I have an opening for a Postdoc position available in my group that is rather flexible and provides a lot of freedom because it is unattached to any research project (it is the succession of my co-worker Maik Renner, who advanced to a permanent position elsewhere). I would like the research to broadly focus on advancing the application of thermodynamics and optimality principles to Earth system science, but the concrete topic is up to you. So if you are curious to learn more about thermodynamics and how to apply it, I’d like you to think about a topic and apply! The formal details are provided on our homepage here.
How is this going to proceed in times of the Corona virus? The short answer is that I do not know, but I’ll do my best to accomplish a flexible start. This will probably mean that interviews will take place through a video call, and the position may start at your kitchen table rather than the institute desk. We’ll figure something out.
Why is thermodynamics something really cool? Actually, I should start by saying that as a student, I was always a bit intimidated by thermodynamics, being so abstract and mathematically intense. But, as it turns out, one does not need much of it to get basic insights for Earth system science. Most importantly, it not just provides a fundamental direction and limits to energy conversions (and different forms of energy are underneath practically all Earth system processes), it actually also allows us to do climatology and climate change science on the back of an envelope! So we do not need and rely on complicated, incomprehensible climate models to figure out what is going to happen with global warming. Yet, we can use GCM simulations to compare our outcomes to. If you want to see what we have already done, check out our recent publications on our home page or our blogposts here on this blog.
Do you have more questions? If something is unclear, or you want some feedback, or there is a timing issue or concern, or are unable to submit your application by the deadline, just let me know, e.g., by e-mail. My contact details are summarized here.
Earthsystem.org 