tldr; looking for experts in sensor/ data fusion to mitigate aviation’s climate impacts
Date posted: Tuesday, May 14th
Overview
Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment (LAE) in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics is seeking a talented Postdoctoral Associate to join a collaborative and interdisciplinary team of faculty and researchers in the areas of sensor and data fusion applied to mitigation of aviation environmental impacts. In particular, we are developing the means to operationally avoid condensation trails (contrails) which cause climate impacts similar in magnitude to those from aviation CO2 emissions.
Research activities will include:
- Bayesian data fusion and remote sensing applied to real-time satellite data, weather predictions, and flight-track data;
- publishing and disseminating research findings to the applied machine learning as well as the aviation community;
- mentoring gradute students, and complementing the team to advance the research.
Candidates will contribute to the team and their research on understanding, quantifying, and mitigating the impacts of aircraft condensation trails (“contrails”). The aim of the research is to facilitate the reduction in contrail-related environmental impacts by advancing contrail avoidance technology. This will involve assimilating and fusing data from existing observations and machine learning models, radiosonde data, flight track data and numerical weather predictions to detect contrails in satellite imagery and estimate contrail altitudes in real time to provide robust contrail avoidance advisory.
Application
Candidates should apply at https://careers.peopleclick.com/careerscp/client_mit/external/jobDetails/jobDetail.html?jobPostId=30176&localeCode=en-us
Candidates should submit the following: their C.V., a cover letter, and contact information for up to three references.
Appointment period
Appointments will be for one year with the possibility of renewal pending satisfactory performance and funding availability.
Contact
Reach out to prash@mit.edu if you have any questions.
Qualifications and skills
Education:
PhD (or equivalent) in data fusion, Bayesian statistics, or related fields.
Experience:
Candidates must have a background in data fusion preferably with a background in application to problems in climate science, remote sensing, or weather prediction. A publication record in these fields or related fields is preferred, but not expected.
Candidates are expected to be willing to expand their focus to cover several of the topics outlined in the scope of their work.
Required Skills:
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, documentation, organizational, and interpersonal skills.
- Proficiency in English communication and excellent technical writing skills required.
- Proficiency in programming.
- Strong interpersonal skills desired.
- The ability to contribute in a multidisciplinary team setting, prioritize and perform multiple tasks in a dynamic environment, and execute detailed technical protocols.
- Self-motivated and ability to prioritize and multitask.
- Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
Working at LAE
The MIT Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment (LAE) envisions a green aerospace sector which connects the world and creates significant benefits for humanity. Research at LAE aims to: (1) advance our understanding of the environmental impacts of current and future aerospace technologies; and (2) develop technical and policy solutions which lead to drastic reductions in the environmental impacts of aerospace technologies.
The Postdoctoral Associate will report to Prof. Ian Waitz and will be co-supervised by senior researchers at LAE.