EPA Meteorology and Air Quality Modeling Fellowship

Organization
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Reference Code
EPA-ORD-CEMM-AESMD-2021-06
How to Apply

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A complete application consists of:
  • An application
  • Transcript(s) – For this opportunity, an unofficial transcript or copy of the student academic records printed by the applicant or by academic advisors from internal institution systems may be submitted. All transcripts must be in English or include an official English translation. Click here for detailed information about acceptable transcripts.
  • A current resume/CV, including academic history, employment history, relevant experiences, and publication list
  • Two educational or professional recommendations. Click here for detailed information about recommendations.
All documents must be in English or include an official English translation.
Application Deadline
7/31/2022 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone
Description

*Applications may be reviewed on a rolling-basis and this posting could close before the deadline. Click here for information about the selection process.

EPA Office/Lab and Location: A research opportunity is available at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD), Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling (CEMM), Atmospheric and Environmental Systems Modeling Division (AESMD) located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Scientists in the CEMM AESMD develop and apply large scale comprehensive atmospheric systems to study various aspects of air pollution.

Research Project: This research project will involve evaluating and advancing meteorology and air quality modeling systems with particular emphasis on PBL, land-surface, and urban canopy components of WRF, MPAS and CMAQ. In collaboration with AESMD scientists, the research participant will be involved in research that extends skills acquired through their advanced degree education. Scientists in AESMD have developed the ACM2 PBL model and the PX LSM and contributed these physics components to the WRF and MPAS communities.  These models are designed to be especially suitable for retrospective air quality applications with compatible PBL and surface flux components of CMAQ.  We are now extending our modeling capabilities to urban scales to simulate street level concentrations of pollutants as well as to global scales with the development of the coupled MPAS-CMAQ model.

Research activities may include:
  • Application, evaluation, and further development of urban canopy models that include effects of buildings on winds and temperature within the building canopy.  This research could extend recent progress on the development of an urban version of ACM2/PX LSM (UACM) that was developed and tested for Hong Kong.  Next steps could involve coupling WRF-UACM with CMAQ and application to American cities such as NYC for high resolution (grid scale < 1 km) urban air quality modeling.
  • Research on PBL modeling using field measurement data such as ceilometers, ozonesondes, lidars, aircraft, etc.  Applications to field studies such as the Long Island Tropospheric Ozone Study (LISTOS) have been extremely valuable for understanding of boundary layer processes and modeling.
  • Extension and improvement of the PX land surface model, which could include adding explicit treatment of snow and ice, adding more soil layers, and/or improving soil moisture and temperature assimilation schemes.

Learning Objectives: The research participant will have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and skill set, and be engaged cutting edge model development research in a collaborative environment with leading scientists. The research participant will also gain experience and professional contacts from collaborating in a large, multi-disciplinary research team on problems that address concerns related to human health and/or the environment. The research participant may have the opportunity to participate in conferences to present ORISE research project results.

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Jon Pleim (pleim.jon@epa.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: May 2022.  All start dates are flexible and vary depending on numerous factors. Click here for detailed information about start dates.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one year and may be renewed up to three or four additional years upon EPA recommendation and subject to availability of funding.

Level of Participation: The appointment is full-time.

Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. Click here for detailed information about full-time stipends.

EPA Security Clearance: Completion of a successful background investigation by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is required for an applicant to be on-boarded at EPA.

ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and EPA. Participants do not become employees of EPA, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

ORISE offers all ORISE EPA graduate students and Postdocs a free 5 year membership to the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA).

The successful applicant(s) will be required to comply with Environmental, Safety and Health (ES&H) requirements of the hosting facility, including but not limited to, COVID-19 requirements (e.g. facial covering, physical distancing, testing, vaccination).

Questions: Please see the FAQ section of our website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email ORISE.EPA.ORD@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should have received a master's or doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields, or be currently pursuing one of the degrees and will reach completion by the appointment start date. Degree must have been received within five years of the appointment start date.

Preferred skills:
  • Skills and experience in running large-scale atmospheric models such as CMAQ, WRF, and/or MPAS
  • Experience with Unix/Linux-based systems
  • Experience with programming and/or scripting languages such as Fortran, R, Python, or NCL
  • Knowledge of atmospheric boundary layer and land surface processes
  • Good skills in presentation/poster preparation
Eligibility Requirements
  • Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
  • Degree: Master's Degree or Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or anticipated to be received by 5/31/2022 11:59:00 PM.
  • Discipline(s):
    • Computer, Information, and Data Sciences (17 )
    • Earth and Geosciences (21 )
    • Engineering (7 )
    • Environmental and Marine Sciences (14 )
    • Life Health and Medical Sciences (3 )
    • Mathematics and Statistics (1 )
    • Physics (4 )
  • Veteran Status: Veterans Preference, degree received within the last 120 month(s).