The Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM) at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor nine-month faculty position in the area of Global Change Microbial Ecology.

In a world driven to a large degree by microbial processes and interactions, microbial ecology provides the basis for understanding the impacts of climate change, land use change, pollution, disease emergence, and biodiversity loss. Microbes are also key to global change mitigation strategies like carbon sequestration and bioremediation, as well as adaptation strategies in managed systems like agriculture. The environmental challenges the Earth faces today are the result of interactions and feedbacks between biotic and abiotic processes, often mediated by microbes.

We seek applicants whose work addresses specific aspects of global change microbial ecology, including (but not limited to); microbial ecology emphasizing biotic and/or abiotic interactions, such as biogeochemistry, disease ecology, soil science, host-microbe interactions, microbial evolution and diversity, and microbe-based approaches to mitigate climate change.

We encourage applicants whose research contributes to an integrated understanding of how microbes shape or are shaped by global change, including interdisciplinary research that may incorporate translational components leading to solutions via policy or partnerships with government and non-government agencies or business.

ESPM is a multidisciplinary community of scholars and Cooperative Extension Specialists from the biological, physical, and social sciences and the humanities who conduct research, teaching, and outreach to advance scientific understanding and develop solutions for the world’s pressing environmental problems. Home to a top-ranked Ph.D. program in environmental science, environmental studies, and ecological/evolutionary biology, our undergraduate students have a choice of vibrant majors that span the disciplines in the department.

We value diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as exemplified by the following principles of community: we accept the intrinsic relationship between diversity and excellence in all our endeavors; and we embrace open and equitable access to opportunities for learning and development as our obligation and goal. ESPM recognizes that DEI must be integrated with strategies that address the critical environmental challenges facing humanity, including climate change, food security, natural resource access and management, biodiversity, environmental health, land use decision-making, and maintaining sustainable and just living conditions. Our excellence can only be fully realized by faculty, students, and staff who share our commitment to these values. Successful candidates for our faculty position will demonstrate evidence of a commitment to equity and inclusion through their research, teaching, and service.

ESPM is committed to addressing the family needs of faculty, including dual career couples and single parents. We are also interested in candidates who have had non-traditional career paths, who have taken time off their career paths for family reasons, or who have achieved excellence in careers outside academia.

For information about potential relocation to Berkeley, or career needs of accompanying partners and spouses, please visit: http://ofew.berkeley.edu/new-faculty.

Department: https://ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/