[ES_JOBS_NET] University of Michigan Institute for Global Change Biology: Call for Postdoctoral Fellows

Thu Oct 10 08:03:04 MDT 2024

Call for Postdoctoral Fellows
* Application deadline is 15 November 2024 *

The Institute of Global Change Biology
<https://umich.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7439514fc7ae0951e448822a5&id=b425404058&e=a871eb11c3>
(IGCB) at the University of Michigan is seeking another round of
exceptional applicants for the IGCB Michigan Postdoctoral Fellows Program.
Successful applicants will have the opportunity and support to advance
research in any aspect of global change biology.  They will also be able to
participate in programs that include career mentoring, professional
development, and academic networking opportunities. Applicants with
interest across all areas of global change biology are invited to apply. We
encourage applicants to contact at least two potential postdoc mentors at
Michigan– we highly encourage co-mentoring. Preference will be given to
applicants who bridge disciplines; co-mentoring across schools/departments
is strongly encouraged. Co-funding (e.g. through grants to potential
co-mentors or postdoc fellowships to candidates) is also encouraged but not
expected. Potential mentors and their areas of interest are available
through our list of possible faculty mentors
<https://umich.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7439514fc7ae0951e448822a5&id=304401f3fb&e=a871eb11c3>
(see
both the Steering Committee and Affiliated Faculty sections), although
University of Michigan faculty mentors who are not yet affiliated with the
IGCB will also be considered.

The application deadline is November 15 2024. Research in global change
biology happens in many departments and units on campus, so Fellows could
be jointly based in one of a number of departments and the IGCB. Successful
applicants would be able to start their appointment as soon as feasible
after a decision has been reached, but preferably not later than June 30,
2025 (although we can be flexible as needed). Most postdocs are expected to
be for two years, although University protocols require a one-year initial
appointment and subsequent evaluation. Postdocs of more than two years may
be feasible when co-funding is available.

Applications must include: (1) A cover letter (1 page); (2) a CV; (3) a
research statement including plans for proposed research and anticipated
mentors at the University of Michigan (3 pages maximum),  including a short
paragraph describing how the applicant’s research would fit in with and
contribute to the IGCB Research Themes
<https://umich.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7439514fc7ae0951e448822a5&id=b2f42cadb8&e=a871eb11c3>,
(4) brief statement describing interest in, experience with, and commitment
to diversity, equity, and inclusivity (1 page); (5) names and contact
information for three references; please ask all three to upload their
letters here
<https://umich.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7439514fc7ae0951e448822a5&id=6e33dda2f3&e=a871eb11c3>.
Combine all parts of the application into a single PDF and upload the file
in the application form here
<https://umich.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7439514fc7ae0951e448822a5&id=4411c541e8&e=a871eb11c3>.
Contact the IGCB Program Manager (Dr Sarah Raubenheimer; sraubs at umich.edu)
with any questions.
We invite applications from all fields of global change biology. * In
addition to proposing a new project in collaboration with a faculty
advisor, applicants also have the option to work on existing projects that
already have partial funding from other grants. These pre-determined
projects are available for IGCB-funded postdocs to join. Applicants can
collaborate with the relevant faculty to incorporate these projects into
their IGCB proposal. For more information, see the project descriptions at
the end of this call. *
* Existing projects for possible partnership:

*1. From trees to stands: Assessing forest ecosystems integrated
multifunctionality at scales relevant to decision making*
Faculty lead PI: *Inés Ibáñez* - SEAS
Co-PI: *Aimee Classen* - UMBS

The main objective of this project is to develop integrated models of
forest multifunctionality at the stand-level that incorporate processes,
products, drivers and, most importantly, codependencies across the
atmospheric, vegetation, and soil components of a forest with the goal of
identifying connections, feedbacks, and thresholds that advance integrated
science and that inform sustainable management and conservation. The
integrated analysis we propose will increase accuracy and precision of
estimates of forest function by accounting for the interdependencies of
water usage, biomass production, and decomposition, i.e., the integrated
multifunctionality of systems. Contact Profs Ibáñez (iibanez at umich.edu) and
Classen (aclassen at umich.edu ) if you are interested in writing your IGCB
application to work on this project.

*2. Combining ecological first principles and AI to better upscale and
predict global carbon, nutrient and water cycles on a changing planet*
Faculty lead PI:  *Peter Reich* – IGCB/SEAS
Co-PI: *M Ombadi* – CLASP, *Inés Ibáñez* – SEAS
Partner – *A Banerjee* (U. Illinois, Computer Sciences)

The proposed work will upscale CO2 and water vapor flux data, global
observational ecological data, and global change experiment data to the
globe to advance understanding of the interacting effects of multiple
drivers and better quantify global patterns of carbon and water
biosphere-atmosphere exchange. Those outputs will also serve as
benchmarking for predictive process-based land surface modeling that
incorporates improvements in ecosystem physiology, global change responses,
plant- soil feedbacks, and global vegetation trait parameterization.
Contact P Reich (preich at umich.edu) if you are interested in writing your
IGCB application to work on this project.

*3. Quantitative Coupled Human-Ecological Dynamics under Climate Change *
Faculty lead PI:  *Peter Reich* – IGCB/SEAS
Co-PI: *A Agrawal*– SEAS
Partner – *K Grace* (U. Minnesota, Geography)

We seek to understand coupled and complex system dynamics across scales to
examine (i) consequences of climate change mitigation and/or adaptation
strategies from holistic and coupled human and ecological dimensions or
(ii) the dynamics and mechanisms of social change in the face of climate
change. The specific systems, geographic domains, and questions are
open-ended, however we expect the postdoc to engage with the IPUMS center
at the U. Minnesota, a world-leading census and survey data center. The
human dimensions under study could include critical human outcomes such as
household economic well-being, health, or social justice and equity, and
the ecological dimensions could include ecosystem sustainability, health,
function, or services. We will use multidimensional data sets to explore
human/environment interactions in a context of climate change; the
researcher will use spatial quantitative tools to link these data over time
and space to land use, climate, political change and more. Contact P Reich (
preich at umich.edu) if you are interested in writing your IGCB application to
work on this project.

4. *Quantifying Effects of Diverse Wetland Features on Climate Change in
North America*
Faculty lead PI: *Jessica Fayne* - EES
Co-PI: *Jenan Kharbush* - EES
Co-PI: *Alexandra Szcuka* - CEE

Understanding how GHG in wetlands varies over diverse land use classes and
climate zones is critical for identifying how potential manipulation or
restoration of wetland components aiming to reduce climate change impacts
may affect other competing ecosystem services provided by wetlands. While
the scales of previous studies cannot provide the ability to make
recommendations for the management, maintenance, or monitoring of wetlands
to support CS, these studies provide useful frameworks for how we can study
GHG fluxes at a high spatial resolution (100m), for a broad, continental
scale. The main objective of this project is to use remote sensing to
develop and improve scaling relationships between wetland characteristics
and greenhouse gas fluxes, at sub-kilometer scales in North America. The
goal of this work is to increase the accuracy and precision of GHG
estimates, which will enable actionable interventions to be developed to
improve carbon storage with supporting wetlands. The candidate should have
strong remote sensing and/or modeling skills, which would enable them to
assess the impacts of land cover variability. The researcher will help
design and lead the research component of a pilot scale project to assess
the impacts of vegetation type and vegetation health in wetlands on carbon
flux estimates. The start date for this position is expected to be between
January-March 2025. Contact Profs Fayne (JFayne at umich.edu) and Kharbush (
JenanJK at umich.edu) if you are interested in writing your IGCB application
to work on this project.
Application Form
<https://umich.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7439514fc7ae0951e448822a5&id=0c80b6c2a9&e=a871eb11c3>
Reference Letter Upload
<https://umich.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7439514fc7ae0951e448822a5&id=af44d64d38&e=a871eb11c3>
--
Sarah Raubenheimer
Research Specialist and IGCB Program Manager
[image: The Institute for Global Change Biology Logo]
<https://seas.umich.edu/>
Sarah Raubenheimer  PhD
Pronouns: she/her

440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, 48109-1041; (734) 596 8377

seas.umich.edu/globalchangebiology

sites.google.com/umich.edu/sarahraubenheimer
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