We are seeking a postdoctoral research scientist to work on incorporating the impacts of biotic stressors on crop plants into process based cropping system models. The position is to focus on wheat production systems using a widely used cropping systems model (CropSyst). Targeted biotic factors can include but are not limited to cereal leaf beetle, aphids, cereal yellow virus and wireworms. Ongoing and additional experimental work within a large coordinated project can be used for parameterization. The postdoc would work as part of this team to coordinate these efforts, and help the software team with the development of dynamic insect and disease models to be coupled to CropSyst. These models will be used to evaluate the impact of biotic stressors on crop growth and yield under climate change scenarios. Published literature and data from ongoing experiments in the team will be used to delineate these effects in the model system, wheat based cropping systems prevalent in the inland Pacific Northwest USA.
The position will contribute to a large, coordinated, interdisciplinary project focused on climate change and cereal production systems in the Pacific Northwest, USA (www.reacchpna.org). The project is collaborative among three universities (Oregon State University, the University of Idaho and Washington State University) and the USDA Agricultural Research Service. Qualifications Required: PhD in plant-insect or plant-disease interactions or biological systems engineering Desired: • Demonstrated ability to understand plant-insect and plant-disease systems using quantitative approaches • Demonstrated capacity to work with simulation models • Demonstrated capacity to work in a collaborative environment • Excellent analytical skills Appointment Duration: Two years, renewable up to 3 years depending on availability of funding Start Date: As soon as a qualified candidate is identified Contact: Sanford Eigenbrode, sanfo...@uidaho.edu, David Crowder dcrow...@wsu.edu, or Claudio Stöckle stoc...@wsu.edu
