University of Michigan joint appointment: The School of Natural Resources & the Environment, and the Biological Station
We invite applications for a Research Scientist Faculty Position from those whose research focuses on environmental problems that impact the sustainability of freshwater ecosystems. The University of Michigan (U-M) is in the midst of a major hiring initiative to augment expertise in the environmental sustainability of food, energy, and freshwater systems. The goal of this particular hire is to enhance collaborations between the U-M Biological Station (UMBS) and partnering campus units such as the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA), the School of Natural Resources and the Environment (SNRE), the College of Engineering, and U-M's new $9 million Great Lakes Water Research Center.
The successful candidate will have a joint appointment in SNRE and UMBS, and will be expected to utilize UMBS research facilities, data resources, and the diverse aquatic and terrestrial environments of the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin to advance interdisciplinary field research on topics related to sustaining ecosystem services in this water-rich, globally critical region. This 12-month research-track position (non-tenure track) will include salary support for three years, during which the successful candidate is expected to develop a research portfolio to support their salary and research activities. The successful candidate will develop a widely recognized and externally funded research program, with the option to supervise graduate students in research. This call is intentionally broad, and the Research Scientist position could be filled at the assistant, associate, or senior level. We are particularly interested in augmenting strengths at the interface of climate change, water resources, and ecosystem functioning. Candidates using watershed or landscape approaches on energy or materials exchange between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are especially desired.
Applicants should have a strong record of scholarly publication, a demonstrated potential to develop a nationally recognized research program that attracts external funding, and a history of interdisciplinary collaboration. Applications must be submitted as a single PDF file and should include a cover letter, CV, a 2-3 page research statement, and contact information for three references. Applications and questions should be directed to Karie Slavik (
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) with the subject line “SNRE-UMBS Research Scientist”.
Review of applications will begin on March 30, 2013 and will continue until the position is filled. The University of Michigan ranks 15th on the Times Higher Education’s list of the world’s top 200 universities, and Ann Arbor is routinely ranked as one of the best places to live in the U.S. due to its affordability, preservation of wooded areas, vibrant arts program, and lively downtown. U-M Biological Station is a world-class research station located near the geographic center of the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin that attracts investigators from around the world who use its strategic location, laboratory facilities, field sensors, and diverse terrestrial, coastal and aquatic habitats, to conduct field-based research.
Field stations and marine labs join forces to tackle national environmental challenges
A world threatened by extreme weather, invasive species, emerging disease and increasing uncertainty needs the scientific capacity to face those challenges. Natural laboratories around the country, which have been placing researchers on the front lines of understanding and managing environmental change for a century, form the building blocks of that capacity. Today the Organization of Biological Field Stations and The National Association of Marine Laboratories release a report showing how scientists in communities across the continent respond to emerging questions in flexible and nimble ways, and are poised to work together to contribute to global solutions.
Field stations and marine labs (FSMLs) are the primary places scientists go to study environmental processes in their natural context, and as such they harbor the knowledge of the past that we need to predict the future. They host thousands of individual researchers at hundreds of locations, and are the birthplace of many of the innovations and discoveries that drive environmental science today. Recent large-scale initiatives, such as the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), as well as the longer-running Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network, depend on existing FSML infrastructure—and the novel insights these new observatories generate will stimulate complementary research at many more field stations and marine labs.
However, only a small fraction of FSMLs participates in these broader-scale scientific initiatives. NEON and LTER represent 10% of the available long-term, place-based, multiple-investigator environmental research sites. The report Field Stations and Marine Laboratories of the Future: A Strategic Vision , based on a national workshop and survey and on input from the broader scientific community, recommends creating a Network Center to catalyze broader-scale science and to facilitate participation in coordinated environmental efforts. For example, a stronger network of FSMLs could contribute to evolving national and international programs such as the sustained National Climate Assessment or the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network.
Field stations and marine labs have the flexibility and the logistical and intellectual capacity to support novel experimental approaches across tremendous ecological diversity. Collectively, they represent billions of dollars of investment in research infrastructure including sites (forests, fields and waterfronts) and tools (sensors, ships and cyberinfrastructure), and have trained generations of environmental scientists.
This report is a first step in making sure the nation's investment in field stations and marine labs continues to meet the dynamic and changing needs of scientists, students, and the public they serve.
CONTACT: Ian Billick, 970-349-6669,
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The National Association of Marine Laboratories (NAML), organized in the late 1980's, is a nonprofit organization of over 120 members employing more than 10,000 scientists, engineers, and professionals and representing marine and Great Lakes laboratories stretching from Guam to Bermuda and Alaska to Puerto Rico. The member institutions of the National Association of Marine Labs work together to improve the quality and effectiveness of ocean, coastal and Great Lakes research, education and outreach. Through these unique national and regional networks, NAML encourages ecosystem-based management, wise local land management and the understanding and protection of natural resources.
The Organization of Biological Field Stations (OBFS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that represents field stations throughout the world. The mission of OBFS is to help member stations increase their effectiveness in supporting critical research, education, and outreach programs. OBFS pursues this goal in a manner that maximizes diversity, inclusiveness, sustainability, and transparency.
The American Geophysical Union recently sponsored a seminar on legal issues related to field trips and field courses. We think there is a lot of useful information here for field stations!
This webinar and the ensuing discussion touches a number of pertinent issues, including safety, liability, dealing with behaviors, and working with the legal counsel of your institution.
We are working on the agenda for the OBFS Annual Meeting, set for September 19-22, 2013 at the Southwestern Research Station in Portal, Arizona. The theme of the meeting will focus on how biodiversity is shaping the evolution of research and education at field stations. Information about the annual meeting is posted online at http://www.obfs.org/annual-meeting.
Please send us any ideas you are really excited about and would like to see as topics of concurrent sessions during the meeting. These can be related to the biodiversity theme or not. Let us know if you are willing to organize the session or have ideas about who else could organize it.
Please send your ideas to me or our meeting host, Dawn Wilson (
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).
Thank you for your help,
Karie Slavik, OBFS Vice President
Dawn Wilson, Director, Southwestern Research Station
