SUMMARY: A two-year postdoctoral position is available within the College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana to explore climatic drivers of seedling establishment and regeneration failure at lower treeline in western US forests. Using greenhouse experiments, mechanistic niche models, demographic reconstructions, broad-scale forest inventory data, and weather simulations, the successful candidate will assist in modeling climatic, hydrological, and physiological processes driving spatial and temporal variation in seedling mortality. The successful applicant will work as part of a team of researchers including, a plant physiologist (Anna Sala), an ecohydrologist (Marco Maneta), an applied mathematician (Will Kleiber), and landscape ecologists (Solomon Dobrowski and Zack Holden). This position is being advertised in anticipation of a recently recommended NSF award. The start date is flexible but we anticipate the candidate starting in Fall 2015.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: demonstrated strong commitment to basic research, experience analyzing large spatial datasets, demonstrated ability to publish peer-reviewed papers, effective written and oral communication skills, willingness to work in a team environment, and a Ph.D. pending or received within the last five years in a relevant discipline. DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS: modeling experience in environmental biophysics, hydrology, micrometeorology, plant physiology, and forest ecology. Desired skills include: 1) programming in R, Matlab, or Python; 2) advanced skills in applied mathematics/statistics; 3) experience with climate downscaling; and 4) dendrochronology skills. We encourage applicants who can work across disciplines and draw upon unique data sets to study linkages between climate and forest processes. STIPEND/SALARY: Salary will be commensurate with skills and will include full benefits. TO APPLY: In a single pdf document, please send a CV and a short statement of your future research goals to Solomon Dobrowski ([email protected]). UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY: The University of Montana’s College of Forestry and Conservation is one of the nation’s top natural resource institutions. The College’s faculty and students conduct basic and applied research in a wide range of natural resource disciplines, and have ready access to Montana’s extensive wild and working lands for natural laboratories and recreational opportunities. The City of Missoula (population approx. 70,000) is regularly featured as one of the most livable cities in the United States.
