[ES_JOBS_NET] NASA SERVIR Fellow - Agricultural resilience mapping

[Robert Griffin]

Position Description:  SERVIR Fellow: Resilience Mapping

Summary:  SERVIR, a joint effort of NASA and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),
enables the use of Earth observations and geospatial technologies for improved societal decisionmaking
in five focus regions in Africa, Asia, and South America. The SERVIR Science
Coordination Office (SCO) at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center is seeking to hire a Fellow to
support research, data analysis, and science coordination related to SERVIR’s resilience mapping
service development. Crop yield estimation is one of the ways to assess the impact of
interventions on the ground and can bolster monitoring & evaluation efforts. The fellow is expected
to help SERVIR in crop model setup, cal-val activities, perform research and assist in the
development of data dissemination tools. At the end of the fellowship, the SERVIR fellow will
present findings to the SERVIR team and submit a research paper. The fellow will receive regular
guidance, tasks, and feedback from a mentor at the SERVIR Science Coordination Office (SCO).
This is structured as a 1-year position with a possibility of another 1-year extension.

The SERVIR Science Coordination Office at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville,
Alabama is collaborating with the University of Alabama in Huntsville to provide SERVIR hubs
with direct science support, and science and technical coordination. SERVIR is active in Eastern
& Southern Africa, West Africa, Hindu Kush Himalaya, Lower Mekong, and Amazonia. SERVIR
hub institutions provide a key interface between the needs of SERVIR regions and the potential
use of Earth observations and geospatial technologies and also provide critical technical support
to regional and national governmental institutions.

With activities in more than 45 countries and counting, SERVIR has already developed over 70
custom tools, collaborated with over 500 institutions, and trained more than 8400 individuals,
improving the capacity to develop local solutions. Useful resources to find out more about
SERVIR's approach to service planning include the Service Planning Toolkit and SERVIR's
Strategic Plan for 2020-2025

Responsibilities
● Serve as a researcher for SERVIR’s new resilience mapping effort
● Use a regional crop modeling framework in the context of resilience mapping
● Integrate advanced earth observation datasets into crop modeling system, particularly to
enhance monitoring & evaluation activities
● Perform extensive model calibration and validation
● Participate in developing/enhancing a web-based, dynamic crop modeling tool for SERVIR
● Assist with documentation of the methodology, tools, and other scientific literature relevant to
the service
● Participate in scientific meetings, develop scientific papers, and engage with colleagues and
collaborators pursuing related research questions.
● Other duties as assigned based on needs and skills

Key Requirements and Education
● Master of Science degree (preferred) in Agriculture, Earth science, environmental science,
or similar field
● Advanced user of crop modeling system (preferably DSSAT), familiar with model setup and
calibration
● Experience in using Earth observations and in-situ measurements
● One or more years’ programming experience in Python in a Linux/Unix environment, and
Fortran knowledge will be an asset
● Knowledge of software packages for data processing and visualization. Familiarity with
developing web-based tools will be a plus.
● Excellent oral and written communication skills and proven ability to work in a team
environment.
● Ability to independently work through situational issues and use problem solving skills to
achieve desired project outcome
● Strong analytical and problem-solving background.




--
Robert E Griffin, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, College of Science
Associate Professor, Atmospheric & Earth Science
University of Alabama in Huntsville
256.961.7783 | robert.griffin at uah.edu