Postdoctoral Scholar: Remote Sensing to FATES: Wildfire Impacts on Western U.S. Forests

The Rigden Lab in the Department of Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine seeks a Postdoctoral Scholar to lead an integrated remote sensing-modeling investigation of wildfire impacts and forest recovery across California, Oregon, and Washington. Funded by NASA GEDI, this project will leverage spaceborne lidar, multispectral and thermal satellite observations, and the ELM-FATES-SPITFIRE modeling framework to understand how forest structure influences burn severity, evaluate post-fire recovery trajectories, and identify fire-return thresholds that shape long-term ecosystem resilience. The salary will range from $69,073 to $82,836 USD per year, scaling with experience as detailed here, and includes generous benefits.

Project/Position description:

• Integrate datasets from GEDI and other orbital sensors (e.g., ECOSTRESS, VIIRS, Landsat/MODIS) to build pre- and post-fire structural and functional diagnostics.
• Develop recovery chronosequences from multi-sensor time series and quantify ecosystem recovery rates.
• Initialize and optimize FATES using remote-sensing constraints, run model ensembles, and evaluate vulnerability and resilience across burned landscapes.
• Collaborate across satellite, field, and modeling teams; publish in leading journals; and present at major conferences.

If you have any questions, please email Prof. Angela J. Rigden (arigden@uci.edu) with "Postdoc Application Question" in the subject line.

Perks of the ESS department and UCI Campus:

The Earth System Science Department at UC Irvine is highly interdisciplinary. It includes 25 faculty with broad expertise, all devoted to the study of the Earth as a coupled system. UC Irvine is located in Orange County, about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. It is a sunny and pleasant place to live, surrounded by beaches, parks, mountains.

• An expected or recent Ph.D. in Earth System Science, Remote Sensing, Forestry, Ecology, Atmospheric/Environmental Science, or a related field.
• Demonstrated expertise in satellite remote sensing (at least two of: lidar/GEDI,
  thermal/ECOSTRESS, optical Landsat/MODIS/VIIRS).
• Expertise with satellite remote sensing and skills in Python or R for geospatial analysis.
• Strong quantitative, communication, and scientific writing skills (papers, talks).

• 3-5 required (contact information only)

The University of California, Irvine is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected categories covered by the UC anti-discrimination policy.

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

• "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy for Employees, Students and Third Parties
• 
  APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment.
  
  

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.