Assistant Professor in Climate Science

College Overview

The College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) is composed of 27 programs: 14 undergraduate and 13 graduate programs in disciplines involving food, agricultural, and natural resource sciences. CFANS also has 10 research and outreach centers across Minnesota, plus the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, the Bell Museum, and dozens of interdisciplinary centers that span the college, the university, and the globe.

Undergraduate enrollment in the college is about 2000 students. CFANS students are well-prepared for a diverse, multicultural workforce through the college’s emphasis on experiential, interdisciplinary, and intercultural learning; internships and global perspectives.

At CFANS, we aim to inspire minds, nourish people, and enhance the natural environment, and we believe that's only possible if everyone feels seen, heard and respected. Our College embraces equity and diversity and prioritizes purpose-driven scientific discovery in order for us to build a better tomorrow, together. We align with the University of Minnesota in providing equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

The Department of Soil, Water, and Climate (swac.umn.edu) is an internationally renowned academic unit with the core mission of advancing the understanding of Earth system processes and the interaction among land, atmosphere, and water. Through research, teaching, and outreach we seek to:

• improve and protect the quality of soil, air, and water resources in natural and managed ecosystems;
• enhance agricultural and forest productivity and sustainability;
• predict and mitigate impacts of environmental and climate change on ecosystems and society;
• provide science-based knowledge for improved decision making and a better informed citizenry.

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,…