The Penn State Soil Characterization Laboratory (soilislife.psu.edu) in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, at The Pennsylvania State University, is currently recruiting for the fixed-term position of Post-Doctoral Researcher in the areas of soil science, forest hydrology and landscape ecology. The appointment will be for one year. The expected start date is ideally 30, July 2012, but is very flexible given this is a two year project. Salary range: $40,000 - $44,000, plus benefits. Qualifications: The minimum qualification is a Ph.D. in Soil Science, Forest Hydrology or Hydrology, Biogeochemistry, Ecology, Environmental Science, or a related field. Preference will be given to candidates that have a strong soil science and quantitative background, modeling experience, proficiency in R and/or one or more high level languages, and strong writing skills. Responsibilities: This position will play a leadership role in a project with the Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources to: 1) Broaden the existing knowledge of how forest soils and ecosystems respond to shale-gas disturbance; 2) Develop a decision support strategy for DCNR and othersÂ’ use for assessing potential hydrological change due to shale-gas infrastructure development and assist with infrastructure planning, layout, and design to minimize impacts to soils, plant communities, and aquatic resources; and 3) identify USDA-NRCS Ecological Sites and States impacted by shale-gas development, and develop preliminary shale-gas States or State-Phases for State and Transition Models on select Ecological Sites. The successful applicant will 1) work with the multi-institution research team to coordinate data collection and integration in the study framework; 2) develop additional experiments; 3) serve both a lead and supporting role in manuscript preparation; and 4) contribute to proposal writing. Additionally, the successful applicant will be an active member of the Penn State Soil Characterization Lab and the larger research community at Penn State. To apply e-mail a cover letter, CV, unofficial transcripts, and the names and contact information for three references to: [email protected]. Review of applications will continue until filled.
