Opportunity

A research opportunity is currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), within the Midwest Climate Hub at the National Laboratory for the Agriculture and the Environment located in Ames, Iowa. The selected candidate can participate on location in Ames, Iowa, or remotely.

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.

The Midwest Climate Hub is housed in the National Laboratory for the Agriculture and the Environment in Ames, IA. The role of the hub is to help develop and deliver information and practices to help agriculture adapt to a varying and changing climate and to help encourage Climate Smart practices that mitigate GHGs and climate change. The hub works with a wide variety of federal, state and land grant partners to share information about climate and agricultural issues over a wide range of time scales. 

Research Project: The candidate will become a part of a rapidly growing climate hub team, which allow many opportunities to collaborate internally and with external partners.  They will learn from interacting directly with regional partners. Project activities will include supporting an assessment of the Midwest Climate Hub’s role in facilitating ag-climate research, communications, and outreach. Activities will also include assessing regional climate services, which include webinars, stakeholder outreach, mass communications, and partnership development. 

Learning Objectives: These project activities will help inform future climate services research in the Midwest while providing the candidate with opportunities to learn more about Midwest agricultural systems, conduct data analysis, review research, and co-create publications and outreach materials for a variety of audiences. Information created will be incorporated in hub materials and shared with partners in the region. The candidate will collaborate with the USDA Climate Hubs and many climate service partners in the region.

Mentor: The mentor for this opportunity is Dennis Todey (dennis.todey@usga.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research project, please contact the mentors.

Qualifications:

• The qualified candidate should have received a master's degree in one of the relevant fields, or be currently pursuing the degree with completion before December 24, 2023. Degree must have been received within five years of the appointment start date.

Apply online. A complete application consists of:

• An application
• Transcript(s) – For this opportunity, an unofficial transcript or copy of the student academic records printed by the applicant or by academic advisors from internal institution systems may be submitted. Click here for detailed information about acceptable transcripts.
• A current resume/CV, including academic history, employment history, relevant experiences, and publication list
• Two educational or professional recommendations

All documents must be in English or include an official English translation.