****************************************************************************** Postdoctoral Fellowship - Quaternary Geology and Environments From: Clive Oppenheimer <co200@xxxxxxxxx> ****************************************************************************** Hoping this may be of interest to some - it concerns a project looking at the environmental impacts in India of the ~74 kyr BP eruption of Toba. You can find the information also by hitting the "opportunities" tab at: http://www.human-evol.cam.ac.uk/ and to see details of the project so far see: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/317/5834/114 Applications are invited for a Leverhulme Postdoctoral Fellowship in Quaternary Geology and Environments. The prime criteria for the appointment will be excellence in research in Quaternary geology and environments, with particular emphasis on a record of field work and laboratory investigations. The University expects to appoint an individual who will strengthen the Leverhulme Centre's interdisciplinary research on the Palaeolithic of India and contribute to an understanding of the geological and palaeoenvironmental context of archaeological sites. The candidate will also contribute to the Centre's aims of fostering multi-disciplinary research in human evolutionary studies, and in particular hominins in palaeoenvironmental context. The Fellow will work in close collaboration with project members located in the Department of Geography, University of Cambridge. The pensionable scale of stipends for the Quaternary Geology and Environments Fellowship is comparable to that of a Research Associate, with a base salary of £25,888 with a step up to £26,665. The appointment will be for a fixed term of two years. Applications should be sent to Ms Jane Bloomfield, Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge, The Henry Wellcome Building, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UK, or by email to jb574@xxxxxxxxxx These should include the University's Cover Sheet for Employment (a PD 18: PDF file or Word file), a CV, a two-page statement of research interests, a full list of publications and the names of two referees, who should be asked to send letters of reference to LCHES by the closing date. Closing date for completed applications is 15th May 2008. BACKGROUND TO THE FELLOWSHIP A large-scale, multi-disciplinary project is being undertaken to address the impact of the Toba volcanic super-eruption on human populations, local environments and global climate. The project involves archaeological investigations in India, as well as environmental analyses, computer modelling studies, volcanological analyses and genetics studies. The project entails a range of field and laboratory studies, conducted by numerous internationally-based scientists and scholars. The postdoctoral researcher will interact and work with a large number of team members, particularly Dr. Michael Petraglia (PI, LCHES, Cambridge), Dr. Nicole Boivin (archaeology, LCHES, Cambridge), Dr. Clive Oppenheimer (volcanology, palaeoenvironments, Geography, Cambridge), and Dr. Peter Ditchfield (geoarchaeology, Oxford). The postdoctoral researcher will work closely with other team members, including Dr. Chris Clarkson (lithics, Queensland), Dr. Hans Graf (volcanology, Geography, Cambridge), Dr. Michael Haslam (archaeology, LCHES, Cambridge), Ms. Sacha Jones (archaeology, Cambridge), Dr. Preston Miracle (fauna, Cambridge), Dr. Bert Roberts (OSL dating, Wollongong), and Dr Kevin White (remote sensing, Reading). The postdoctoral researcher will also work closely with leading Indian PIs, archaeologists and earth scientists, as well as PhD students in various institutions and universities. The postdoctoral researcher will be based in the Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies (LCHES) at the University of Cambridge. The postdoctoral researcher will work closely with collaborating scientists in the Department of Geography, Cambridge, where they will also be conducting laboratory investigations. The aim of LCHES is to promote inter-disciplinary research in human evolution, integrating traditional research strategies drawn from anthropology and archaeology, with those from the earth sciences and human population genetics. LCHES has major and unique interdisciplinary strengths in South Asian prehistory, including current projects on the archaeology, human morphology, and human genetics of the region. Themes of research interest include human dispersals, adaptations to changing environments and cultural and genetic variation in the Indian subcontinent in both the Pleistocene and Holocene. QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS Post-Doctoral Researcher in Quaternary Geology and Environments: The post-doctoral researcher will undertake detailed palaeoenvironmental analyses over two years and participate in wider synthetic studies of the impact of the Toba super-eruption. The researcher will be responsible for carrying out the following tasks: a) Conducting stratigraphic, geomorphological, and palaeoenvironmental fieldwork in India in consultation with Drs. M. Petraglia, N. Boivin, C. Oppenheimer, P. Ditchfield and Indian PIs. The postdoctoral researcher should have strong experience in conducting field studies, and performing stratigraphic and sedimentological investigations. The candidate should also be familiar with taking palaeoenvironmental samples, which may include sedimentary, carbonate, pollen, phytolith and micromorphological samples. Ideally, the postdoctoral researcher will have worked closely with archaeologists and interdisciplinary field teams. b) Assisting in computer modelling to be carried out in Cambridge, in close collaboration with Drs. Graf and Oppenheimer. The postdoctoral researcher will assist in simulation studies on the impacts of the Toba eruption on the atmosphere and climate using climate modelling. For earth system modelling, the researcher will pull together published sources of information. Research will attempt to provide a strong linkage between the collection of field data and modelling of the Toba eruption. c) Managing field and site records in coordination with the interdisciplinary team. The researcher will manage all site records pertaining to the results of the environmental field and laboratory investigations, which will be integrated with other sources of information, including the archaeological data. d) Working with other project members to synthesise the overall findings of the project, especially through joint publications. The postdoctoral researcher will therefore play an essential role in coordinating activities and drawing together the findings of the project's diverse disciplinary teams. The researcher will help to organize a workshop and a project conference. It is expected that successful applicants will have a Ph.D., direct experience of research in the field, and some experience of publishing. Applicants with previous postdoctoral experience are welcome to apply. Current PhD students must have their doctoral degree in hand by October 2008. ============================================================== To unsubscribe from the volcano list, send the message: signoff volcano to: listserv@xxxxxxx, or write to: volcano-request@xxxxxxxx To contribute to the volcano list, send your message to: volcano@xxxxxxxx Please do not send attachments. ==============================================================
