Monday, October 23, 2017

GSA Geobiology & Geomicrobiology Lunch at GSA 2017

Today is the day! Come by for the GSA GBGM annual luncheon and division awards at GSA 2017 in Seattle. No reservations needed, lunch is free for all Geobiology enthusiasts!

Monday, 23 October 2017
12:00 PM - 01:15 PM
Sheraton Seattle Hotel - Issaquah

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Welcome to Seattle!

Welcome to the 2017 GSA Meeting! We hope you have a great meeting, and you can start it off right with a full day of Geobiology!

New Voices in Geobiology (sessions 30 & 60)
Sunday, 22 October 2017: 8:00 AM-12:00 PM & 1:30 PM-5:30 PM
Room 602/603 (Washington State Convention Center)

https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2017AM/webprogram/Session43064.html
https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2017AM/webprogram/Session44161.html

Wednesday, October 11, 2017



Dear colleagues, 

Encouraged by the success of the first Geobiology Gordon Research Conference in 2016, we have organized the next one to take place in Galveston, TX on January 21-January 26, 2018. The conference will be preceded by a Geobiology Gordon Research Seminar for graduate students and postdocs on January 20-21. The registration for both meetings is now open. 
The full schedule for GRS can be found at: 

https://www.grc.org/geobiology-grs-conference/2018/ 

The full schedule for GRC can be found at: 

https://www.grc.org/geobiology-conference/2018/ 

The applications for the meetings will be accepted until December 23 (GRS) and 24 (GRC), 2017. We hope that you and your lab members can attend and encourage you to get your applications in early because the attendance is capped at 200. Please forward this to anybody who you think may be interested in the conference.

Looking forward to seeing you in Galveston, 
Tanja Bosak (chair) and Sasha Turchyn (co-chair)

Monday, October 9, 2017

4 year fellowship Indiana University

Two four-year fellowships with generous salary and startup are available at Indiana University.  The positions come with research faculty status and are part of a network of 16 faculty and 12 fellow hires in the Prepared for Environmental Change grand challenges initiative.  While these are not exclusively paleo positions, candidates with interest in paleontological applications are welcome to apply.


ERI Fellow, Assistant Research Scientist, Species Distribution Modeling

The Environmental Resilience Institute (ERI) at Indiana University (IU) invites applications for a Fellow position in species distribution modeling to begin in Fall 2018; the appointment is renewable for up to four years. Applicants with interests in future distributions of migratory species and in integrating functional trait ecology with distribution models are especially encouraged to apply. Potential for using IU's state-of-the-art computational resources will be considered assets. Fellows will enjoy a generous research allowance, a rich collaborative environment, and eligibility to serve as PI on external grants.

The position is part of IU's Prepared for Environmental Change Grand Challenge initiative (http://grandchallenges.iu.edu/p4ec ). With a primary appointment in the ERI, the successful candidate will join a cohort of twelve Fellows of the ERI and a growing community of colleagues across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities who are engaged in this collaborative program of research and communication about environmental change. Formal affiliation with relevant department(s) and school(s) will be arranged on a case-by-case basis. Excellent fellow candidates will have experience with and openness toward multi-and trans-disciplinary collaborative research.  Applicants must have a Ph.D. prior to employment along with demonstrated research experience in species distribution models; applicants with prior post-doctoral training will be favored in the review process. Fellows will be expected to develop independent research programs that interface with ERI's multidisciplinary initiative.

Appointment will be for two years initially, with opportunity for renewal for an additional two years. While the position is not permanent, Fellows are encouraged to extend the appointment period through external funding.  Questions about the position should be directed to: David Polly, Search Committee Chair (pdpolly@indiana.edu).  Applications should be submitted by December 1, 2017 to ensure full consideration, but will continue to be considered until the position is filled.  Applications should be submitted online at https://indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/4590

ERI Fellow, Assistant Research Scientist, Stable Isotope Migration Ecology.

The Environmental Resilience Institute (ERI) at Indiana University (IU) invites applications for a Fellow position in stable isotope ecology of migratory animals to begin in Fall 2018; the appointment is renewable for up to four years. Applicants with interest in reconstructing seasonal migration patterns and inferring dietary patterns are especially encouraged to apply. Expertise in establishing and using new stable isotope facilities, including hydrogen equilibration, will be considered assets. Fellows will enjoy a generous research allowance, a rich collaborative environment, and eligibility to serve as PI on external grants.
The position is part of IU's Prepared for Environmental Change Grand Challenge initiative (http://grandchallenges.iu.edu/p4ec ). With a primary appointment in the ERI, the successful candidate will join a cohort of twelve Fellows of the ERI and a growing community of colleagues across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities who are engaged in this collaborative program of research and communication about environmental change. Formal affiliation with relevant department(s) and school(s) will be arranged on a case-by-case basis. Excellent fellow candidates will have experience with and openness toward multi-and trans-disciplinary collaborative research.  Applicants must have a Ph.D. prior to employment along with demonstrated research experience in species distribution models; applicants with prior post-doctoral training will be favored in the review process. Fellows will be expected to develop independent research programs that interface with ERI's multidisciplinary initiative.

Appointment will be for two years initially, with opportunity for renewal for an additional two years. While the position is not permanent, Fellows are encouraged to extend the appointment period through external funding.  Questions about the position should be directed to: David Polly, Search Committee Chair (pdpolly@indiana.edu).  Applications should be submitted by December 1, 2017 to ensure full consideration, but will continue to be considered until the position is filled.  Applications should be submitted online at https://indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/4591

Friday, October 6, 2017

Join Appointment (Professor) in Geomicrobiology of sedimentary systems - Dijon, France

Within a joint appointment scheme, the University Bourgogne Franche-Comté (UBFC, www.ubfc.fr) is recruiting a high reputation senior researcher in the field of geomicrobiology of sedimentary systems , specifically in the laboratory Biogeosciences (http://biogeosciences.u-bourgogne.fr/en/), hosted by Université de Bourgogne, and located in Dijon (France). This position is supported by the French “Investissements d’Avenir” program, project ISITE-BFC. We encourage applications of well-established scientists investigating this field of research owning a PhD degree, leading a prestigious research group in another university or in a research organization, demonstrating an outstanding record of publications and the proven ability to manage a research program involving a large group of researchers.

During a period of three years, the successful applicant will be offered a joint appointment position to be negotiated with their home institution. During this period, she/he will manage a 600 k€ grant (including her/his joint appointment salary and research, accommodation and travel budget) for a period of three years. The salary will be negotiated on the basis of scientific reputation and experience. It integrates a benefit package including retirement, health insurance, annual and sick leave. During the same period, the successful candidate will be committed to spend at least 2 months per year to coach and manage a research group in the above-mentioned laboratory. More specifically, during this period, she/he will be also committed to coach every year at least one researcher of the above-mentioned laboratory to apply for an European Research Council (ERC) grant. At mid-term of the three years period, a go/no go evaluation will assess the effectiveness of the joint appointment.

Job description:
About the hosting research team The Biogeosciences Research Unit is a research community currently comprising more than 100 members, including full-time researchers from the CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research), Assistant Professors and Professors from the University of Burgundy and from the EPHE (Ecole Pratique de Hautes Etudes), post-doctoral fellows, doctoral students and technical staff. Biogeosciences is a multi- and inter-disciplinary research unit dedicated to the study of biosphere/geosphere interactions and to evolutionary biology. The major scientific questions addressed are: How do biological processes interact with geological, environmental and climatic processes? What are the relevant spatial and temporal scales at which these processes operate? These questions are studied with a wide array of extant and fossil organisms and at levels of biological integration ranging from the individual to the entire biosphere. The laboratory is built around five interacting research teams whose scientific activities are deeply anchored into the fields of sedimentology, microbiology, environmental sciences, climatology, palaeontology and evolutionary ecology/biology.

Targeted profile
Microbialite ecosystems have existed for billions of years and can provide insight in the past functioning of our planet. Specifically, these model ecosystems can provide information pertaining the main natural mechanisms controlling carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere as well as insight in major structural and ecological processes in modern and past ecosystems. Moreover, microbialites deposits are characteristic reservoirs of multiple recent oil discoveries (e.g., subsalt reservoirs) revealing their global scale and economic importance. Finally, microbialite research plays a pivotal role in the emerging field of astrobiology.
The coaching project shall be highly ambitious and shall target the unprecedented integration of interdisciplinary information at increasing spatial and temporal scales. The experience and expertise of an international coach shall provide the opportunity to set up a long-term scientific group with a top expertise in the large and competitive field of geobiology. Specifically, the coach shall provide streamlines to increase the impact potential of recent recruitments in the hosting team. Indeed, several researchers within the Biogeosciences Research Unit conduct research on fossil and modern microbialites with a broad focus on sedimentology, (bio)geochemistry, microbiology, molecular biology, geomicrobiology, and mineralogy. Their main objectives are: (1) to refine the understanding of microbial mat and microbialite formation in modern sedimentary environments, using analogical and natural models; (2) to better understand the physical and biological factors involved in their preservation; (3) to highlight the importance of microbial structures over geological times (e.g. fossilization processes, geochemical cycles, …)

Instructions to apply:

Please follow this link http://www.ubfc.fr/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Application-form_International-coach-fellowship_ISITE-BFC.docx
to download the application form to be filled and returned by email to isite@ubfc.fr, before December 8th 2017.