AGBS - Postdoctoral position in Crop modeling

AGBS - Postdoctoral position in Crop modeling

Mohammed VI Polytechnic University is an institution oriented towards applied research and innovation with a focus on Africa.

Position Announcement - Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), College of Agriculture and Environmental Science (CSAES), AgroBioSciences program (AgBS)

Job Title - UM6P - Vacancy for Post-Doctoral Fellow in Crop Modeling

Duration: 3 years

Areas of research:

We are seeking a Post-Doctoral Fellow specializing in Crop modeling. The primary responsibility for the position will be to integrate diverse spatial and field data, including various climate risks such as drought, high temperatures, nutrient deficiency, etc. This role is crucial for advancing a high throughput and digital driven platform designed to enhance precision phenotyping of crops’ performance and yield estimates and forecasts in response to multiple environmental stresses applied at different spatial and temporal scales. Additionally, the selected candidate will engage in research aimed at analyzing yield gaps, assessing uncertainties in crop yield estimates, and investigating historical yield trends to better predict future outcomes, spatial variations, and underlying drivers. This position is instrumental in developing models that project future agricultural trends under different climate change scenarios and in response to various cropping systems. The position is part of the Crop Improvement and Plant Health sub-program at CAES.

Main responsibilities:

1. Develop and use crop models to simulate and analyze different crop management scenarios, climate change impacts, and agronomic practices to assess their potential effects on crop productivity, resource use efficiency, and environmental sustainability.
2. Develop, apply and explore new computation methods for decision support for mapping crop losses due to abiotic (drought, high temperature, nutrients deficiency) and biotic (pest and diseases) factors.
3. Expand existing satellite-based crop yield estimate solutions to drones and high throughput phenotyping platforms for precision farming solutions.
4. Produce innovative research related to yield gap analysis, crop yield estimate uncertainties, and analysis of yield historical trends to model future trends, spatial variability, and drivers.
5. Develop novel mathematical and computational models to simulate the target crop growth, development, and yield prediction in response to various environmental conditions.
6. Develop modeling tools, and decision support systems for crop modeling, simulation and yield prediction using data generated by the PHENO-MA platform and advanced computational techniques.
7. Integrate diverse datasets, including genetic information, weather data, soil properties, and crop management practices, to improve and develop crop models.
8. Use the PHENO-MA data to predict crop responses under various environmental conditions.
9. Participate in multidisciplinary teams to study climate change impacts on agriculture.
10. Publish findings in peer-reviewed journals and present at international conferences.
11. Supervise graduate and undergraduate students, develop teaching materials, and attract high level students.
12. Contribute to the multidisciplinary research team in the development of the Crop Improvement team.
13. Contribute to establishing and/or maintaining collaboration with other research entities at CAES college, UM6P, and external partners.

Education, qualifications and experience:

• PhD in Agronomy, Environmental Science, Plant Science, Computer Science or related field, with a focus on crop modeling.
• Experience with modeling software and climate data analysis.
• Strong quantitative skills, including knowledge of statistical and machine learning methods.
• Proven ability to conduct independent and collaborative research.
• Demonstrated publication record in crop modeling, climate impact assessment, or related areas.
• Excellent communication skills in English, both written and spoken.
• Good experience in teaching and supervising graduate and postgraduate students.
• Aptitude for teamwork, problem-solving and collaborative work.

Employment terms:

The successful candidate will be employed on a competitive salary by the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P) based in Benguerir, Morocco.

Applications and selection procedure:

Applications must be sent using a single electronic zipped folder with the mention of the job title in the mails subject. The folder must contain:

• Cover letter indicating the position applied for and the main research interests.
• Detailed CV.
• Contact information of 3 references (Applicants are assumed to have obtained their references’ consent to be contacted for this matter).

Applications are to be submitted directly on the hiring platform.