Assistant Professor in Climate Science

About The Job

FLSA Status:
Exempt, 100%

Term: 9 month (academic year) 50% teaching, 50% research

Type:
Tenure - track

Reports to:

Department Head

College/Admin Unit:
College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences

Campus

Location:

St. Paul Campus

The Department of Soil, Water, and Climate (SWAC), College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) at the University of Minnesota, seeks candidates for a 9-month tenure-track assistant professor position in Climate Science with 50% research and 50% teaching responsibilities. The goal of this position is to advance understanding of the chemical and/or physical processes that influence Earth’s climate system, with a focus on land-atmosphere interactions, climate prediction, or atmospheric composition and dynamics.

The composition of the atmosphere affects Earth’s climate by altering its radiation balance through processes that include attenuation of longwave radiation, scattering of shortwave radiation, aerosol-cloud interactions, and biogeochemical cycling. Human activities such as agriculture and land use changes, natural resource management, and urban and industrial processes can significantly alter biogeochemical cycling and the hydrological cycle, profoundly impacting atmospheric composition, water, and energy budgets.

Further, these changes directly impact human health and impact the infrastructure, sustainability, and preparedness needs of communities. These coupled changes have regional to global effects that may persist for decades to millennia. Understanding and modeling these processes across multiple spatial and temporal scales is essential for prediction, informed land management, and policy development related to global change. We seek a candidate whose research and teaching portfolio spans some of these key topics and spatiotemporal scales.

• The selected candidate will be expected to develop a nationally and internationally recognized research program, seek and secure extramural research funding with a focus on basic and applied research.
• Teaching responsibilities for this position include undergraduate and graduate level courses offered by the department and/or related to the successful candidate’s discipline and background.
• The department supports the Land and Atmospheric Sciences (LAAS) graduate program, the Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM) undergraduate program, and minors in Climate Science, Water Science, Soil Science, and International Agriculture, and Precision Agriculture.
• The selected candidate is expected to possess the vision, energy, and enthusiasm to build collaborations across disciplines and closely interact with other departments within CFANS and across the University, including related centers and programs such as the UMN Climate Adaptation Partnership (MCAP).
• The University of Minnesota offers opportunities to work with engineers and computer scientists, agricultural scientists, environmental and climate scientists, public policy experts, public health experts, state climatologists, USDA-ARS researchers, UMN Extension, and a network of Research and Outreach Centers across the state.

• Ph.D. in climate science, atmospheric science, environmental science, or a related field.
• Demonstrated commitment to the University's goal of creating an inclusive campus climate.
• A track record of impactful climate science research
• Demonstrated proficiency of atmospheric processes and land-atmosphere interactions.
• Demonstrated record of peer-reviewed publication within the discipline.

• Strong technical skills in one or more of the following: climate modeling, Earth system modeling, land-atmosphere modeling, remote sensing, combined atmospheric modeling/measurement approaches, and advanced data analysis methods.
• Post-doctoral or post-degree research experience
• Experience working on interdisciplinary and/or applied research projects
• Interest in community-engaged research and education
• Teaching, teaching assistant, or teaching training experience
• Demonstrated success in applying…