*Earth Lab Post-Doctoral Research Scholars at the University of
Colorado-Boulder*
The Earth Lab initiative, part of the University of Colorado Boulder’s
“Grand Challenge: Our Space, Our Future,” seeks post-doctoral
researchers to join a dynamic team pushing the frontiers of coupled
earth and social system science
(http://www.colorado.edu/earthlab/).Earth Lab’s mission is to harness
the wave of Earth data generated by aerospace platforms and other
sources to better understand the pace and pattern of environmental change.
Earth Lab seeks four Post-Doctoral Research Scholars to lead a research
agenda in the following areas:
1.The Natural Science of Coupled Extremes,
2.The Social and Economic Impacts of Extremes,
3.Human Health and Environmental Change, and
4.Settlements and Environmental Change.
These target research areas represent Earth Lab’s efforts to explore
society’s vulnerability and resilience to global environmental change.
*4. Settlements and Environmental Change, position #09412*
This project seeks to leverage access to massive data on environmental
change and property location and other attributes to advance our
understanding of interrelationships between natural hazards risks and
our built environment. Central questions are how changing settlement
patterns relate to exposure to natural hazards but also how extreme
events and other types of environmental change impact housing stock and
potential value change. The study of such bidirectional dynamics helps
to advance our understanding of social vulnerability such as housing
market response to extreme events and climate change indicators.
Settlement distributions and real estate markets are characterized by a
spatio-temporal development in response to external factors, and we are
particularly interested in how environmental events change settlement
pressures and patterns through time. Moreover, important questions of
social and environmental justice arise due to external pressure,
development, and environmental risks.
Natural hazards risk analysis and exposure assessment are important
components of this project. The successful candidate will explore one or
more of the following natural hazards and the vulnerabilities in
existing settlements: 1) Sea level rise, its impact on structures
potentially affected along coast lines and how settlement and occupation
has evolved over time. 2) Changing wildfire patterns: Explore the
interrelationships between settlement distribution and fire frequency
and occurrence over time using wilderness-urban-interface (WUI)
concepts; 3) Increased Droughts: Investigate the response of urban
development to persistent droughts.
_Specific Qualifications for Settlements and Environmental Change
Position: _
·Ph.D. in geospatial science, geoinformatics, computer science,
economics, natural hazards, or other related field
·Strong quantitative and programming skills and knowledge in data
science, statistics, demography and coupled human-natural systems
·Eagerness to develop models of improved understanding of
interrelationships between urban processes and environmental settings in
the context of hazards, risk assessment and extreme events
·Interest in spatio-temporal analysis and in interdisciplinary research,
housing markets and demographic analysis
_Contact for this theme: _Stefan Leyk, Department of Geography,
stefan.l...@colorado.edu <mailto:stefan.l...@colorado.edu>
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_Overall Qualifications for Earth Lab Postdocs:_
* Doctoral degree in natural or social sciences related to the Earth
Lab research themes.
* Strong quantitative background.
* Experience in, or willingness to learn, appropriate programming and
data analytic tools. Ideally the candidates will have experience in
programming languages (e.g., R, Python, or others), can work in
different environments (e.g., Linux), and are well versed in
geospatial analysis software (e.g., QGIS).
* Experience in integrating and analyzing large, and/or heterogeneous
datasets.
* Experience in working with a high performance computing or cloud
computing environment is a plus.
* Demonstrated publication and grant-writing skills.
* Team spirit and interest in interdisciplinary research settings.
For more information on this and other positions and for more
information about Earth Lab, visit the Earth Lab website
(http://www.colorado.edu/earthlab/).
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To Apply:**
Please visit the CU Careers website
(https://cu.taleo.net/careersection/2/moresearch.ftl?lang=en) to apply
for this position (search for position #: 09412).Applications that are
received by *June 9th* will be given full consideration, but the
positions will remain open until filled.
For general information on applying, please contact Chelsea Nagy
(rachel.n...@colorado.edu <mailto:rachel.n...@colorado.edu>).
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