Postdoctoral Funded Position in Controlled Environment Agriculture at the University of California, Davis, United States

 Postdoctoral Funded Position in Controlled Environment Agriculture at the University of California, Davis, United States

Postdoctoral Funded Position in Controlled Environment Agriculture at the University of California, Davis, United States: A postdoctoral position is available in Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis). The research will focus on energy-efficient design and optimization of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, techno-economic performance evaluation of renewable energy systems (heat pump; agrivoltaics), and modeling the energy systems of controlled environment agricultural facilities with more focus on nursery greenhouses. The successful candidate will work in the Controlled Environment Engineering (CEE) Lab at UC Davis under the supervision of Dr. Shamim Ahamed. The expected starting date will be September 2023 or as soon as possible.

The initial appointment will be for two years, with a possible extension of the third year, depending on performance and funding availability. The salary and benefits will be provided based on UC Davis policy for the Postdoctoral Fellows based on their experiences.   

Position Requirements: The following are the requirements for the position:

Education: the candidate should have a Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering, Biosystems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering program. 

Programming Skills: Strong background in energy and HVAC systems with programming (MATLAB, Python) skills and experiences in modeling and simulation are required.

Strong track record for publications in high-quality journals.

Experience in designing and performing field and lab-based experiments.

Potential to write grants and high-quality scientific papers. 

Excellent in writing and oral communication.

Ability to supervise undergraduate and graduate students and diligently to meet deadlines. 

Research experience in Controlled Environment Agriculture will be preferred.

Experiences in machine learning-based modeling and optimization will be preferred.

Application and Contact: Interested qualified candidates should submit a Cover Letter, a copy of their most recent Curriculum Vitae, a brief statement of research accomplishment and plan related to described job description (maximum three pages), and three references (contact information only) via email to Dr.  Shamim Ahamed (mahamed@ucdavis.edu) in a single PDF file. 

Other Details: The successful candidate will have the opportunity to collaborate/interact with the Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering faculty, UC Cooperative Extension specialists and advisors, and others across the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, local partners within the agricultural industry, as well as state and federal regulatory agencies.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action, see: (https://ceelab.ucdavis.edu/)