Position Description Post-Doc Associate: Crop Model Evaluation and Improvement for Drought Conditions Agronomy or Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department University of Florida Job Responsibilities: The person in this position will be responsible for assembling data sets for use in research on soybean and peanut crop growth models. The primary objective for the soybean model is an evaluation of its capabilities to simulate differences in drought tolerance or avoidance among different cultivars. Experimental research is being conducted by cooperators in other states, and the person in this p osition will cooperate closely with them in evaluating different hypotheses of drought tolerance, using data from their experiments as well as other data to test the hypotheses. In addition, the incu mbent will help define cultivar characteristics that should be added to the crop growth model, using a practical approach that would be acceptable to plant breeders and agronomic researchers, to simu late differences in cultivar behavior under different environments. Sensitivity analysis and an extensive literature review will be conducted to determine the extent to which cultivar by environment differences can be simulated. Responsibilities for the peanut model are to work with data obtained by cooperators on a project from West Africa and adapt the model to simulate their varieties. In add ition, the incumbent will help train the cooperators on the appropriate use of the peanut model in their research programs, including instruction on protocols for data collection, data analysis for m odel use, simulations of their experiments, and simulations aimed at improving management practices and reducing risks in these West African conditions. Emphasis will be on experiments involving drou ght conditions and on model evaluations and improvements for simulating crop growth and yield responses to drought. Qualifications: PhD in Agronomy or Agricultural/Biological/Biosystems Engineering with strong experience in field research on crops and with some experience in crop modeling. The person in this position should have experience in using computers for statistical analysis of data, using statistical packages, spreadsheets, and graphical packages. The person must have an ability to program in at least one programmin g language (e.g., Fortran, Basic, Pascal, etc.), as well as some experience in programming. In addition, experience with the CROPGRO-Soybean and Peanut models or the DSSAT is desirable. The person s hould have experience in interdisciplinary research, and must be willing to work on a team in which different researchers contribute to the success of the program. Dates: The position is available immediately and will be supported for one year, with a possibility for extension to two years. For more information Contact: Dr. K. J. Boote or Dr. J. W. Jones Agronomy Department Agricultural & Biological Engineering Dept. P.O. Box 110500 P.O. Box 110570 University of Florida University of Florida Gainesville, FL 32611 Gainesville, FL 32611 352-392-1811 352-392-8694 email: [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] James W. Jones Professor ---------------------------------------------------- Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department University of Florida Gainesville, FL 32611 email: [log in to unmask] FAX: (352) 392-4092 Telephone: (352) 392-8694 ----------------------------------------------------