Postdoctoral Research Associate - Lowell, United States - UMass Lowell

Description

General Summary of Position:

A full-time Postdoctoral Research Associate position is available through the UMass Lowell Climate Change Initiative. The Postdoctoral Associate will work with a cross-disciplinary team of researchers from UMass Lowell's Environmental Science and Security Studies programs, as well as MIT's Sustainability Initiative and Climate Interactive. Our team uses interactive simulations to bring the best available climate and energy science to decision-makers at all levels - from youth to policymakers in local to national government and leaders in business and finance. Our approach is grounded in systems thinking and system dynamics. Through the Climate Pathways Project, we are researching the impact of our interactive simulations on decision-makers' understanding of climate change and effective policies to address it, their motivation and sense of agency to act, and how they communicate about climate change with others. This research includes analysis of public sphere communication, social networks, and corpus linguistics. The Postdoctoral Research Associate's primary role will be to work on this impact research as part of our project team. They will also develop and write research proposals, assist in project coordination as needed, lead and/or contribute to peer-reviewed publications about the research, and communicate research results with academic peers and the broader public through news posts and online presentations. This is a one-year position, with extension contingent on funding availability.

Minimum Qualifications/Required:

Education:

• An earned PhD in the social sciences or a field such as system dynamics, sustainability, computer science/data analytics with applications in social science
• Knowledge of corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis
• Knowledge of public sphere communication analysis
• Passionate about climate change and sustainability

Skills:

• Ability to work as a team player
• Ability to conduct independent research
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Ability to 'translate' technical research findings for communication with lay audiences
• Skill in obtaining, analyzing, and evaluating large data sets
• Skill in programming and applying machine learning data analysis techniques

Additional considerations:

• Skill in obtaining, analyzing, and evaluating large data sets
• Skill in programming and applying machine learning data analysis techniques
• Skills in systems thinking and system dynamics
• Familiarity with simulation-based approaches to learning
• Familiarity with the En-ROADS climate policy simulator

Special Instructions to Applicants:

Only current UML Employees within the Grants & Contracts (MTA/GRACE) bargaining unit will be considered during the first 10 business days of the posting. All other candidates will be considered after that period.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled; however, the posting may close when an adequate number of qualified applications is received.

This position is contingent upon funding. The initial appointment will be for approximately one-year with a possibility of renewal based on productivity, successful performance and the availability of funding.

Please include a resume and cover letter with your application. Names and contact information of three references will be required during the application process.