Disaster Resilience of Complex Systems Research Opportunity

The Environmental Laboratory (EL) is one of the seven laboratories of U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (USACE-ERDC), which is the Army Corps of Engineers' integrated research and development (R&D) organization. EL provides solutions to environmental challenges for the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense and the Nation through environmental science and engineering research and development. Researchers in EL conduct research in ecosystem science and technology, environmental resiliency, environmental sensing, ecological modeling and forecasting, risk and decision science, environmentally sustainable material, systems biology, climate change, computational chemistry, environmental chemistry and environmental security.

Under the guidance of a mentor, you will research projects related to the team's current and future portfolio of resilience research, as well as pandemic analytics with respect to the risk and resilience of disrupted systems due to pandemics, natural disasters and cyberattacks. Current projects are at intersection of physical and social science and engineering and require systems approaches to support policy decisions. The team is researching 1) how to build the business case for resilience in environmental systems with improved quantification and consideration of broad benefits, including methods that consider the economics of sustainability and resilience, 2) resilience of complex systems where interconnected domains require consideration of compounding threats and cascading failures, 3) energy and transportation networks where resilience and efficiency of critical functions need to be quantified and integrated in selection of management policies, and (4) data analytics and risk analysis for pandemic response. These projects provide a broad experience in efforts at different stages of execution, from project conception and scoping to report and manuscript publication. Information required for this research is knowledge of environmental management, complex systems, risk and resilience analytics to complete these projects. 

This fellowship will provide you the opportunity to be part of a team to study invasive species and their management. As such, you will have numerous opportunities to observe and collaborate with scientists of varying backgrounds and expertise.

Vicksburg, Mississippi

ERDC-EL is ready to make an appointment. Exact start date will be determined at the time of selection and in coordination with the selected candidate.

You will receive a stipend to be determined by ERDC-EL. Stipends are typically based on the participant’s academic standing, discipline, experience, and research facility location. Other benefits may include the following:

This ORISE appointment is a full-time 12 month opportunity. Appointments may be extended depending on funding availability, project assignment, program rules, and availability of the participant.

You will not enter into an employee/employer relationship with ORISE, ORAU, DOD, or any other office or agency. Instead, you will be affiliated with ORISE for the administration of the appointment through the ORISE appointment letter and Terms of Appointment.

This research opportunity is open to STEM students and postgraduates. Experience in data science and technical writing preferred.

Degree: Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree, or Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or currently pursuing