Cross-Cutting Theme—Rapid Response Research Capability

As part of its overall effort to hire a substantial number of new researchers and faculty members, the Jackson School seeks outstanding scientists (as faculty members or research scientists) working in the area of Computational Geosciences, which cuts across several of the school's core thematic areas. As in all of our new hires, we seek outstanding scientists at the forefront of their disciplines who are attracted to challenging areas of scholarship that require collaboration across disciplines and programs.

Candidates interested in consideration under this cross-cutting theme should apply to one of the four main thematic areas while highlighting their interest in and qualifications for work in the area of Rapid Response Research.

The excerpt below from the school's strategic plan explains our vision for expanding the school's emphasis.

Excerpt from JSG strategic plan:
"Emerging Theme—A Rapid Response Capability"

Earth's natural history is punctuated by important events (e.g., large earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, floods) which usually have tremendous environmental and societal impact and often leave a profound mark on the geological record. Such events may be more important to the evolution of the Earth's systems than the slow and steady background processes. However, as a community geoscientists are hamstrung in our ability to make critical, time-sensitive observations regarding transient events because we usually must write proposals to obtain funding for field work after the event has taken place. A new paradigm is required to enable rapid collection of data when the urgency is greatest.

The JSG can develop the capability to respond rapidly to important transient events to document their effects, install instrumentation, conduct geophysical surveys to examine their causes and development over time. We will build three rapid-response teams for the following types of events:

1. Earthquake/tsunami/volcano, landslides and mudflows
2. Glacial surges/retreats/ice-shelf collapse
3. Hurricanes/flooding/ground water.

The teams will include science partners from other institutions, agencies interested in investigating these phenomena, as well as national and international funding partners (through mechanisms such as NSF SGER grants, state, corporate, and private programs) who are concerned with events having significant societal effects. We will also have the benefit of substantial computational resources for short-term scenario modeling and assessment. The teams would need built-in redundancy and data acquisition equipment on hand to respond using vessels and aircraft of opportunity.

To apply under this cross-cutting theme, follow instructions for applying under one of the four main thematic areas and highlight your interest in and qualifications for work in Rapid Response Capability.

The University of Texas at Austin is an Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity Employer.