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Assistant Research Professor

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University is seeking a motivated and experienced Assistant Research Professor to join a multidisciplinary team focused on advancing our understanding of Arctic environmental change. This position is part of a cutting-edge research project aimed at developing and applying advanced modeling tools to study how Arctic warming impacts thermal, hydrologic, and geomorphological processes across scales.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and enhance multiscale models that simulate coupled thermal and hydrologic dynamics in Arctic systems, including surface and subsurface water flow and permafrost thaw.

• Improve the representation of hydro-thermal processes in the DOE’s Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM), specifically within the E3SM Land Model (ELM).

• Integrate and assess large-scale water storage trends across Arctic watersheds.

• Contribute to peer-reviewed publications, reports, and presentations.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Earth sciences, hydrology, environmental engineering, climate science, or a related field by the start date.

• Strong background in process-based modeling of hydrologic and/or thermal systems.

• Experience with land surface or Earth system models.

• Familiarity with Arctic ecosystems, permafrost dynamics, and remote sensing analysis is a plus.

• Proficiency in scientific programming (e.g., Python, Fortran, or C++) and use of high-performance computing.

• Demonstrated ability to publish in peer-reviewed journals and work collaboratively in a research team.