Aquatic Ecologist/Geographic Ecologist
The Department of Biology at the University of Oklahoma invites applications for two tenured/tenure-track faculty positions at any rank, beginning in fall 2016, as part of a larger cluster hire initiative in geographic ecology. We are searching for creative, collaborative thinkers who use integrative approaches to address fundamental ecological questions at regional to global scales. Our ultimate goal is to enhance our expertise in geographic and aquatic ecology toward predicting ecological and evolutionary responses to global change. The search is open to theoretical, lab, and field biologists working on any taxa. In this phase of the cluster hire, we seek:
A Geographic Ecologist who studies phenomena at multiple spatial scales toward understanding large-scale patterns and processes. Innovators in biogeography, macroecology, bioinformatics, and global ecology are especially encouraged to apply.
An Aquatic Ecologist who studies freshwater systems toward predicting their future in a changing environment. Innovators in biogeochemistry, ecological networks, ecological genomics, river-reservoir systems, and land-water interactions are especially encouraged to apply.
In addition, we are hiring an ornithologist/curator (www.ou.edu/ornithology). For that parallel search, applicants combining interests in genetics/genomics and geographical/global change ecology are particularly welcome.
We are particularly interested in candidates who combine some or all of the following three approaches in their work. The first is development and/or testing of models and theory that connect phenomena at scales from local to global. The second is an integrative use of data—from gene frequencies to biogeochemistry, species distributions to climate past and future, functional traits to landscapes—to advance theory and identify novel patterns and processes. The third is a desire to apply this research to ameliorating outstanding ecological problems, including climate change, biodiversity loss, dwindling water supplies, and the degradation of ecosystem services.
The University of Oklahoma is committed to building an international center of excellence exploring the geographic ecology of our evolving biosphere. Successful candidates will join colleagues across campus, including cluster hires in the EPSCoR initiative Adapting socio-ecological systems to increased climate variability. Our shared goal is to build theoretical and empirical bridges across the sciences, to predict the interplay between biotic and climatic changes, and to better steward our natural resources and services.
Join us.
"During the past several years, the University of Oklahoma has utilized, with great success, a cluster hiring framework to invest boldly and strategically in its strongest programs, such as radar and applied social sciences. With the geographic ecology cluster, the University will continue this strategy, allowing it to address some of the most intellectually challenging and societally relevant problems of our time at the nexus of life sciences and weather/water/climate, for which the University is a world leader. Instructional innovation and the creation of new degree programs are underway within these investment areas and will be strengthened significantly by the cluster.”
-Kelvin Droegemeier,
Vice President for Research
Candidates must have a Ph.D. degree and a record of outstanding achievement as evidenced by publications. Preferred candidates will have a promising (assistant professor) or externally funded (associate/full professor) research program and the ability to lead interdisciplinary, multi-investigator projects across a range of geographic scales. Each individual will be expected to provide excellent training for graduate students and postdocs, and contribute to undergraduate and graduate teaching (one course per semester) in the department.
Applicants should submit a cover letter indicating the position(s) (AE and/or GE) to which they are applying, a full curriculum vitae, research and teaching statements, and selected reprints/preprints as PDF files to Chair, Geographic Ecology Search Committee, at biologyjobs@ou.edu. Applicants should also arrange to have three signed letters of reference sent to biologyjobs@ou.edu or Department of Biology, 730 Van Vleet Oval, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA. Applicants at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor may submit names and contact information for three references in lieu of letters. Visit us at biology.ou.edu. Screening of candidates will begin 1 October 2015 and will continue until the positions are filled.
The University of Oklahoma is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer and encourages diversity in the workplace. Protected veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
“ In these challenging times, I have told our faculty that all future hires must be strategic. It is telling that all of Biology’s positions in Geographic Ecology are “open rank” searches. Our goal is to bring the best available researchers and teachers to the University of Oklahoma.”
-Kelly Damphousse, Dean
College of Arts and Sciences
Many of ecology’s most fundamental patterns manifest at scales of landscapes and continents. Biology faculty are collaborating with colleagues across campus to establish an international center of excellence exploring the geography of our evolving biosphere. We combine the tools of ecology, evolution, and biogeography to explore how water, atmosphere, and biogeochemistry shape biodiversity and ecosystem services. We build the theoretical and empirical foundations of geographic ecology to better predict biotic change and steward our natural resources and services.
Geographic Ecology is a rapidly growing and integrative discipline. We train our students to explore unique and useful connections among genomics and physiological ecology, population and community ecology, and biogeography and macroecology toward answering big questions. Our students have access to our faculty’s deep knowledge of biodiversity via the Oklahoma Biological Survey, the Bebb Herbarium, and the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. They have access to the technological tools and datasets of of the OSCER supercomputing cluster, the Advanced Center for Genome Technology, the National Weather Center, The Climate Survey, the Water Survey, and the South Central Climate Science Center. They work around the globe, combining laboratory studies, field experiments, and comparative methods to answer their questions. Our students are supported by a variety of sources, from NSF graduate fellowships and DIGGs, DOE GAANN fellowships, research and teaching assistantships.