Postdoctoral Fellowship in Geospatial Analysis
*Applications are reviewed on a rolling-basis and this posting could close before the deadline.
ARS Office/Lab and Location: A research opportunity is currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS) located in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The selected candidate will be participating remotely given the current ARS facility closures and pandemic policies.
Research Project: The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency with a mission to find solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day from field to table. ARS will deliver cutting-edge, scientific tools and innovative solutions for American farmers, producers, industry, and communities to support the nourishment and well-being of all people; sustain our nation’s agroecosystems and natural resources; and ensure the economic competitiveness and excellence of our agriculture. The vision of the agency is to provide global leadership in agricultural discoveries through scientific excellence.
This project provides an opportunity to take part in a two-part interdisciplinary program within ARS: the Predictive Disease Ecology Grand Challenge Program and the SCINet Big Data Program. This opportunity is for a motivated candidate interested in solving agricultural and natural resource-related problems across a range of spatial and temporal scales, from the individual to the continent, and daily to evolutionary time scales. The goal of these two related programs is to develop and apply new and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and numerical modeling to solve complex agricultural problems that also depend on collaboration across scientific disciplines and geographic locations. In addition, many of these technologies rely on the synthesis, integration and analysis of large, diverse datasets.
Learning Objectives: The participant will have the opportunity to learn how to conduct collaborative research and, under the guidance of a mentor, learn how to co-lead working groups consisting of different disciplines. Training will be provided on specific AI, machine learning, deep learning, numerical modeling and statistical software needed for these analyses.
Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Deborah Peters (deb.peters@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: Spring 2021. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.
Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of ARS and is contingent on the availability of funds.
Level of Participation: The appointment is full-time.
Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience.
Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens only.
ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and ARS. Participants do not become employees of USDA, ARS, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.
Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email USDA-ARS@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.