia); and (3) an analysis of the global water desalination and water reuse global production networks, technological path dependencies, engineering design, and role in the implementation of water reuse and desalination projects globally. Work products will be published in diverse venues, including but not limited to academic journals and sector publications. The postdoctoral researcher will have the opportunity to expand on the details of his/her own research in consultation with the PI. S/he will support the rest of X-Grant team and project objectives, leading and contributing to academic publications, participating in team meetings, offering active support to graduate assistants on the project, engaging in presentations, and organizing workshops and other events related to the project. Qualifications. Social scientists that have completed a PhD with knowledge and research experience in economic geography are encouraged to apply. Skills relevant to the post are: (1) ability to conduct quantitative and qualitative data collection for global production networks; (2) ability to analyze and interpret primary documentary and quantitative material; (3) ability to present research findings at academic conferences; (4) ability to translate research analysis into peer-reviewed articles. Proven teamwork skills and commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration are advantages, as are a strong emerging track record in social research and international peer-reviewed publications. Candidates are expected to possess excellent academic writing and communication skills in English. S/he should have the capacity to pursue discipline-based and interdisciplinary work, and to conduct independent scientific research at a high level. S/he should have proven skills in carrying out qualitative and quantitative (mixed methods) social research. S/he will preferably have a background in researching water governance and water policy. Inquiries about the position can be made to Professor Wendy Jepson (wjep...@tamu.edu<mailto:wjep...@tamu.edu>). Please apply through the Texas A&M Human Resources webpage (https://jobs.tamu.edu/) and search for the Job Posting R-009694, The application process opens on July 30 2018. Include in the application a CV, cover letter, and names of three references. Review of applications will begin on 15 September 2018. The position will be open until filled, with an expected start date of January 2019. This position will be funded full time for 24-months. Jennifer Clark School of Public Policy Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA 30332-0345 USA tel. +1 404.385.7224 email. jennifer.cl...@gatech.edu<mailto:jennifer.cl...@gatech.edu> twitter: @GTCUI