Postdoctoral Research Associate - Watershed Hydro-biogeochemistry

Requisition Id 12184 

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 seek several Postdoctoral Research Associates to support research in the Biogeochemical Dynamics Group in the Environmental Sciences Division (ESD), Biological and Environmental Systems Science Directorate (BESSD) at ORNL. We are interested in qualified candidates who can apply their creativity and skills in aquatic biogeochemistry and/or ecology to advance a predictive understanding of how and why watershed hydro-biogeochemical processes (esp. stream metabolism) operate under a range of hydrologic regimes and vary within and across stream networks that drain heterogeneous land covers. The candidates will work with world-leading biogeochemical experimental and field researchers and modelers to support the Watershed Dynamics and Evolution Science Focus Area (https://wade.ornl.gov/).

 

ESD is an interdisciplinary research and development organization with more than 60 years of achievement in local, regional, national, and international environmental research. Our vision is to expand scientific knowledge and develop innovative strategies and technologies that will strengthen the nation’s leadership in creating solutions to help sustain the Earth’s natural resources. Our scientists conduct research, develop technology, and perform analyses to understand and assess responses of environmental systems at the environment-human interface and the consequences of alternative energy and environmental strategies.

 

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

Each selected candidate will have responsibility for:

• Leading field and/or mesocosm investigations to resolve controls on stream metabolism and associated measures of stream function from patch to network scales in watersheds with heterogeneous land cover.
• Specific research areas include evaluating the resistance and resilience of stream metabolism to disturbance, metabolic responses to intermittency and fluctuating connectivity within the stream network, and (a)synchrony in emergent metabolic regimes along stream networks.
• This work will be caried out in close collaboration with related research to understand how network connectivity and solute export respond to variable saturation in non-perennial headwaters, and predictively model watershed hydro-biogeochemical function.
• The selected candidates will be expected to perform local and regional field work to collect environmental samples, conduct controlled mesocosm experiments, develop and maintain environmental sensors in field and mesocosm settings, and analyze geochemical properties of environmental samples in the laboratory.
• Additional responsibilities will include maintaining detailed scientific records, analyzing experimental data, presenting results within the research group and at national and international conferences, and preparing manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
• The nature of our scientific work is highly multidisciplinary, and candidates will work closely with a cohort of empiricists, modelers, and technical professionals from a variety of scientific backgrounds, including hydrology, geochemistry, microbiology, and related fields.
• 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 Geosciences, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Aquatic Ecology, or a related field completed within the last 5 years

 

Preferred Qualifications:

• A strong record of independent and productive research, as indicated by conference presentations and/or publications in peer-reviewed journals.
• Motivated self-starter with the ability to work independently and to participate creatively and collaboratively as part of a large multidisciplinary team.
• Demonstrated ability to design and execute experiments, perform data analyses, and interpret experimental results
• Experience conducting field and laboratory work