Job Summary

Are you passionate about applying cutting-edge GIS Mapping and Water Quality modeling techniques to address critical environmental challenges? We invite you to be part of an exciting opportunity to contribute to the development of the Assessment of Hydrology and Water Quality for the Peace River Watershed as a Postdoctoral Researcher. A watershed system model simulates both the natural and human systems of a watershed and the interactions between different components of the human-nature system. Join this multidisciplinary project and collaborate with a dynamic team of researchers to advance our understanding of water quality in the Peace River Basin and Greater Charlotte Harbor Watershed in Southwest Florida.
Project Overview:
As a Postdoctoral researcher on this project, you will collaborate with a team of researchers to develop water quality models for the watershed. Your responsibilities will also include evaluating areas with notable water quality issues "hot spots," and developing mitigation measures. Throughout the project, you will apply hydro-informatics, GIS Mapping, and water-quality modeling techniques to address environmental challenges. You will work closely with Dr. Seneshaw Tsegaye, Interim Chair for the Department of Bioengineering, Civil Engineering, and Environmental Engineering. Dr. Tsegaye also serves as the Backe Chair for Sustainable Water Research within the U. A. Whitaker College of Engineering. For a span of 15 years, Dr. Tsegaye has accrued experience in the realms of integrated urban water management, flood modeling, GIS for sustainable development; water-sensitive urban design, and decision support systems for transitioning to vegetation-based stormwater systems. Your contributions will play a pivotal role in assessing the influence of various factors, such as river discharge, nutrient loading, and other environmental conditions, and their effect on the Peace River, greater Charlotte Harbor, and other watersheds.

Job Description

• Attend Watershed Assessment Model (WAM), Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP) and/or SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) training sessions organized by the project PI and Co-PI.
• Work with the project team to support the technical development of the WAM, WASP and /or SWAT model for the watershed
• Lead data processing, ensuring data quality and consistency
• Utilize GIS Mapping and water quality modeling (mainly nutrient loading) to create a comprehensive watershed assessment for hydrology and water quality.
• Calibrate/validate the models to available measured hydrologic and water quality data
• Conduct scenario analysis to evaluate the impact of climate change and urbanization
• Develop alternative modeling scenarios for evaluating the benefits of future water quality improvement strategies
• Generate diverse scenarios for evaluating the benefits of land use practices, BMPs, wetland and chemical stormwater treatment projects, etc.
• Document the output of GIS Mapping, WAM, WASP and/or WASP Models and scenario analysis
• Disseminate the research findings through publication in peer-reviewed journals and by presenting at scientific conferences or workshops.

Additional Job Description

Minimum Qualifications:

• PhD in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Hydroinformatics, Hydrology, Environmental Science or a related field

Preferred Experience:

• Strong background in GIS Mapping, Water quality modeling, data analysis, and environmental modeling
• Research experience in climate change science, water quality modeling, natural hazards, water resource management, hydroinformatics, and urban-coastal resiliency.
• Proficiency in the application of WAM, WASP, and SWAT
• Experience with handling large and diverse datasets
• Good communication skills for collaboration within an interdisciplinary team
• Track record of publication and research presentations

Benefits:

• Competitive postdoctoral salary with benefits
• Access to state-of-the-art computational resources
• Contribute to impactful applied research that directly benefits the community