Research Assistant, NSF Methane Cycle (Student)

American University; Washington; On-site; USD 21,000 - 30,000; Part time

Job summary

American University in Washington, DC is seeking a part-time Research Assistant to support an NSF-funded project on trees and methane cycles. You will clean data with R, estimate missing values, and help generate figures and tables for a scientific manuscript.

You must be an enrolled student. The role involves weekly meetings with project mentors and contributing to data analysis, visualization, and writing tasks across the project.

Qualifications

• Enrollment as an American University student.
• Experience with data analysis and R is helpful.
• Interest in environmental data and methane cycle research.

Responsibilities

• Clean up data and estimate missing values using R.
• Create graphs and tables to visualize the data.
• Assist in writing text for a scientific manuscript.
• Meet weekly with Karen Knee and Betty Malloy to discuss progress and update goals.

Job description

Work Where You Learn: Build Experience, Grow Skills, and Contribute to Your University Community.

This position is available only to enrolled American University students.

Most student positions at American University are eligible to use Federal Work Study (FWS) awards, with a few exceptions. FWS funds cannot be applied to janitorial, construction, partisan or sectarian positions. For information or questions regarding FWS funds, please contact American University's Office of Financial Aid.

Department:

College of Arts & Sciences

Time Type:

Part time

FLSA Status:

Non-Exempt

Job Description:

The research assistant will assist with data analysis related to an NSF-funded project on understanding the role of trees in the global methane cycle. Specifically, they will use R to clean up a large data set of methane emissions from baldcypress trees, estimate missing values, determine how methane fluxes vary in time and space, and extrapolate point measurements to an entire forest plot. The research assistant will also be involved in creating figures and tables and writing text for a scientific manuscript arising from this research.

Essential Functions:

• Meet weekly with Karen Knee and Betty Malloy to discuss progress and update goals.
• Clean up data set to remove points that result from measurement error and estimate missing values.
• Create graphs and tables using R and R studio to visualize the data.
• Use statistical and data analysis methods to characterize how tree gas fluxes vary in time (different months of the year) and space (different trees and height on tree stem).
• Use point measurements to generate plot- and forest-scale gas flux estimates.
• Generate figures, tables, and text for a scientific publication.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:

Part-time. 5 hours per week.

Salary Range:

$18.40 per hour.

American University is an E-Verify employer.

Visit https://www.american.edu/hr/ for additional information about American University employment and benefits.

Contact Us

For more information or assistance with the American University careers site, email [e-mail].

American University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution that operates in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The university does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy), age, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, personal appearance, gender identity and expression, family responsibilities, political affiliation, source of income, veteran status, an individual's genetic information or any other bases under federal or local laws (collectively "Protected Bases") in its programs and activities.