The Department of Soil Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is seeking applications for an academic (9-month) tenure track assistant professor position in Soil Carbon Science. This position is funded through the Dairy Innovation Hub and will largely focus on soil carbon storage and cycling in the dairy production systems of Wisconsin. The Dairy Innovation Hub, which the state of Wisconsin is supporting to the tune of $7.8 million per year, harnesses research and development at UW-Madison, UW-Platteville and UW-River Falls campuses to keep Wisconsin's $46 billion dairy community at the global forefront in producing nutritious dairy products in an economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable manner.

The US dairy industry is moving towards carbon neutrality. Challenges as well as opportunities remain to achieve this goal. Dairy production serves as a source of carbon emissions from agricultural systems, but there is also considerable potential to sequester soil organic carbon (SOC) within dairy systems. Reducing carbon emissions (as methane and CO2) from cows, waste streams, and soils, as well as increasing the amount of carbon stored in soils is important for the dairy industry in the US and around the world. Research efforts that include carbon measurement, modeling, mapping, and management are needed to achieve net zero. Several aspects of dairy systems influence the maintenance or increase of SOC stocks, including manure application, forage crops, cover cropping, and pasture management. Research is needed to optimize carbon sequestration in soils, as well to as to assess the relationship between SOC and agricultural productivity. There is also a need to upscale field and farm-level measurements to county, state, regional, and national levels, and to assess and predict SOC stocks, changes in SOC stocks, and carbon emissions.

As carbon markets and carbon auditing become more prevalent, time effective, accurate and comparable measurements of SOC should be developed, especially for farm-scale assessment using large numbers of samples. Methods of sampling and analysis require standardization and refinement. This can include direct sampling, proximal sensing, remote sensing, or a combination thereof to accurately predict carbon stocks and increases. Simultaneously, "big data" or "data science" methods are growing and becoming accessible. A soil carbon scientist who can work across measurement, modeling, and management will leverage these growing areas to serve the dairy industry.

The soil carbon scientist will develop a highly productive research program with a majority focus on measurement, modeling, and/or management of soil C in dairy production systems. The scientist will write and obtain federal grants, publish papers, and advise graduate students in soil science, agroecology, and environmental science degree programs.

The faculty member will teach soil and develop soil carbon courses relevant across CALS majors and graduate programs, based on their interests and program needs. For example, with growing student interest in climate change and carbon cycling, teaching responsibilities could include a broad-reaching undergraduate course on the subject. Additionally, graduate-level courses would complement existing course offerings at UW-Madison.

The faculty member will also advise and mentor graduate students in their research group and serve on graduate student committees across UW-Madison. The faculty member will also help promote and support an inclusive and diverse climate in the department, on campus, and within associated communities. The Department of Soil Science and the Dairy Innovation Hub are well-connected to extension and outreach locally and across Wisconsin, and the new faculty member will be supported in connecting their research with existing programs and opportunities.

To ensure consideration by October 1, 2023, please click on the "Apply Now" button. You will be asked to upload your CV, cover letter outlining your qualifications, list of three references, a one-page statement of your teaching philosophy, and a research statement (no more than two pages). For questions about the position or application process, please contact Alfred Hartemink at hartemink@wisc.edu.

Employment will require an institutional reference check regarding any misconduct. To be considered, applicants must upload a signed 'Authorization to Release Information' form as part of the application. The authorization form and a definition of 'misconduct' can be found here: https://hr.wisc.edu/institutional-reference-check/

The UW-Madison, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) is committed to maintaining and growing a culture that embraces diversity, inclusion, and equity, believing that these values are foundational elements of our excellence and fundamental components of positive and enriching learning and working environments for all students, faculty, and staff. At CALS, we acknowledge that bias, prejudice, racism, and hate have historically occurred in many forms that cause significant and lasting harm to members of our community. We commit to taking actions each day toward a college that is inclusive and welcoming to all. The Department of Soil Sciences is committed to advancing diversity in all areas, including scholarship, instruction, and engagement.

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: Diversity and Inclusion

Successful candidates will have a record of or demonstrate potential for:
i) Extramural grant-writing.
ii) Publishing in peer reviewed journals.
iii) Mentoring and training graduate students.
iv) Teaching and curriculum development.
v) Promoting an inclusive and diverse climate within campus and associated communities.

An ideal candidate will have expertise in at least two of these three areas: measurement, modeling, and/or management of soil carbon in dairy production systems.

All requirements must be met by the position start date.

About University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Department of Soil Science is the oldest and likely most renowned soil science department in the USA, and perhaps even in the world. We are home to degrees in soil and environmental sciences. Our department’s research mission includes cycling of water, energy, elements and the sustainability of natural and managed ecosystems. Our environmental research and education, focuses on the solid-liquid interfaces, transformation, and fate of current and emerging contaminants in soil from industrial, urban, and agricultural sources.

Connections working at University of Wisconsin-Madison