Postdoctoral Research Associate - Forest Ecosystems, Department of Biology (ECAS)

The Department of Biology in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences is seeking applications for a full-time, two-year Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Forest Ecosystems Lab of Dr. Loren Albert at West Virginia University Leaves to Ecosystems Lab.

The postdoctoral scholar will have the opportunity to participate in NSF-funded and NASA-funded projects focusing on tropical forest photosynthesis, ecological physiology, and remote sensing. Depending upon the candidate's background and interests, research areas include (1) understanding how tropical tree traits impact transpiration and water use; (2) investigating how leaf optics, including solar-induced fluorescence, interact with leaf physiology; (3) the development and use of quantitative analytical methods to query large remote sensing datasets (such as imaging spectroscopy and lidar data of trees and forests). Creative research ideas about scaling from leaves to ecosystems using field-based measurements, models, and remote sensing are encouraged. The ideal start time is Sept. 2022 and no later than early 2022.

In order to be successful in this position, the ideal candidate will:

• Identifying opportunities for potential collaborations between the postdoc, other lab members, and Co-investigators.
• The collection of data (e.g. forest physiological, ecological, and remote sensing data).
• Data processing, analysis and visualization using reproducible programming with R, Matlab, or Python.
• Publishing the results of postdoctoral research in scientific journals as lead author and contributing to scientific publications as a co-author.
• Presentation of results at scientific meetings.
• Mentoring and guiding graduate and undergraduate students.
• Assisting with laboratory and field equipment selection, organization, and maintenance.
• Demonstrating the highest level of professional and ethical conduct.
• Ph.D. (earned by the position start date) in Ecology, Plant Science, Earth Science, or a closely related field.
• Experience processing and analyzing datasets for forest-related research (experience with at least one of the following: lidar data imaging spectroscopy data, plant physiology data, and/or eddy covariance data).
• Technical writing experience
• Knowledge of forest ecology, plant physiology, and/or vegetation remote sensing demonstrated through peer-reviewed publications on these (or closely related) topics.
• Strong coding skills in R, MATLAB, Python, or similar language, demonstrated through data visualization and statistical analyses.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently.
• Demonstrated ability to work and as part of a team of researchers.
• Experience training, teaching, and/or supervising other individuals.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.