Postdoctoral Fellowships in Climate Change, Machine Learning and Advanced Materials

Call for BIDMaP Postdoctoral Fellows - Are you interested in working at the interface of machine learning and natural sciences to address climate change?

The BIDMaP Postdoctoral Fellows Program is accepting fellowship applications from recent PhDs in basic science or data science fields interested in working at the interface of machine learning, the natural sciences and climate change.

The Bakar Institute of Digital Materials for the Planet (BIDMaP) is an institute in UC Berkeley’s new College of Computing, Data Science, and Society (CDSS), bringing together machine learning and data science with the natural sciences to address one of society’s most urgent challenges: climate change. BIDMaP is focused on developing new techniques in machine learning that will enhance and accelerate discovery in experimental natural sciences and development of novel materials to address climate change. To this end, BIDMaP promotes collaboration between world-renowned AI/ML experts and chemists, as well as other physical scientists. Among other new materials, we explore modular materials such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs) for clean air, clean energy, and clean water.

Eligibility

Candidates should have one of the following academic training and research profiles:

1. Computing/statistics/AI/ML training, and eagerness to work with natural scientists to enable new discoveries; or

2. Basic science training in chemistry, physics, biological sciences, or materials science, and eagerness to work with machine learning researchers to accelerate discovery with new computational techniques.

Fellows will be mentored by UC Berkeley faculty both in computing/statistics/AI/ML and in basic natural sciences. See the current mentor list to the right.

The BIDMaP Postdoctoral Fellows Fellowship is designed to attract exceptional early-career scientists, with a doctoral degree awarded roughly between June, 2022 and July, 2025.

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are core values at UC Berkeley. Successful candidates for our academic positions should demonstrate evidence of a commitment to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Timeline

Applications will open October 1, 2024. Candidates should apply by November 15, 2024 for full consideration for a fellowship in the coming cycle. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis after this date.

Appointments will begin in Spring, Summer, or Fall 2025, depending on accepted fellows’ preferred start dates.

Appointment Terms

BIDMaP Fellows will be appointed for two years, renewable for a third year upon mutual agreement.

Application

Candidates:

To apply, please send the following materials to bidmap@berkeley.edu by November 15, 2024 with the subject line “Fellowship candidate [last name]”

• Statement of research (typically ~2–5 pages), outlining prior research and future goals. Optional: Address particular interest in BIDMaP’s scientific and societal goals and mention names of preferred mentors from the BIDMaP Faculty.

• Curriculum vitae

• Statement on contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion, including information about your understanding of these topics, your record of activities to date, and your specific plans and goals for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion if hired at Berkeley. For additional information, see Contributions to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.

Three letters of recommendation are required for an application to be considered complete. Candidates are responsible for asking references to submit letters directly, as detailed below.

References:

• Please provide a letter of recommendation, addressing the candidate's qualifications and potential to advance BIDMaP’s scientific objectives. Letters should be submitted directly from each recommender to bidmap@berkeley.edu, with subject line “Fellowship candidate [last name]”. Letters of recommendation should be submitted on institutional letterhead and include the following information: candidate's title and institution, and recommender’s title and institution. Letters are requested by November 15, 2024.

About the University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct.