The Jefferson Project, an unprecedented endeavor to examine freshwater ecosystems with advanced "smart sensor technology" will be hiring a post-doc to develop food web models that incorpate high-frequency monitoring, modeling, and experimental data. This exciting research endeavor brings together Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), IBM, and the FUND for Lake George. The project is intended to serve as a blueprint for studying lakes around the world and to better understand how humans are affected lake ecosystems. The research is based on the RPI campus, at the field station on Lake George (located in upstate NY), and in IBM research labs around the world. .
The Jefferson Project was built upon 36 years of lake chemistry monitoring and is currently deploying real-time sensors for high-frequency monitoring of the physical, chemical, and biological conditions of Lake George (a lake that is 32 miles long and 200 ft. deep). These monitoring data are being integrated with data from experiments investigating the impacts of excess nutrients, invasive species, and other contaminants on freshwater food webs. We have already produced second and third-generation weather, hydrology, and lake circulation modes; these models are being validated using high-resolution data from the "Smart Sensor Network". Our goal is to link these physical models and integrate them with food web models, allowing us to better understand how humans have altered, and will continue to alter, lake ecosystems.
The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of food web modeling and an associated publication record. Programming expertise (e.g., C++, Python, Matlab) would also be quite valuable.
Rensselaer has a growing group of aquatic ecologists, first-rate facilities for aquatic research, and a beautiful field station on Lake George. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to collaborate with experimental ecologists, limnologists, modelers, computer scientists, and engineers from both RPI and IBM. The post-doc will also have access to state-of-the-art supercomputers, including the powerful IBM Blue Gene/Q.
For additional information:
http://relyealab.wix.com/relyea-lab
http://faculty.rpi.edu/node/35931
http://faculty.rpi.edu/node/35932
http://eichll.wix.com/lawrence-eichler
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/DFWI/
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/47219.wss
Applicants should send a cover letter, CV, research statement, and a list of 3 references to Dr. Rick Relyea (relyer@rpi.edu) in PDF format.
Applications will be reviewed as they arrive. The desired state date is late summer or early fall.
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Dr. Rick Relyea
Director, Darrin Fresh Water Institute
Director, The Jefferson Project
David M. Darrin, Senior Endowed Chair
Dept. of Biological Sciences, BT2115
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY 12180