1437. Postdoctoral Positions in Sustainable Climate Risk Management

The Pennsylvania State University - Pennsylvania (EUA)

Two postdoctoral positions are available in the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at the Pennsylvania State University. Successful candidates will become part of an interdisciplinary research network on Sustainable Climate Risk Management (SCRiM) (http://scrimhub.org). Centered at Penn State and linking 18 universities and five research institutions in six nations, SCRiM addresses the question: What are sustainable, scientifically sound, technologically feasible, economically efficient, and ethically defensible climate-risk management strategies? SCRiM catalyzes fundamental, mission-oriented, and transdisciplinary research to characterize climate risks and trade-offs associated with risk management instruments such as mitigation, adaptation, and geoengineering. The network provides unique opportunities for research, education, outreach, decision support, and professional development. SCRiM postdocs enjoy ample opportunities for transdisciplinary research collaboration as well as professional mentoring by a team of experts in relevant disciplines. The two available positions are as follows:

1. Earth System Analysis to Inform Decisionmaking
The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary research team that analyzes two main questions: (i) How can paleoclimatic and instrumental records improve our mechanistic understanding of the climate system and inform climate predictions? (ii) How can this scientific information be used to improve the design of climate-risk management strategies? The ideal candidate would have a strong background in a field such as Earth system science (e.g., atmospheric science, geosciences, oceanography), Bayesian statistics, or applied mathematics. The candidate will have considerable freedom to collaboratively design the research within the scope of the broad questions outlined above. Possible example projects include uncertainty analysis of climate projections, decision analysis of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, and risk analysis of proposed geoengineering strategies.

2. Coupled Ethical-Epistemic Analyses for Sustainable Climate Risk Management
The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary research team that analyzes two central areas of concern: (i) the role of coupled ethical-epistemic issues in climate change science and (ii) how to improve decisionmaking under conditions of risk and uncertainty to ensure ethical adequacy. The ideal candidate would have a strong background in the ethical dimensions of scientific practice and an appreciation of the ethical issues raised by deep uncertainty. An understanding of climate change mitigation, adaptation, geoengineering strategies is desirable. Interests in decisionmaking under uncertainty, integrated assessment, and in collaborations involving Earth scientists, statisticians, decision analysts, economists, and philosophers would be further advantages for applicants to both positions.

The positions are available immediately and will remain open until filled. Initial appointment will be for a period of one year, with excellent possibility of renewal for one or more additional years. The salary will be competitive, commensurate with experience, and will comply with Penn State University guidelines. Successful completion of a background check is required prior to employment.

To apply to either position, please email a single PDF file (maximum 10 MB) containing a letter of interest, a CV, reprints of two manuscripts, and contact information for three references to Jaime Ross (jli1@psu.edu). For questions about the potential projects, please contact Klaus Keller (klaus@psu.edu) (position #1) or Nancy Tuana (ntuana@psu.edu) (position #2).