Post Doctoral Fellow - Gough Lab

Position Responsibilities:

Postdoctoral scholar: The ecological underpinnings of next-generation vegetation remote sensing

The Gough lab at Virginia Commonwealth University seeks a postdoctoral scholar to support a NASA-funded project titled, “Globally-Derived Measures of Structure Informed by Ecological Theory and Observation”. The project is part of NASA’s Decadal Survey, which engages researchers in the task of identifying and prioritizing leading-edge scientific questions and the observations relevant to the earth science community, including ecologists. Working with a team of remote sensing collaborators from the National Ecological Observatory Network and Rochester Institute of Technology, the project will help shape the next generation of ecologically-oriented satellite-derived vegetation products, asking: what ecologically meaningful vegetation structural measurements are needed, what instruments are required to make those measurements, and what processing algorithms will generate useful data products? The work will take place at field sites, including the Harvard Forest and University of Michigan Biological Station, and on VCU’s campus. The Gough lab is a collaborative, team-oriented group, with projects focused on forest and wetland carbon cycling, vegetation structure-function interactions, and disturbance ecology. A postdoctoral scholar will provide critical mentorship to undergraduate and graduate student collaborators, support project activities, and communicate project results through peer-reviewed publications and scientific meetings. Questions and inquiries are welcome: Chris Gough, cmgough@vcu.edu.

Required Qualifications:

A Ph.D. in ecology, forestry, environmental sciences or a related field. Familiarity with lidar remote sensing applications in ecology. Experience communicating science through peer-reviewed publications and presentations. Data analysis skills in R. Interest in working with an interdisciplinary team.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience mentoring and/or leading student researchers. Prior experience operating and analyzing data from terrestrial lidar systems. Research experience in the area of structural and/or biological diversity, and structure-function interactions. A demonstrated commitment to open science and interdisciplinary team-oriented research.

Typical Physical and Cognitive Requirements:


Job Specific Physical and Cognitive Requirements: