Visiting Professor- University of Vienna

The new Ida Pfeiffer Professorship of the Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy supports the mission of the Faculty to research on the sustainability of planet Earth. They are looking for a top scientist that can trigger exciting insights and act as a catalyser for the diverse research topics of the Faculty. The visiting professor will have access to The Faculty's state-of-the-art facilities and will be associated with our third mission activities ("Faculty for Exploration"). The Faculty for Exploration regard exploration as a scientific adventure. With 5 Bachelor's programs, 10 Master's programs and Doctoral studies in 7 fields we are hosting more than 3,000 students. Our 24 professorships contribute to four key research areas: COSMOS, EARTH, ENVIRONMENT, ANTHROPOSPHERE.

Job Description:
The Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy are looking for a visiting professor for their key research areas ENVIRONMENT or ANTHROPOSPHERE to contribute valuably in research and teaching (including independent teaching of courses as defined by the collective agreement / supervision of students).

Profile:

• Doctoral degree / PhD in a subject field relevant to the research areas ENVIRONMENT or ANTHROPOSPHERE, and post-doctoral experience 
• Outstanding achievements in research, excellent publication record, international reputation, proven success in acquiring third-party funding 
• Enthusiasm for excellent teaching, ability and willingness to teach students in all phases of their studies (bachelor's, master's, or doctoral level), and to promote young academic colleagues
• Excellent command of written and spoken English
• Proactive, creative, and willing to work in a team

Application documents:

• Letter of motivation
• Academic curriculum vitae
• Description of research interests and research agenda
• Lists of publications, talks given, acquired third-party funds
• Overview of previous academic teaching
• Copies of certificates

Duration of employment: 6 months
Extent of Employment: 40 hours/week

Applications including a letter of motivation (German or English) should be submitted via the Job Center to the University of Vienna (http://jobcenter.univie.ac.at) no later than 17.09.2017, mentioning reference number 7545.

New Voices in Geobiology Invited Speakers

We are happy to announce that we have confirmed our three speakers for our GSA topical session: “New Voices in Geobiology (T249)” (Seattle, WA, October 22-25, 2017). 

• Anne Dekas - Assistant Professor at Stanford
• Kimberly Lau - Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Riverside
• Chris Reinhard - Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech *Our 2017 GSA GBGM Pre-Tenure Award Recipient
  

The GSA abstract website is now open for submissions and the abstract deadline is midnight, August 1st. 

See you in Seattle!

Postdoc, (Biological/Paleontological Data), The Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norway

Closing Date: 31 October 2017

A two-year position as a research fellow in Machine Reading Approaches Applied to Biological/Paleontological Data is available at the Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, in association with the Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences,University of Oslo, Norway.

The research fellow will be part of the European Research Council Consolidator Grant project macroevolution.abc (Abiota, biota and constraints in macroevolutionary processes) lead by Associate Professor Lee Hsiang Liow (PI). The main goal of this project is to develop a new model system using bryozoans to provide answers to previously intractable questions in evolutionary biology.

The Natural History Museum and the Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis
The position will be based at the Natural History Museum (NHM), University of Oslo (http://www.nhm.uio.no/) with affiliation to CEES (www.cees.uio.no), a national centre of excellence (CoE). The Abel computer cluster at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences that provides High-Performance Computation (HPC) abilities will be available for use. The appointed researcher will carry out research at the Natural History Museum at its location in the Botanical Garden at Tøyen and at the Blindern campus of the University of Oslo, and potentially at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The candidate will work in closely with the PI and Shanan Peters (University of Wisconsin-Madison) who is the project leader of GeoDeepDive (https://geodeepdive.org).

Project Description
The main goal of the project is to develop a new model system using bryozoans to provide answers to previously intractable questions in evolutionary biology. These questions include whether ecological interactions that are important for individual survival matter for speciation and extinction patterns observed on very long time scales, and why we can expect to wait a million years for bursts of phenotypic change. The research fellow has the designated task of developing automated data recognition and extraction software tools to help locate and aggregate “dark” occurrence, ecological and phenotypic data on bryozoans that are distributed in publications, scientific reports and other published sources, in an automated and repeatable fashion. The ideal candidate will make a major contribution to the planned research, but will also develop her/his own complementary lines of research that reflect the candidate's own expertise and interests, and that fit within the project's main goals, such as developing data-extraction algorithms and software tools to automate scientific workflows that depend on locating and using published information. The Natural History Museum has an ambition of being a leading research museum. Candidates for researcher fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and are expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

Requirements
Applicants should hold a PhD-degree (or other corresponding education equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree). In exceptional cases, candidates without a doctoral degree but with highly relevant (and demonstrable) skills in machine reading approaches, and a very strong interest in bryozoans and/or macroevolution will be considered. We are seeking a motivated, enthusiastic and hard-working researcher who can communicate with systematists, biologists and palaeontologists, with the ambition of helping them streamline repeatable high-volume data extraction. The data to be extracted includes text, numbers and potentially also attributes of images. The ideal candidate has substantial experience with programming and in particular machine reading/learning, and interests in database construction. She/he should have excellent communication and writing skills to foster understanding across fields. Applicants must show good interpersonal skills and be willing to work in close collaboration with the project PI and other members of the project team, as well as have the ability to work independently. Applicants should have a good publication record for their career stage and/or a solid record of successful machine-learning/reading projects. A good command of English is required. Please also refer to the regulations pertaining to the conditions of employment: https://www.uio.no/english/about/regulations/index.html

The application must include:

• Application letter including a statement of interest, briefly summarizing your scientific work and interests and describing how you fit the description of the person we seek. A 1-2 page description of how, at this early stage, you envision potentially using GeoDeepDive infrastructure to locate and extract taxonomic descriptions, faunal lists and other relevant biological information.
• An example of such an extraction activity is available here: https://github.com/UW-Macrostrat/stromatolites_demo
• CV (summarizing education, positions, and other qualifying activities).
• Copies of educational certificates.
• A complete list of publications and unpublished work, and up to 5 academic papers that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee.
• Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number). Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University’s grading system. Please remember that all documents should be in English or a Scandinavian language.

If you have any questions regarding the application procedure or would like to know more about the project, please do not hesitate to contact Assoc. Prof. Lee Hsiang Liow, e-mail: l.h.liow@ibv.uio.no

For questions regarding the recruitment system Jobbnorge or the application procedure, please contact HR Advisor Thomas Brånå, e-mail: thomas.brana@nhm.uio.no

Postdoc (Fish Morphology & Macroevolution), UC Davis, California

Closing Date: 7 August 2017

We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher to work on an NSF funded project on the ecological and environmental drivers of body shape evolution across teleost fishes and we are keen to find someone with a good background in morphometrics. 

It is a collaborative project between Samantha Price, at Clemson University, and Peter Wainwright, at the University of California, Davis; the postdoc will be based at Clemson. Research involves the generation and analysis of ecomorphological databases of linear measurements and geometric morphometric descriptions of fish shape taken from museum specimens, as well as environmental and ecological data collated from existing sources. These data are analyzed using phylogenetic comparative methods in a high performance-computing framework. The postdoc will assist in data collection and analysis, as well as supervising undergraduate researchers and will be expected to write and publish scientific papers.

Research in the Price lab is broadly focused on phylogenetic approaches to macroevolution and biodiversity, with the aim of identifying repeating themes and general principles governing the evolution of vertebrate diversity. We study both living and fossil animals and use data and techniques from across evolutionary and organismal biology, palaeobiology and data science.

It is a one-year appointment renewable for one or more additional years conditional upon performance. Applicants should have completed a Ph.D. or expect to do so prior to starting in the position. Starting date negotiable but strongly prefer Jan 2018.

Review of applications will begin on Aug 7th 2017 and the position will remain open until filled.

A successful applicant will have:

- A doctoral degree in a relevant subject.
- One or more of the following skill sets: geometric morphometrics, phylogenetic comparative analyses, functional morphology, fish diversity and natural history.

- Experience collecting, collating and analyzing large morphometric and ecological datasets and working in museum collections.
- A solid track record of scientific publications and international conference presentations.

Interested candidates should email (1) an application letter summarising research interests, goals and qualifications as well as experience mentoring undergraduate research, (2) a CV and (3) contact information for at least two references to Samantha Price saprice@ucdavis.edu. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you wish to discuss the position prior to applying. Review of applications will begin on Aug 7th 2017 but the position will remain open until filled.

Samantha Price, Ph.D.
Dept. Evolution & Ecology
UC Davis
Davis, CA 95616
USA
Website: www.evovert.com

One-Year FOSSIL Coordinator Position, The Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

Closing Date: 24 July 2017

The Florida Museum of Natural History / University of Florida is seeking an applicant to act as the primary coordinator of FOSSIL (Fostering Opportunities for Synergistic STEM with Informal Learners), an NSF-funded project that is building a national learning network of amateur and professional paleontologists. This is a full-time, term-limited position located in Gainesville, FL. Grant funding will end September 30, 2018. This position could work well for someone with a Master's degree who wishes to work for a year before starting a PhD program.

For more information about the FOSSIL Project, consult our web page at: www.myfossil.org

To apply for this position:
http://explore.jobs.ufl.edu/cw/en-us/job/502889/ops-fulltime-project-coordinator
Req#502889
 
Project Coordinator

Note the job posting indicates Vertebrate Paleontology, but this is just the source department for the job. Candidates with relevant background and experience in any area of paleontology are encouraged to apply. In order to be eligible for consideration, all materials must be submitted online via the UF Jobs portal indicated above. Review of applications will start immediately upon close of this advertised position.

For additional details or inquiries about the job, contact Bruce MacFadden, FOSSIL Project Director.

Postdoctoral Researcher (Paleoecology or Sedimentary Geology), University of Helsinki, Finland

Closing Date: 23 July 2017

Project description: The global biodiversity has changed dramatically during the past 550 million years of earth history with pronounced extinction events and times of spectacular diversifications. One hypothetical biotic driving mechanism of long-term change is ecological engineering (EE). In our project we will test predictions based on EE hypothesis by the example of the marine carbonate platforms of the early Paleozoic era (541–444 m.y.a.). During this time carbonate sediments globally expanded in neritic marine environments and at the same time marine organisms diversified rapidly. Because these carbonate platforms were built almost exclusively by benthic organisms we hypothesize that the development of carbonate platforms is an example of EE and that the biodiversification is partly causally linked with biologically driven habitat diversification. In a combined effort of an international team of geologists, ecologists, and paleontologists we will test with statistical, geochemical and stratigraphical methods if the early Paleozoic diversification is linked with coeval changes in marine benthic habitats.

The successful candidate will join an actively growing BioGeoScience Community at the University of Helsinki and will be part of the scientific community at both the Finnish Museum of Natural History and at the Department of Geosciences and Geography at the University of Helsinki. The successful candidate will also likely collaborate with Seth Finnegan (University of California, Berkeley), Lee Hsiang Liow (University of Oslo), and Melanie Hopkins (American Museum of Natural History).

We are seeking a highly motivated researcher with strong quantitative skills to work on one of the following themes:
• Analytical paleontology, macroecology, community ecology, and the statistical tools in paleobiological research
• Carbonate sedimentology, carbonate sequence stratigraphy, basin analysis

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience either in paleobiological research or in carbonate sedimentology. However, as our research is cross-disciplinary it is possible to contribute coming from several different fields. Thus, we welcome applications from exceptional candidates, with a quantitative background, from other fields. However, it is essential to have a genuine interest in the interplay of global change in climate, sea-level and biodiversity. It is also important for the candidate to have strong programming skills and experience in working with large data sets.

The postdoctoral researcher will be employed on a full-time, fixed term, three-year contract with a four-month probation. The salary will be based on level 5 of the demands level chart for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee will be paid a salary component based on personal performance with the overall salary amounting to approximately 3 000-3 500 €/month (gross). All standard pension benefits and occupational health care are provided for university employees.

More under: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/open-positions/postdoctoral-researcher-in-paleoecology-or-sedimentary-geology
 

University Assistant Position (Palaeoichthyology), University of Vienna, Austria

This posting is a bit late (sorry) but they may still be accepting applications.

Closing Date: 11 July 2017

We invite applications for a 6-year university assistant position (post doc; "Universitätsassistent/in") at the Department of Palaeontology of the University of Vienna. The advertised position is within the “Evolutionary Morphology Research Group” (www.evomorg.org), which is an interdisciplinary research team working at the interfaces between palaeobiology and evolutionary developmental biology of vertebrates for better understanding their evolutionary history (see also www.evomorg.org). We build on a good working atmosphere, close collaboration with our students and collaborators from other institutions, and self-dependent involvement and co-ordination of research projects.

Job Description.
We are seeking a highly motivated and creative scientist with a strong background in vertebrate palaeontology and a traceable record in palaeoichthyology. We are particularly interested in a scientist who studies the fossil record, diversity patterns, and/or evolutionary history of Mesozoic fishes, both chondrichthyans and actinopterygians. The ideal candidate has a traceable record in peer-reviewed papers including, but not restricted to, Mesozoic fishes. We are particularly interested in applicants who will expand our current Mesozoic research programs and establish new research directions that supplement the main topics of our research group and have the potential to build new connections within the faculty and university, but also with research groups outside the university.

The position is intended for further qualification (German "Habilitation"). We are seeking a highly motivated applicant with a track-record of international publications. The working language of the group is predominantly English, and applicants from abroad are encouraged to apply.

Duties

• Support the Chair of Palaeobiology and Vertebrate Palaeontology in research and teaching.
• Supervise BSc, MSc and PhD students.
• Teach courses in the Bachelor and Masters Programs in Geo- and Life Sciences.
• Support the head (Dr. C. Pfaff) of our micro-CT lab.
• Acquire third-party funding through national and/or international funding agencies.
• Participate in the academic self-administration.

The successful candidate is a highly skilled and dedicated Earth or Life Science student who is committed to state-of-the art research. She or he is expected to hold a doctoral degree (PhD or equivalent) in palaeontology, palaeobiology, evolutionary biology or zoology. Documented knowledge of palaeobiology, animal anatomy, geology and/or sedimentology is a merit. Documented experience in scientific writing, such as publications essays or equivalent in peer-reviewed journals, in English is essential. We are looking for an independent and innovative person who thrives in a dynamic research environment. The project requires close collaboration with international scientists, and accordingly the applicant should be able to work both independently and collaboratively. Moreover, the applicant is responsible for parts of her/his research projects.

Application procedure
Applications including a letter of motivation (German or English) should be submitted via the Job Center to the University of Vienna (http://jobcenter.univie.ac.at) no later than 11.07.2017, mentioning reference number 7696.

For further information please contact Kriwet, Jürgen (Phone: +43-1-4277-53520; e-mail: juergen.kriwet@univie.ac.at).

The University of Vienna pursues a non-discriminatory employment policy and values equal opportunities, as well as diversity (http://diversity.univie.ac.at/). The University lays special emphasis on increasing the number of women in senior and in academic positions. Given equal qualifications, preference will be given to female applicants.

Human Resources and Gender Equality of the University of Vienna
Reference number: 7696
E-Mail: jobcenter@univie.ac.at

See also:
https://univis.univie.ac.at/ausschreibungstellensuche/flow/bew_ausschreibung-flow?_flowExecutionKey=_c5D73429E-7386-D7BE-CA23-97A03EC5D7DE_kCC2E9986-CF17-254E-A792-AE572C3D0C9B&tid=63094.28