Climate and Health Postdoctoral Researcher (Postdoctoral Scientist I)

Started by scientific visionaries in 1960, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) was designed as a place where researchers could come to interact and to share  expertise, ideas and knowledge with their university colleagues -- a place where scientists could work together to solve the problems that threaten life on our planet (problems related to climate change, global warming, and the ozone layer, to name a few).

At the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, our employees go home at night feeling the satisfaction that comes from knowing that the work they do supports an important scientific mission.

Position Overview:

Determines and carries out methodologies to assess and analyze how predicted changes in climate variables (e.g., precipitation, sea level) may influence resilience of water sources and sanitation facilities. This work is part of a larger collaborative effort with the World Health Organization to determine the impact of climate on the global burden of diarrheal disease. Multiple climate change scenarios will be employed to globally determine changes in climate that may impact resilience of water sources and sanitation facilities.

The output from these analyses will then be used by World Health Organization models for resilience and global burden of disease to calculate changes in access to safe, clean drinking water and sanitation and to determine the consequences for the global burden of diarrheal disease. Vulnerable areas will be identified at regional levels. Subsequent regionally-focused studies may be carried out.

The general expectation is to continue postdoctoral work and receive mentoring from career scientists.

Responsibilities:

Conducts collaborative research to determine climate impacts on resilience of water sources and sanitation facilities as described above. Determines methodologies to best assess and analyze how predicted changes in climate variables may influence resilience of water sources and sanitation facilities and in turn impact public health globally. Explores methods for quantifying impacts on a regional scale.

Downloads, manages and analyzes large volumes of data from climate model runs, including those produced for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 5th Assessment Report (IPCC AR5).

Prepares and presents research results for conferences. Publishes results in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. Contributes to proposals soliciting future funds for the project.

Participates in other climate related projects at host/partner institutions and in Oceans and Human Health Science and Trainee activities.

Qualifications:

Education and Experience:

• Ph.D. degree in climate change research in the field of engineering, physics, ocean or atmospheric sciences or other related field.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Expertise in advanced quantitative methods for analyzing output from climate and/or hydrologic models.
• Computer programming skills, to cover statistical analysis and visualization of climate data (e.g. MATLAB, SPSS/Stata/R, FORTRAN, C, C++, Python).
• Extensive experience managing and manipulating large volumes of data.
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of IPCC models and climate scenarios.
• Experience projecting climate impacts on hydrology, water quality or other parameters relevant for policy and management.
• Excellent oral, written and presentation skills.
• Experience writing grant proposals as well as peer-reviewed journal articles.
• Ability to work independently and conduct research with minimal supervision.
• Ability to handle confidential/sensitive information in a manner consistent with UCAR policy, acting with integrity and exhibiting behavior that merits public trust and confidence. (Note: The employee remains bound, even after their employment ends, not to disclose or disseminate any confidential information received or accessed while employed by UCAR. This obligation applies to both confidential information belonging to UCAR as well as confidential information received during employment at UCAR pertaining to any third party.)
• Ability to sit at a computer terminal for extended periods of time.
• Ability and willingness to travel to domestic and foreign locations.

To Apply:

The following documentation should be included with the online application:

• CV.
• Names and contact information for 3 references.
• 1 page description of relevant experience and how the candidate might approach this project.
• Letter of support from an Oceans and Human Health (OHH) Center of Excellence demonstrating that the applicant has a current or future guarantee of a working connection at one or more of the OHH Centers of Excellence:
• The Center of Excellence for Oceans and Human Health at the Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina;
• the West Coast Center of Excellence for Oceans and Human Health in Seattle, Washington; and
• the Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health in Ann Arbor, Michigan.