Job Description

The Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics along with an interdisciplinary team of researchers with expertise in applied economics and remote sensing led by Dr. Elinor Benami and based in Blacksburg, Virginia, is seeking a highly motivated individual to join our team as a Research Associate .

About NASA Harvest
NASA Harvest is NASA's Global Food Security and Agriculture Program.
Our mission is to enable and advance adoption of satellite Earth observations by public and private organizations to benefit food security, sustainability, agriculture, and human and environmental resiliency worldwide. We accomplish this through a multidisciplinary and multisectoral Consortium of leading scientists and agricultural stakeholders, led by researchers at the University of Maryland and implemented through co-development with our partners across the globe.

As part of our NASA Harvest activities, our team is investigating the correspondence of remotely sensed indicators to realized losses of policyholders in a variety of agricultural insurance programs across the globe. The position requires evaluating variation in observable agro-environmental conditions as well as on-the-ground data related to yields and livelihoods. The candidate will be responsible for supporting the research efforts of our team using a variety of tools and methods. These will include preparing geospatial and administrative data for analysis, applying theory-guided statistical approaches to uncover relationships in the data, generating visualizations and maps, preparing manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed journals, and presenting findings at meetings and conferences for academic as well as practitioner audiences.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to use your expertise in geospatial and economic analysis to assess the potential and limits of these technologies to enhance the value of agricultural insurance to the public as well as policyholders. We anticipate occasional travel to visit relevant local partners as well as collaborators across the US and the globe for training and advancing the research program.

The ideal candidate will have an MS or PhD with work experience in a relevant quantitative field, such as remote sensing, earth system sciences, computational social sciences, or agricultural economics/risk management, and will have a strong background in geospatial analysis and economic modeling.

Required Qualifications

Masters degree in a related field; Excellent written and oral communication skills; Demonstrated experience with data analysis software, such as R or Python; Facility with version control systems, e.g., git; Interest in the scholarly as well as public policy applications and implications of computational spatial science

Preferred Qualifications

PhD in relevant field, including experience submitting academic papers for publication
Experience with geospatial cloud computing platforms such as Google Earth Engine; Prior work in insurance/risk transfer; Prior experience with techniques to measure agronomic losses

Appointment Type

Restricted

Salary Information

53,500 - 61,500

Review Date

01/31/2024

Additional Information

To apply: Please submit (1) a cover letter indicating your interests and relevant background (2) your CV (3) a link to your github profile or similar coding portfolio

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.

About Virginia Tech

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight , a , a college, , and . The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including the in Northern Virginia; the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke; sites in Newport News and Richmond; and numerous and . A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $500 million in research annually.