Position Summary:

Innovative and highly motivated candidates with strong track records of research productivity are invited to apply for a Postdoctoral Research Associate position with the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability (CSIS) in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University. The position will involve interdisciplinary research that integrates spatial, socioeconomic, and environmental sciences, with a focus on the operationalization of the telecoupling framework (socioeconomic and environmental interactions between coupled human-natural systems over distances, http:///www.telecoupling.org). The successful candidate will have opportunities to work and collaborate on one or more of the following tasks:



Develop spatially-explicit models and tools to describe and quantify socioeconomic and environmental interactions between coupled human-natural systems, compile and collect socioeconomic and environmental data at local, regional, national, and international scales to quantify various factors affecting feedbacks between global food security and land use, analyze and synthesize multi-scale data to understand relationships among various factors to facilitate modeling of feedbacks between food security and land use, modify or integrate existing global trade modeling approaches (e.g. GTAP, PEATSim) into the telecoupling framework using data and analyses listed above to allow simulation of long-term consequences for land use and food security under various scenarios (e.g., various decisions and policy options regarding land use and food security, changes in population size, climate, urbanization, biofuel demand etc.).



This is an exciting opportunity to join a dynamic interdisciplinary group with collaborators in Brazil, China, UK, US, and other countries. Selected candidates will have a unique opportunity to develop and expand collaborations within the Center and across international research groups. Preferred applicants will already have an interdisciplinary background with experience integrating GIS with analytical approaches from the economic, social, geographic, ecological, or/and agricultural sciences; have some basic experience in spatial analysis/modeling and good programming skills (e.g. Python, R, or C++); and have excellent communication skills.



This position is initially for one year, renewable depending on performance and funding. A competitive salary and benefit package will be offered commensurate with experience.
Faculty: Minimum Qualifications Support Staff: Minimum Requirements

Doctorate degree in related field. Preferred applicants will already have an interdisciplinary background with experience integrating GIS with analytical approaches from the economic, social, geographic, ecological, or/and agricultural sciences; have some basic experience in spatial analysis/modeling and good programming skills (e.g. Python, R, or C++); and have excellent communication skills.
Desired Qualifications:

Doctorate degree in computer science and engineering, conservation, ecology, economics, geography, environmental science, international trade, land science, spatial science, systems modeling and integration.