Responsibilities

The New School’s Tishman Environment and Design Center (TEDC) seeks a post-doctoral research scientist to examine the role and value of urban social-ecosystems in the context of resilience and sustainability planning in the greater metropolitan region of New York City (NYC). This research program will be linked to a local and international interdisciplinary team of social-ecological system researchers (see URBESproject.org) including at The New School and other academic, government, and non-government institutions in the NYC region.

The TEDC Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Urban Social-Ecological Systems will participate in an ongoing research program and develop new research based on their interest and expertise with faculty in TEDC and the Environmental Studies program as well as with external colleagues.

Potential areas of research include

  • Urban ecosystem services (UES) of green infrastructure
  • Economic and non-economic valuation of UES
  • Multicriteria analysis of urban social-ecological systems
  • Analyzing tradeoffs and synergies of multiple UES
  • Modeling land use and land cover (LULC) change scenarios and how ecosystems and UES may change with urban planning and policy
  • Cross-city urban biodiversity and ecosystem comparisons among US and European cities
  • Impacts of urban planning goals on urban ecosystem connectivity and patch dynamics

Minimum Qualifications

This interdisciplinary position is open to scientists from diverse backgrounds including in ecological economics, landscape ecology, urban ecology, urban geography, and related areas of the social sciences. Applicants must have completed their Ph.D. by the position start date and be eager to work with an interdisciplinary, international team to develop ecologically-based strategies towards urban resilience and sustainability. Prior experience with urban ecosystem research is desirable. The successful applicant must be adept at working with multiple researchers with varying backgrounds in urban ecology, including geographers, landscape and urban planners, biophysical scientists, and environmental educators. Strong organization, communication and writing skills are also required for coordinating research with international colleagues including as part of the URBES Project (urbesproject.org). Candidates will be also expected to teach per year one introductory undergraduate course and one advanced undergraduate course in an area of their expertise for the Environmental Studies program at the university.

Preferred Qualifications

This position is open to candidates with expertise in the natural or social sciences. The following skills are highly desirable:

  • Excellent geospatial analytical skills including in ArcGIS and related software as they apply to environmental and social phenomena and/or landscape ecology applications
  • Familiarity with ecosystem services analysis and modeling (such as the InVEST model), especially for urban green infrastructure
  • Ability to work in a multidisciplinary environment
  • Excellent research design, organization, communication, and writing skills
  • Experience teaching and course development

The expected start date is July 1, 2014. The primary location for this 12-month postdoctoral position will be at The New School’s Tishman Environment and Design Center. The New School offers competitive salary and a full benefits package.

The New School is committed to maintaining a diverse educational and creative community, a policy of equal opportunity in all its activities and programs, including employment. The University is engaged in a diversity initiative and we encourage individuals from groups underrepresented in U.S. higher education to apply. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran or marital status.

Special Instructions to Applicants

Review of applicants will begin in early December 2013. Applicants should submit a cover letter that highlights the applicant’s skills and abilities in areas relevant to this position; curriculum vitae; three representative publications (electronic versions); and names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of three references. All applications should be submitted through The New School’s human resources web site.

To apply for the position go to the New School site.