Postdoc + PhD Positions at Virginia Tech
New 5-year, $3.6M, NSF Growing Convergence Research project will develop a systems-of-systems (SoS) convergence paradigm that includes an SoS computational framework, an SoS decision-support system, and an SoS pedagogy, enabling diverse stakeholders to integratively address the suite of societal challenges of the Anthropocene and catalyzing a major transformation in our national and global approach to science and engineering.
For more information, see attached document or contact John Little (jcl@vt.edu):
John C. Little, Ph.D., P.E.
Charles Edward Via, Jr. Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0246, USA
Research Group | Google Scholar
These positions are funded by a recently awarded National Science Foundation Growing Convergence Research project titled: GCR: Convergent Anthropocene Systems (Anthems) – A System-of-Systems Paradigm. The project will develop a systems-of-systems (SoS) convergence paradigm that includes an SoS computational framework, an SoS decision-support system, and an SoS pedagogy, enabling diverse stakeholders to integratively address the suite of societal challenges of the Anthropocene (e.g., climate change and impacts, renewable energy, adaptive infrastructure, disasters, pandemics, food insecurity, biodiversity loss) and catalyzing a major transformation in our national and global approach to science and engineering. The SoS convergence paradigm will be developed, implemented, and validated in close collaboration with the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP), focusing on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (CBW) region. The CBP is a consortium of governmental and non-governmental entities that manage the CBW, and through their committee structure and outreach provide an avenue for effective stakeholder engagement. The CBW is home to over 17 million people and the CBP stakeholder community needs integrated modeling tools to examine synergies (e.g., nutrient reduction and flood risk mitigation) and tradeoffs (e.g., nutrient reduction and fish productivity) across multiple systems. Together, the CBW and the CBP provide a real-world testbed for the SoS convergence paradigm, enabling intellectually-diverse researchers to address multiple interdependent societal challenges (eutrophication, agriculture impacts, and economic growth) by integrating across multiple systems (land use, watershed, economic, estuary and governance) and multiple disciplines (environmental engineering, city and regional planning, planning policy and design, civil engineering, geography, industrial and systems engineering, political economy and public policy).