Overview
The Department of Forest Resources Management, UBC-Vancouver campus, seeks a part-time (25%) Research Associate to undertake research on cumulative effects of climate change, natural disturbances and forest management on ecosystem services. The successful application will work under the supervision of Dr. Gregory Paradis.
Responsibilities
Conduct a scoping study of nature-based decarbonization opportunities for mining sector industry partner operations in Canada, in collaboration with the PI (Gregory Paradis), other PDF resources assigned to the project, and industry partners.
Specific duties will include: compiling and analyzing datasets, building macro-scale simulation and optimization models, co-author technical reports and manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals, plan and lead workshops, coordinate communications with industrial partner and collaborators at UBC Bradshaw Research Initiative for Minerals and Mining (BRIMM), and participate in mentoring graduate students in the UBC Forest Resources and Environmental Services Hub (FRESH) lab.
Required qualifications
Candidates must have a PhD in a relevant field (e.g., forest science, forest management) and postdoctoral research experience in the fields of forest modelling, forest management planning, multi-criteria analysis or decision support systems. Candidates should ideally have demonstrated expertise in as many of the following areas as possible: forest resource analysis, forest estate modelling, discrete event simulation modelling, biodiversity and ecosystem services modelling, multi-objective tradeoff analysis, operations research techniques (LP, MIP, DP, metaheuristic algorithm development, etc.), experience developing software in an open innovation environment (in particular coding experience in R and Python, experience working in Jupyter and RStudio environments), designing and implementing large databases that interface dynamically with code-based models, forest field data collection experience (ideally in British Columbia, in either professional or research contexts). Candidates should have a strong publication record (i.e., peer-reviewed journal articles or technical reports relevant to the field). Intermediate knowledge in GIS applications (including ArcGIS and use of open-source GIS packages in R and Python). Candidates should have experience working with SpaDES and ws3 modelling frameworks, and ideally have participated in one or more recent projects linking ws3 and SpaDES. Other requirements for successful applicants include excellent oral and written communication skills, the ability to work in a dynamic research team, experience supervising graduate students, and the ability to work on a project with defined milestones and timelines. Candidates who are registered (or eligible for registration) under Registered Professional Forester (RPF) or Registered Professional Biologist (RPBIO) designations in British Columbia will be strongly preferred.
Position details and application instructions
Anticipated start date will be January 1, 2024. Project duration is one year, with possibility of extension subject to grant funding availability. Applications should include a cover letter, a curriculum vitae, and the names, addresses and e-mail addresses of three people to provide professional references and submitted via Workday JR14708 by October 30, 2023.
Please also indicate in your application if you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.