PREP0003030 GIS Specialist for Community Resilience

PREP Research Associate

Opportunity No.: PREP0003030

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, and thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

APPLY ONLINE HERE

PREP0003030 GIS Specialist for Community Resilience 

The Community Resilience Program (CRP) of the National Institute of Standards of Technology (NIST) anticipates the need for a GIS (Geographic Information System) Specialist to work on community resilience and sustainability. The Community Resilience Group conducts research and works with a wide range of stakeholders to provide tools to communities to help improve community resilience for all hazards, with a focus on the built environment(buildings and infrastructure systems) and the role they play in meeting the social needs of the community.

Key Responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

• Collaborate on data and methods to improve the methodology for measuring the economic impact of community resilience planning, which is organized around the performance metric of ‘cost plus loss’ minimization – i.e., the economically optimal level of investment in prevention and mitigation activities to reduce future disturbance and disaster-related losses, as well as related expenditures that minimize the combined investment cost plus the value of expected losses. 
• Development of decision frameworks for community-level choices
• Design and execution of data collection instruments
• Statistical analysis of collected survey data
• Assessment of research and data gaps
• Develop decision-support tools for home residents, homeowners, communities, business operators, industry, and/or government agencies to make more efficient, sustainable, resilient, and/or circular choices.
• Publish within refereed journals and technical research series
• Craft decision-support software
• Communicate research at professional conferences

The GIS Specialist will have an opportunity to:

• Lead complex geospatial research for Community Resilience Planning and Disaster and Failure Studies, focusing on community resilience to natural, human-caused, and technological hazards, as well as socio-economic and physical community systems.
• Direct the development of geospatial metrology, models, tools, guidance, and standards for community resilience and associated decision-making.
• Engage with internal and external partners to establish best practices for data collection in multi-disciplinary post-disaster field studies, utilizing current technologies and tools to advance disaster research metrology.

• Provide subject matter expertise and strategic direction on resilience-related socio-economic and physical systems science, employing advanced Geographic Information System analysis, diverse quantitative and qualitative methods, data collection instruments, and interdisciplinary methodologies for community resilience measurement and modeling. Offers geospatial expertise and guidance, and actively participates in disaster field studies, technical investigations, and disaster reconnaissance.

Desired Qualifications:

• An advanced (Masters or Postdoc) degree in GIS Research Sociology, Computer Science, Engineering, Economics, Social Science, Planning, Behavioral Social Sciences, or a related field.
• Familiarity with multiple scripting languages
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Either (1) Advanced knowledge of policies, theories, principles, practices, and methods of a technical professional field of research (in science, engineering, information technology, or mathematics) and the ability, as a significant contributor to the specialty, to conduct and direct an advanced research program, exercise professional leadership, and provide consultation in the specialty. Skill in applying highly valued expertise in a recognized leading-edge research field. Ability to justify, defend, negotiate, or settle matters involving significant or controversial issues and/or programs. OR (2) Ability to perform the full range of supervisory functions, including planning, assigning, and reviewing work, and evaluating performance. Advanced knowledge of the programs directed and the ability to influence, motivate, or persuade persons or groups or take actions related to advancing the program/organization's fundamental goals and objectives, including program planning, managing resources, assigning and reviewing work, and evaluating performance

Other Details:

• Full-time: the participant is expected to work 40 hours a week.
• Location: the participant will work at the NIST Gaithersburg Campus.
• Duration: this is a one-year position. Extensions are sometimes granted depending on the availability of funds.
• Applications will be accepted until all positions are filled.
• For questions related to the research project or the nature of the work in this position, please contact Dr. Jennifer Helgeson  (jennifer.helgeson@nist.gov). For questions related to the online application or NIST PREP more generally, please contact msu-nistprep@morgan.edu.

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor’s degree holders, graduate students, master’s degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate the administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates.

Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use the information you submit for the purpose stated.