Join us!
Two postdoctoral fellow positions are opening for applications. Review will start on August 1st 2021, but will continue until positions are filled.
The successful candidates will work with a team of scientists led by Dr. Min Chen on any one of the below two NASA-funded projects, and will have opportunities to closely collaborate with scientists in other top institutions:
a project focusing on integrated understanding of the ecosystem changes in the Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE; https://above.nasa.gov/) domain and their socioeconomic impacts. The project develops and uses an integrated human-Earth system modeling framework (the Global Change Assessment Model) and data assimilation to quantify how the NASA data (both remote sensing and in-situ data) would help reduce the uncertainties of estimated Arctic land-atmosphere carbon and energy exchanges, and how such improvements would further inform climate change mitigation strategies.
a project funded by NASA remote sensing theory program that aims to better understand and use the remotely sensed solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) by developing and using a leaf-to-canopy radiative transfer model.
Starting date: Flexible per discussion.
Qualifications: Applicants should hold a PhD by the time of appointment in the field of broad discipline of Earth system science. Expertise in land surface/terrestrial ecosystem modeling, integrated assessment modeling and analysis, quantitative remote sensing, radiative transfer modeling, model-data fusion, numerical/statistical analysis are highly preferred. Strong programming skills is desired. Proficiency in spoken/written English is mandatory. The appointment will be renewed annually, contingent upon the performance. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience in relevant research.
How to apply: Qualified candidates should send a cover letter, a most recent CV and contact information of three references via email to min.chen@wisc.edu. Qualified applicants will be reviewed upon receiving the application while the search may continue until the position is filled. We greatly appreciate all the applications, but we will only give feedback to those candidates that we plan to interview. Please contact Dr. Min Chen for any questions.
We are looking for self-motivated undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral researchers to join our lab and work together to promote our understandings of the complex Earth system dynamics. Feel free to contact Prof. Min Chen for opportunities.
Undergraduate students
There are always opportunities to motivated undergraduate students who have strong interest in the Earth system science. Perspective students are expected to have strong computer programming skills, math and physics background. Funding support may be available depending on project needs.
Graduate students
Our group is particularly interested in questions regarding to the interactions between climate change, terrestrial ecosystems and human society. We develop and use Earth system models (both process-based and empirical), various remote sensing and field data, integrated assessment models and model-data fusion as the major research tools to answer our research questions.
We are looking for talented and motivated students who are expected to work on one or more of the following general topics:
Modeling the land-atmosphere exchanges of carbon, water and energy across different spatial and temporal scales.
Vegetation radiative transfer modeling and its applications in understanding ecosystem processes in combination with Earth system models and remote sensing.
Using remote sensing data for understanding how ecosystem carbon/water/energy cycle respond to environmental changes.
Linking natural Earth system model with integrated assessment model (e.g., GCAM) to understand human-Earth system interactions that infers policy making.
All applicants should meet the minimum requirements by the graduate admission (https://grad.wisc.edu/apply/). International students should also meet the minimum requirement of TOEFL or IELTS.
Prospective students are encouraged to contact Prof. Min Chen (mchen392@wisc.edu) to discuss potential research projects and opportunities before their applications. Please include your transcripts, CV, names and contact information of up-to-three references and a personal statement that describes your research interest, experiences and skills relevant to our lab’s research directions. We greatly appreciate all the applications, but we will only give feedbacks to the candidates that we plan to interview.
Postdoctoral scientists
We usually look for postdoctoral scientists to join us to work on scientific and technical problems in the field of Earth system science, especially related to land-atmosphere interactions. We are particularly interested in those who have strong background in land surface modeling, data assimilation (including machine learning), vegetation radiative transfer modeling or remote sensing applications.
Interested ones are also encouraged to contact Dr. Min Chen for collaboration on potential fellowship applications (e.g., NSF and NOAA postdoctoral fellowship) or proposal ideas.