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Postdoctoral Research Associate: Estimating the Carbon Benefit to Washington Agricultural Soils from Organic Amendments

Note that in order to be considered, you MUST apply for this position through the WSU website. Visit https://wsu.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/WSU_Jobs and search for position R-2886.

Work Location: To be determined. Teleworking may be an option.

Full Time/Part Time: Full Time

Tenure Track: No

Position Term in Months: 16 months

Anticipated Start Date: 12/01/2021

Summary of Duties:

A Postdoctoral Research Associate position is available in the Center for Sustaining Agriculture & Natural Resources, with work location to be determined. Teleworking may be an option. The project offers a unique opportunity to work at the intersection between research and active policy development.  The project funded by the Washington State Legislature, aims to evaluate existing models to estimate carbon sequestration from organic waste-derived soil amendment application to agricultural soils, road-test their applicability in Washington State, and recommend next steps that outline a path towards developing more advanced mechanisms to support funding for carbon sequestration from Washington’s organic wastes. Additional funding to support the position comes from the Soil Health Initiative, a state-funded plan for research, extension, and demonstration of soil health best management practices in Washington State. The postdoctoral researcher will:

1. Review existing mechanisms currently being used or proposed in the U.S. to provide funding for carbon sequestration on agricultural lands, and the models/methods being proposed to quantify the carbon sequestration benefit within these frameworks.
2. Catalog existing Washington State soil carbon data collected on agricultural sites, including those receiving organic amendments, and explore their potential use to evaluate the applicability of and / or tune these models/methods to Washington State data.
3. Road test the most promising models/methods using existing soil carbon data from Washington State.
4. As time allows modify existing tools applicable within the context of Washington State.
5. Publish findings in peer reviewed manuscripts
6. Provide a report to the Washington State Legislature summarizing the work and laying out a roadmap for continued progress.

The postdoctoral researcher will also interact periodically with a stakeholder advisory group and communicate with Conservation Commission staff and other WSU researchers to ensure that programs being developed to encourage soil health-building practices (part of the Sustainable Fields and Farms program) and Long-Term Agricultural Research sites (part of the Washington Soil Health Initiative) incorporate relevant data collection and/or insights as indicated by their work.

The position will be funded through March 30, 2023, with a report to the Washington State Legislature due December 2022. The position will work under the supervision of Dr. Karen Hills at the Center for Sustaining Agriculture & Natural Resources, and with collaborators Dr. Kirti Rajagopalan (WSU Department of Biological Systems Engineering), Dr. Deirdre Griffin (WSU Department of Crops and Soils), Chris Benedict (WSU Extension), Georgine Yorgey and Chad Kruger of the WSU Center for Sustaining Agriculture & Natural Resources.

Additional Information:

Position responsibilities include:

• Review both the scientific and grey literature relating to funding of carbon sequestration on agricultural lands, communicating professionally with regional, national, and international scientists and stakeholders as needed.
• Evaluate the applicability of existing models to Washington State.
• Collaborate with other data scientists on the team to improve existing models for use in Washington.
• Working with collaborators, contribute to the development of a strategic scientific pathway forward to improve the tools available to quantify carbon sequestration from organic wastes and thereby support potential funding mechanisms for carbon sequestration.
• Communicate and present results professionally to general and scientific audiences at stakeholder meetings and scientific conferences.
• Publish results and literature review(s) as a report to the Washington Legislature, peer-reviewed scientific and/or extension publications, and stakeholder focused outlets (e.g. newsletter articles, etc.).
• Work effectively independently and as part of the larger team associated with this project.
• Assist with additional grant writing, if needed, to support the project.
• May include some travel in the Pacific Northwest for presentations related to this project.

Required Qualifications:

• PhD in soil science, biological systems engineering, or closely related field pertinent to the project.
• Demonstrated experience in relevant soil science field.
• Ability to complete research independently and to work well as part of a team.
• Excellent written and oral English communication skills.
• Evidence of high quality scientific publications and presentations in subject areas relevant to this project.
• Attention to detail and ability to coordinate work on a large complex project.
• Willingness to learn and implement new techniques for advancement of the project.

Preferred Qualifications

• Background or familiarity with the use of process-based or other models to understand soil science or other biophysical processes, as well as with soil science experimental methods such as carbon measurement.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Background and interest in extension, outreach, and/or the application of scientific information to the policy arena.

Georgine Yorgey

Associate Director

Center for Sustaining Agriculture & Natural Resources
Washington State University

206-235-7154 (cell)

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