Opportunities

Postdoctoral Research Positions

Available postdoctoral positions will be posted here as they become available. If you are interested in opportunities in STEPS, please contact us. 

Graduate Research Positions

Available graduate positions will be posted here as they become available. If you are interested in student opportunities in STEPS, please contact us. 

Graduate Opportunity at NC State

Dr. Dan Obenour in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering is seeking a graduate student to fill an open research assistant position in the Environmental Modeling and Forecasting lab group at NC State University in Raleigh. The position will focus on modeling of nutrient flows and downstream water quality impacts. This position is associated with STEPS (https://steps-center.org/), a convergence research center focused on phosphorus sustainability. Through STEPS, the selected student will have opportunities to interact closely with researchers in other fields, provide stakeholder outreach, and support junior students, including those from under-represented groups.

Primary responsibilities will include computational modeling and the development of scholarly manuscripts and presentations. The student will be based at either the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering or the Center for Geospatial Analytics, depending on the student’s background and interests. Preference will be given to motivated candidates with expertise in one or more of the following areas: water quality dynamics, geospatial analysis, coding, statistical modeling, and/or machine learning.

Interested candidates should contact Dr. Obenour (drobenour@ncsu.edu), providing a resume/CV and brief summary of research interests and qualifications. Outstanding candidates will be encouraged to submit a full application (https://grad.ncsu.edu/programs/how-to-apply/). Members of under-represented groups are especially encouraged to apply. The position is available in January 2024, though later start dates (e.g., August 2024) will be considered. The selected applicant will receive a competitive stipend, full tuition, and benefits.

Learn more about this opportunity here: Nutrient and Water Resources Modeling Graduate Opportunity

Undergraduate Positions

Available undergraduate positions will be posted here as they become available. If you are interested in student opportunities in STEPS, please contact us. 

Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)

STEPS REU and Research Experience for Future Farmers (REF)

STEPS will support 15 students for ten weeks during Summer 2024 through a multi-institutional REU/REF program. Students will work on independent research projects within the Center under the mentorship of STEPS Scholars and faculty. Students will be placed on projects that align with their research and career interests at one of the eight STEPS academic institutions.
Learn more here.

STEPS Center Director’s Fellowship Awards

The STEPS Center Director’s Fellowship Awards provide prestigious bridge support for stipends, fringe benefits, and tuition (if relevant) for the engagement of high-performing graduate students (Masters and Ph.D.) and postdoctoral scholars.

The awards provide interim support of a maximum of 1 year for scholars during their appointment at a STEPS institution who are either beginning research prior to joining an existing STEPS Project (e.g., new recruits) or are building upon existing projects in ways that promote new convergence/integration across STEPS (e.g., new meta-level research projects, creating final products from projects that are ending). When used as a recruitment tool, the Director’s Fellowship Award can provide time for students to establish core competencies in relevant fields, experiment with cross-disciplinary training, and/or work with multiple mentors/PIs in new research areas before committing to a specific project, PI(s), or program.  Research projects that include aspects of diversity scholarship, stakeholder engagement, and participatory research are particularly encouraged, even if a component of a broader research scope.

Learn more here. If you are interested in fellowship opportunities with STEPS, please contact us.