Postdoctoral Research Opportunity in Agricultural Engineering

A research opportunity is currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Environmentally Integrated Dairy Management Research Unit located in Marshfield, Wisconsin.

The Environmentally Integrated Dairy Management Research Unit (EIDMRU) seeks to quantify and mitigate the environmental footprint of dairy production systems, with a particular focus on dairy manure management. This objective has grown increasingly important in recent years as agricultural production practices have intensified, leading to negative environmental impacts (e.g., degraded water quality and soil health) that must be evaluated and balanced against the global efficiencies of modern dairy farming.

The research project is in the field of quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA), which is used in the EIDMRU's research program to evaluate the public health impacts of consuming water contaminated by zoonotic gastrointestinal pathogens. Project activities will largely consist of empirical mathematical modeling. General model formulation will be provided by the mentor. Under the guidance of a mentor, the participant will review scientific and technical literature in order to parameterize model, will code model in computational software (i.e., R), and summarize/report output. The participant will also perform sensitivity analyses and adjust and refine model(s) on an ongoing basis and as advised by the mentor. Additional learning opportunities on related projects (e.g., site-specific QMRAs of drinking and/or recreational water impacted by dairy manure) may become available based upon the participant's progress and available funding.

The participant will learn principles of QMRA, a multidisciplinary field that draws on concepts from microbiology, public health, statistics, and environmental science/engineering. The participant will also gain in-depth experience in empirical modeling, particularly aspects related to model evaluation in computational software. The initial opportunity will require the participant to learn and apply Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation in R.

In collaboration with the mentor, the participant will have the opportunity to present study results at one or more scientific conferences and to publish in peer-reviewed journal(s).

This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR), and foreign nationals. Non-U.S. citizen applicants should refer to the Guidelines for Non-U.S. Citizens Details page of the program website for information about the valid immigration statuses that are acceptable for program participation.

For more information about the ARS Research Participation Program, please visit the Program Website.

The qualified candidate should have received a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields.

Preferred skills:

If you have questions, send an email to USDA-ARS@orau.org. Please include the reference code for this opportunity (USDA-ARS-2020-0054) in your email.