POST-DOC: AQUATIC FOOD-WEB MODELING
The Jefferson Project—an unprecedented endeavor to examine freshwater
ecosystems with advanced “smart-sensor technology”—will be hiring a post-doc
to develop food web models that incorporate high-frequency monitoring,
modeling, and experimental data. This exciting research endeavor brings
together Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), IBM, and The FUND for Lake
George. The project is intended to serve as a blueprint for studying lakes
around the world and to better understand how humans are affecting lake
ecosystems. The research is based on the RPI campus, at the field station on
Lake George (located in upstate NY), and in IBM research labs around the world:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0OU9hfyZqU&list=PLC5671247BDB6A0B8
The Jefferson Project was built upon 36 years of lake chemistry monitoring
and is currently deploying real-time sensors for high-frequency monitoring
of the physical, chemical, and biological conditions of Lake George (a lake
that is 32 miles long and 200’ deep). These monitoring data are being
integrated with data from experiments investigating the impacts of excess
nutrients, invasive species, and other contaminants on freshwater food webs.
We have already produced second- and third-generation weather, hydrology,
and lake circulation models; these models are being validated using
high-resolution data from the “Smart Sensor Network.” Our goal is to link
these physical models and integrate them with food web models, allowing us
to better understand how humans have altered, and will continue to alter,
lake ecosystems. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of
food web modeling and an associated publication record. Programing expertise
(e.g., C++, Python, R, Matlab) would also be quite valuable.
Rensselaer has a growing group of aquatic ecologists, first-rate facilities
for aquatic research, and a beautiful field station on Lake George. The
successful candidate will have the opportunity to collaborate with
experimental ecologists, limnologists, modelers, computer scientists, and
engineers from both RPI and IBM. The post-doc will also have access to
state-of-the-art supercomputers, including the powerful IBM Blue Gene/Q.
For additional information:
http://relyealab.wix.com/relyea-lab
http://faculty.rpi.edu/node/35931
http://faculty.rpi.edu/node/35932
http://eichll.wix.com/lawrence-eichler
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/DFWI/
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/47219.wss
Applicants should send a cover letter, CV, research statement, and a list of
3 references to Dr. Rick Relyea ([email protected]) in PDF format.
Applications will be reviewed as they arrive. The desired start date is late
summer or early fall.
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Dr. Rick Relyea
Director, Darrin Fresh Water Institute
Director, The Jefferson Project
David M. Darrin ’40 Senior Endowed Chair
Dept. of Biological Sciences, BT2115
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY 12180
