Apologies for cross-posting Postdoctoral Fellowship at Los Alamos National Laboratory: Mechanisms of vegetation survival and mortality during drought
We seek a motivated individual to study the physiological mechanisms of vegetation survival and mortality in relation to warming and drying climate. The primary objective of our study is to test current mortality theories including carbon starvation, hydraulic failure, and metabolic limitations. The study is employing individual and combined precipitation removal and heating (open-top chamber) manipulations in a mature piñon-juniper woodland. Depending on the candidates interests, the position may focus on field and/or laboratory work, including, but not limited to: plant carbon balance, plant water balance, and isotopic analyses (including the use of Tunable Diode Laser Spectroscopy). An example of a similar experiment, upon which this new project is based upon, can be seen here: http://per.ORNL.gov/McDowell.html A summary of current hypotheses we wish to test can be seen here: http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/short/pp.110.170704?keytype=ref&ijkey=vDB5uz54G703fqt The successful candidate will work within a large, interdisciplinary team consisting of staff, postdocs, graduate students, technicians, and undergraduate interns, including multiple governmental and academic collaborators. There will be substantial technical support for the successful candidate, allowing them to focus primarily on data analysis and writing. Required skills include empirical experience in the field or laboratory with any of the above focal areas, strong publication record, effective written and oral communication skills, eagerness to work in a team environment, and a Ph.D. pending or received within the last five years. Note only candidates with strong resumes, i.e. good record of publication, should apply. The experiment is funded for five years, but to cover this postdoc I will solicit internal funding for a prestigious Directors Fellowship via an extremely competitive process that is based largely on the candidates resume and letters. Particularly outstanding candidates may be considered for the J. Robert Oppenheimer, Richard P. Feynman or Frederick Reines Fellowships. Information on LANL postdocs, including salary and benefits, can be found here: http://lanl.gov/science/postdocs/ Please do not apply through this LANL website. Los Alamos is located at 7,500' in the Southern Rocky Mountains, has >300 days of sunshine per year, four distinct seasons, and is a fabulous place to do science. A somewhat out of date website on my lab group can be found here: http://climateresearch.lanl.gov/ Initial applications should include a resume and a concise statement of your future research goals. To apply or to request more information, please contact Nate McDowell (mcdow...@lanl.gov).
