[ES_JOBS_NET] Postdoc position in soil greenhouse gas fluxes and priming effects at Oak Ridge National Lab

[Ben Sulman]

Overview:

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory,
ORNL has an extraordinary 80-year history of solving the nation’s biggest
problems. We have a dedicated and creative staff of over 6,000 people! Our
vision for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) is to
cultivate an environment and practices that foster diversity in ideas and
in the people across the organization, as well as to ensure ORNL is
recognized as a workplace of choice. These elements are critical for
enabling the execution of ORNL’s broader mission to accelerate scientific
discoveries and their translation into energy, environment, and security
solutions for the nation.



We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate who will support a
Director’s Research & Development project entitled, “SoilCosm phenotyping
to counteract priming for sequestration.” The associate will be part of the
Molecular and Cellular Imaging Group in the Biosciences Division,
Biological and Environmental System Sciences Directorate (BESSD) at Oak
Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).



The SoilCosm project will develop an incubator-based system for live
monitoring of gas fluxes in small soil microcosms and to apply the system
to better understand soil carbon sequestration. Soil is a complex system
with numerous interacting components, including root exudates, soil
texture, microbial communities, and climatic variables. Reducing
atmospheric carbon through soil carbon sequestration is a potential tool to
mitigate risks of climate change, however research has shown a potential
risk to the strategy due to rhizosphere priming. In priming, fresh carbon
inputs can increase microbial activity and lead to the oxidation and
release of previously stored carbon as carbon dioxide, thus having the
opposite of the intended effect. We wish to better understand the
combinations of conditions that lead to positive versus negative priming.
To do this, we will develop the SoilCosm Soil Phenotyping platform
combining LI-COR gas flux instruments for monitoring carbon dioxide,
nitrous oxide, and methane and complement with physical sampling for
measures of soil carbon, nutrients, and microbiome metagenomics. The
project also includes use of a modeling framework to compare the
performance of various models and to use the models to guide experiments.
The Postdoctoral Research Associate would be responsible for assembling the
SoilCosm system and using it to conduct experiments with live soils to
determine what drives priming. Therefore, experience with soil
measurements, especially gas flux, is highly desirable. Experience with
modeling would also be desirable.



Work will be conducted within a highly interdisciplinary environment to
construct and use a multi-chamber soil flux monitoring system and use
simulation modeling to better understand soil priming.



Major Duties/Responsibilities:

   - Conduct collaborative scientific research using soil gas flux
   instrumentation and modeling.
   - Lead and contribute to the preparation of scientific manuscripts.
   - Present research findings at national and international scientific
   meetings.
   - Work independently to support interdisciplinary research efforts
   within the SoilCosm project.
   - Deliver ORNL’s mission by aligning behaviors, priorities, and
   interactions with our core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety,
   and Service. Promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility by
   fostering a respectful workplace – in how we treat one another, work
   together, and measure success.



Basic Qualifications:

   - A PhD in Soil Science, Plant Science, Ecology, Agronomy, or a related
   field completed within the last 5 years



Preferred Qualifications:

   - Demonstrated expertise in one or more of the following areas is
   desirable: soil flux, soil carbon, microbial ecology, and modeling.
   Priority will be given to candidates that have demonstrated the application
   of their experience and these techniques to the characterization of soil
   carbon dynamics
   - Excellent written and oral communication skills
   - Motivated self-starter with the ability to work independently and to
   participate creatively in collaborative teams across the laboratory
   - Ability to function well in a fast-paced research environment, set
   priorities to accomplish multiple tasks within deadlines, and adapt to ever
   changing needs



Applicants cannot have received their Ph.D. more than five years prior to
the date of application and must complete all degree requirements before
starting their appointment. The appointment length will be for up to 24
months with the potential for extension. Initial appointments and
extensions are subject to performance and the availability of funding.


Details and application are posted on the ORNL jobs web site:
https://jobs.ornl.gov/job/Oak-Ridge-Postdoctoral-Research-Associate-SoilCosm-Gas-Flux-and-Soil-Priming-TN-37830/1073851000/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://mailman.ucar.edu/pipermail/es_jobs_net/attachments/20230912/fd7cae4b/attachment.htm>