Assistant Professor in Environmental Science

School/Department: School of Natural Sciences/Discipline of Botany 

Job Category and Level: Academic; Assistant Professor (Tenure Track)

Post Status Tenure Track - This position is Tenure Track position which is 5-years in the first instance, permanency is subject to satisfying the tenure requirements.

The School of Natural Sciences and the Discipline of Botany seek to appoint a tenure track position of Assistant Professor in Environmental Science at Trinity College Dublin. This is an open search for a candidate with experience in any aspect of environmental science involving plants, algae and/or fungi and their interactions with the environment from the molecular to individual plant scales. Research expertise in plant stress and mechanisms of plant responses to global change are of particular interest, including the study of plant responses to the environment using transcriptomic, epigenomic and/or proteomic techniques. Expertise in plant, fungal and/or algal molecular-level responses to global change such as droughts, floods, temperature, atmospheric composition in agricultural, managed or natural ecosystems is desirable. We are particularly interested in candidates who’s teaching, and research are complimentary to or can strengthen an existing field of expertise within the diverse offerings in the Discipline of Botany within the School of Natural Sciences. Current modules taught in the Discipline include plant molecular biology, restoration ecology and rewilding, palaeobotany and paleoecology, soil science and plant carbon fluxes, global climate modelling with a focus on biosphere nutrient cycles, below ground processes, nature-based solutions and planthuman interactions, plant taxonomy, diversity and systematics, entomology, and chemical ecology, genomics, applied environmental genetics and chemical ecology. Previous teaching experience in at least one of these areas is desirable.

Context 

The School of Natural Sciences is part of the Faculty of Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The School comprises of the Disciplines of Botany, Geography, Geology and Zoology and is also home to three research centres, the Centre for the Environment, Nature+ and the Climate+ Co-Centre. The School is home to 50 academic staff, 31 professional support staff, 35 research staff and a large postgraduate community. The School manages seven undergraduate and four taught masters degree programmes and contributes to several other programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, catering to more than 850 students collectively. The Discipline of Botany hosts internationally significant living and archival plant collections and collection-based facilities including an active herbarium containing over 400,000 highly valued specimens of plants and algae and the Trinity College Botanic Garden and Irish Threatened Plant Seed Bank, with over 3000 accessions in their living and seed bank collections. The Discipline manages state-of-the-art field (Eddy Covariance Towers), experimental (Variable Atmosphere and Light Laboratory) and analytical laboratories (Molecular, Paleoecology, Soil and Plant-Climate Laboratories) for a wide range of plant and environmental science research and the dedicated off-campus botanic garden is undergoing new glass-house developments and upgrading of facilities. Staff and students also have access to cutting edge microscopy (Tescan TIGER SEM and Tescan Mira II SEM), isotope (CF-IRMS for the analysis of HC-N-O isotopes in organic matter) and elemental (LA-ICP-MS systems) analysis infrastructure within the School of Natural Sciences. The Discipline of Botany and the School of Natural Sciences sit within a collaborative initiative called E3. This is an alignment of three Schools – Natural Sciences, Engineering, and Computer Science and Statistics – to foster multidisciplinary research and teaching with a view to tackling complex global problems.

Person Requirements 

The role-holder will require the following knowledge, skills, and attributes for successful performance in the role: 

Qualifications 

• Excellent academic record and have completed a PhD in Plant Sciences, Molecular Biology, Environmental Science or a relevant area. 

• Academic publications in peer reviewed international journals and/or publications of equal standing of recognised originality and value in the field(s) of botany, ecology, conservation, biodiversity, sustainability, molecular biology, and/or environmental science.