Postdoctoral Researcher in Flood Risk, Human and Infrastructure Resilience, and Adaptation Planning

Position Title: Postdoctoral Researcher in Flood Risk, Human and Infrastructure Resilience, and Adaptation Planning

Department: 9050|Institute for Coastal & Water Rsh

Responsibilities:

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette Louisiana Watershed Flood Center (LWFC), a unit of the University’s Institute for Coastal and Water Research (ICaWR) and an affiliated center with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, seeks a postdoctoral researcher to conduct interdisciplinary research addressing the disproportionate impacts of climate change and increasing flood risk in U.S. Gulf regions through justice-minded research and collaborative climate adaptation planning (https://hydrorise.org/).

We seek a candidate with the capacity to bridge fields including hydrology, water resources engineering, flood prediction, climatology, geography, economics, sociology, and planning. The postdoctoral researcher role will combine model development, scenario analysis, stakeholder engagement, and the translation of scientific findings to inform equitable adaptation planning under climate uncertainty.

We are particularly interested in candidates with expertise in infrastructure resilience, adaptation planning, and systems-level approaches to climate risk. Strong backgrounds across the following areas are encouraged: hydroclimatic modeling, geography, systems-based approaches, public policy, planning, or socioeconomic analysis.

The postdoctoral researcher will help develop and evaluate future climate adaptation scenarios, identifying strategies that address disproportionate community impacts and enhance both physical and social infrastructure resilience. The position offers extensive opportunities for collaboration with researchers, practitioners, and community partners across multiple states, contributing to innovative and equitable approaches that advance flood resilience in the region.

The postdoctoral researcher will report to the Director of ICaWR and LWFC. This is a 12-month position. The position is for 2 years, with the possibility of a third year, contingent upon performance and the completion of required project activities.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Use hydrodynamic simulations to quantify socioeconomic and environmental impacts
• Develop equity-oriented metrics for both human and physical systems.
• Develop and evaluate future climate adaptation scenarios, including different mitigation and land development options.
• Identify strategies that address disproportionate community impacts and enhance both physical and social infrastructure resilience.
• Conduct interdisciplinary research at the intersection of climate extremes, flood risk, community impacts, infrastructure resilience, and adaptation planning.
• Author research papers and participate in developing research proposals.
• Mentor graduate and undergraduate students.
• Participate in additional projects and duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Required Qualifications:

• PhD degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related fields. (Candidate may be ABD during the application process.)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Interdisciplinary graduate education across multiple fields, including hydro-climatic modeling, systems engineering, public policy, planning, and socioeconomic analysis.
• Expertise in infrastructure resilience, adaptation planning, and systems-level approaches to climate risk.
• Experience in hydrologic and hydrodynamic modeling.
• Experience using climate projection datasets, downscaling, and extreme event modeling.
• Experience with stakeholder engagement, co-design, and participatory modeling.
• Knowledge of adaptation planning and policy frameworks.

Skills, Abilities, Etc.:

• Experience with interdisciplinary collaborations.
• Proficiency in programming (e.g., Python, R, MATLAB, ArcGIS).
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Experience in writing and publishing research papers.
• Experience in presenting at professional meetings.
• Ability to participate in the development of research proposals.

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