Post-doctoral fellowship position in modelling the climate impacts of carbon dioxide removal, Canada: Emulators focus
We invite applications from highly motivated PhDs for a postdoctoral position to advance modelling tools to investigating the climate implications of carbon dioxide removal. The position is part of transdisciplinary research projects (CanCO2Re and Mission Innovation) assessing the implementation, sustainability, equity and feasibility of carbon dioxide removal, with partners across Canada.
The successful candidate will join the research group of Dr. Paul Kushner in the Department of Physics on the St. George Campus of the University of Toronto (UofT). They will be supervised jointly by Dr. Kirsten Zickfeld at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. The University of Toronto’s St. George Campus is situated in downtown Toronto within a world-leading research-intensive academic setting and presents a welcoming, vibrant, and diverse city experience.
The successful candidate will join a dynamic research environment with expertise in Earth system modelling, climate dynamics and climate-carbon cycle interactions. The focus of the position will be on applying and extending existing emulators, which are simplified representations of coupled Earth system models, to quantify the climate implications of a range of emission scenarios with different means and amounts of carbon dioxide removal. Emulators will be used to complement planned Earth system model simulations of full and intermediate complexity, to extensively test the space of scenarios and provide estimates of climate response to different scenarios to the CanCO2RE and Mission Innovation teams. These emulators are based on machine learning or other statistical/empirical techniques.
The position will involve:
A primary responsibility to develop, apply, and analyze emulators to capture and generalize the Earth-system model simulations supported under CanCO2RE.
A secondary responsibility to design, execute, and analyze the original Earth system model simulations under specific scenarios.
A primary responsibility to prepare scientific publications and disseminate research results in conferences and workshops.
Opportunities to engage in outreach/knowledge mobilization activities of the CanCO2RE project.
Funding is available for one year, with possibility of renewal for one additional year. The preferred start date is January, 2025.
Candidates with a PhD degree (or international equivalent) in climate and atmospheric science, computer science, software engineering are invited to apply. Applications from related disciplines such as Physics and Civil Engineering will also be considered, provided applicants bring experience relevant to the project. Strong computational and quantitative skills, demonstrated ability to publish work in peer-reviewed journals, ability to work independently, and excellent oral and written communication skills are required. Experience using emulators and/or Earth system models of full or intermediate complexity for research, including understanding and extensive modifications of the codes, is strongly desirable.
The selected candidate will join a broad and equitable group of researchers with a strong interest in promoting diversity in science and engineering. Accordingly, we welcome and encourage applications from all qualified persons of any gender, sexual orientation, persons with disability, and other underrepresented groups.
For consideration, please send a single pdf document containing 1) a 1-page cover letter summarizing qualifications and experience relevant to the advertised position, 2) a CV listing education, past employment, research contributions including a publication list and contact information of two academic references, and 3) a 2-page research statement outlining research interests related to the advertised position to Dr. Paul Kushner (paul.kushner@utoronto.ca).
Evaluation of applications will start on October 14, 2024 and will continue until the position is filled.