USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Fellowship in Modeling Integrated Crop-livestock System (ICLS)
*Applications may be reviewed on a rolling-basis.
ARS Office/Lab and Location: A postdoctoral research opportunity is currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment (NLAE), located in Ames, Iowa.
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency with a mission to find solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day from field to table. ARS will deliver cutting-edge, scientific tools and innovative solutions for American farmers, producers, industry, and communities to support the nourishment and well-being of all people; sustain our nation’s agroecosystems and natural resources; and ensure the economic competitiveness and excellence of our agriculture. The vision of the agency is to provide global leadership in agricultural discoveries through scientific excellence.
Research Project: The National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment (NLAE) generates information addressing critical problems in agriculture and watershed management to develop innovative solutions which increase the efficiency of agriculture systems and reduce environmental risk. Transdisciplinary teams address this through coordinated research in abiotic and biotic systems. The specific goal of this project is to develop a systems analysis model for an integrated crop-livestock system (ICLS) with system fertilization approach. ICLS are a sustainable intensification alternative to specialized commercial agroecosystems. Conserving the nutrients is key for agroecosystem success, and grazing animals play a crucial function to nutrient cycling and can positively affect subsequent crops yields when managed under moderate grazing intensities. Thus, a new approach of fertilization emerges—the system fertilization—which is based on the conceptual framework that fertilizer must be applied in the system phase that presents lower nutrient extraction and higher nutrient cycling capacity to optimize total system production. This approach will build on data and integrative modeling activities at NLAE. Under the guidance of a mentor, the participant will have the opportunity to help develop a system-of-systems modeling approach that examines the interactions and feedbacks of cropping and livestock systems under two fertilization strategies (system fertilization or crop fertilization).
Learning Objectives: The fellow will have the following training opportunities:
- Learn about the challenges in predicting dynamics of ICL agro-ecosystems while learning a range of computational skills needed to conduct these analyses at the system level.
- Collaborate with multiple USDA ARS scientists and University partners on data analysis projects, and to write collaborative scientific papers dealing with aspects of ICLS across multiple spatial and temporal scales.
- Learn AI technologies relevant to these problems and will develop and co-lead ARS-wide workshops resulting in a community of scientific practice with AI.
- Develop a systems modeling approach using established Vensim toolkits.
- Prepare reports for extension and/or scientific journal publication.
- Apply their programming skills to real-world problems.
Mentor(s): The mentors for this opportunity are Thanos Papanicolaou (Thanos.Papanicolaou@usda.gov) and Robert Malone (rob.malone@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: 2025. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.
Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of ARS and is contingent on the availability of funds.
Level of Participation: The appointment is full-time.
Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience.
Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) only.
ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and ARS. Participants do not become employees of USDA, ARS, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.
Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email ORISE.ARS.MIDWEST@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.
Qualifications
The qualified candidate should have received or be pursuing a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields.
Preferred Skills:
- Familiarity with principles of agricultural sciences or related fields
- Experience publishing in high quality peer reviewed journals
- Experience in system modeling, data science, and working with large databases
- Watershed modeling
Point of Contact
Eligibility Requirements
- Citizenship: LPR or U.S. Citizen
- Degree: Doctoral Degree.