USDA-ARS Disaster Resilience and Science of Emergency Management Fellowship

*Applications are reviewed on a rolling-basis.

ARS Office/Lab and Location: A research opportunity is currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), located in Manhattan, Kansas.

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency with a mission to find solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day from field to table. ARS will deliver cutting-edge, scientific tools and innovative solutions for American farmers, producers, industry, and communities to support the nourishment and well-being of all people; sustain our nation’s agroecosystems and natural resources; and ensure the economic competitiveness and excellence of our agriculture. The vision of the agency is to provide global leadership in agricultural discoveries through scientific excellence.

The National Bio Agro Defense Facility (NBAF) is the newest laboratory in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. NBAF’s mission is to protect the United States against transboundary, emerging, and zoonotic animal diseases that threaten our food supply, agricultural economy and public health. NBAF researchers will conduct comprehensive research, develop vaccines and anti-virals, and provide enhanced diagnostic and training capabilities to protect the nation from animal diseases that are Foreign or transboundary — could enter the U.S. from another country. Emerging — are new or not well known. Zoonotic — normally exist in animals but can infect humans.

Research Project: Under the guidance of a mentor, the fellow will research projects related to the team's current and future portfolio of creating resilience for an all hazards model within the Emergency Management section of the NBAF. This will be with respect to the risk and resilience of disrupted systems due to natural disasters and cyberattacks. Current projects are at the infancy stages and require systems approaches to support policy decisions. The team is researching:

• How to build the business case for resilience in EM systems with improved quantification and consideration of broad benefits, including methods that consider the sustainability and resilience,
• Resilience of complex systems where interconnected domains require consideration of compounding threats and cascading failures,
• Energy and transportation networks where resilience and efficiency of critical functions need to be quantified and integrated in selection of management policies, and
• Data analytics and risk analysis for all hazards response.

Learning Objectives: These projects provide a broad learning experience in efforts at different stages of execution, from project conception and scoping to report and manuscript publication. 

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Jeffrey Hansford (jeffrey.hansford@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: 2024. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of ARS and is contingent on the availability of funds.

Level of Participation: The appointment is full time.

Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience.

Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens only.

ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and ARS. Participants do not become employees of USDA, ARS, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process, please email ORISE.ARS.Plains@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or have received an associate's, bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree in the one of the relevant fields.

Preferred skills:

• Knowledge of emergency management
• Complex systems
• Risk and resilience analytics

Eligibility Requirements

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
• Degree: Associate's Degree, Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree, or Doctoral Degree.