Temporary Plant Evolutionary Ecology Field Technician
The Sheth plant evolutionary ecology lab in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC) is currently seeking field technician to participate in an NSF-funded study (https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2220928&HistoricalAwards=false) under the direction of Dr. Seema Sheth and in collaboration with Drs. Susana Wadgymar (Davidson College), Jill Anderson (University of Georgia), Megan DeMarche (University of Georgia), and Emily Josephs (Michigan State University). The project combines approaches from evolutionary biology, field ecology, and population genomics in a broadly distributed native plant species (Chamaecrista fasciculata, Fabaceae) to forecast population dynamics range-wide under climate change. The technician will be part of a dynamic, dedicated, and engaged research group as well as a member of a multidisciplinary and multi-institution collaborative group that includes Botanic Garden and conservation professionals.The successful candidate will contribute to a collaborative study of eco-evolutionary responses to climate in the partridge pea, Chamaecrista fasciculata, an annual legume that grows in disturbed habitats in central and eastern North America. The technician’s primary responsibilities involve establishing and maintaining a large common garden experiment (~6,500 plants) at Mason Farm Biological Reserve in Chapel Hill, NC. This includes preparing seeds for planting, planting seeds, setting up the garden infrastructure, building open-top chambers, collecting data on traits and fitness, entering data, maintenance tasks in the garden (e.g., weeding), and processing samples in the lab. The technician will also have opportunities to train and mentor undergraduate students and work with graduate students.Exact start and end dates are flexible; this is a time-limited appointment for a maximum of 11 months.Review of applications will begin on December 10 and continue until the position is filled. Due to the large volume of applicants, we will not be able to respond to individual emails about this position or meet with applicants prior to submission of application materials.