Sustainability Solutions @ USC
Post Doctoral position available

The University of Southern California, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, seeks to advance its portfolio of interdisciplinary research in Sustainability, and to provide a vibrant training ground for research at the interface of the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities. As part of this growing emphasis, a fully funded, one-year (renewable for second year) post-doctoral position is available to support an entrepreneurial young scholar eager to bridge disciplines and embark upon novel research in this broad field.

A sustainable world is one in which humans can meet needs and make progress without harm to the environment and with accommodation to both present and future generations. Integral to this view is the simultaneous consideration and evaluation of social, economic, and environmental systems, including their behavior and longevity. We are looking for innovative PhD’s who wish to use a post-doc to build bridges across areas of academic inquiry and develop new partnerships within the university. Successful applicants will work between two (or more) mentors to develop and implement a novel interdisciplinary sustainability project that involves working across the natural sciences, social sciences and/or humanities.

General features of sustainability research often include the study of complex adaptive systems and emergent behavior; multiscale processes; resilience and vulnerability of human-natural systems.

Submission process: Applicants should provide a 2-page summary of their research project; letters of endorsement from the sponsoring faculty members; a CV and a letter of recommendation from their dissertation advisor. We offer a competitive salary/benefits and a research stipend. Questions regarding this position should be addressed to Dr. William Berelson at stfpostdoc [__at__] usc [dot] edu. Interested applicants should apply on-line at jobs.usc.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=73257. A review of applications will begin Feb. 1, 2014. For further information go to: http://dornsife.usc.edu/sustainability.

USC values diversity and is committed to equal opportunity in employment. Women and men, and members of all racial and ethnic groups are encouraged to apply.

Areas in the Natural Sciences of particular strength include:
Green Chemistry/Pharmaceuticals
Marine microbiology and HABs
Aquaculture (oysters)
C cycle, biogeochemistry
Conservation and Population dynamics
Genomics
Alternative energy
C sequestration
Hazard/Risk analysis--Earthquakes
Ecology/Molecular Biology

Areas in the Social Sciences of particular strength include:
GIS and Spatial systems analysis
Psychology of habits/decision-making
Environmental Justice
International Relations, the politics of environmental decision-making

Areas in the Humanities of particular strength include:
Environmental History
History of Environmentalism
Environmental Ethics
Intergenerational Ethics