Employment Opportunities

Upcoming Term Positions in Caribbean Island Water Infrastructure Resilience

Description:

The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Center for Infrastructure Defense (CID) is offering 6-month research appointments designed to support talented recently graduated students, current postgraduate students, and postdoctoral scholars to develop valuable skills and gain research experience while assessing the vulnerability and resilience of U.S. infrastructure to future disasters. The 2024 focus for this appointment is Caribbean Island water infrastructure, including potable water distribution, stormwater drainage, and water resource management systems.

Since Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, CID has been supporting the Federal Emergency Management Agency to recover and rebuild infrastructure in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). This year, CID is helping lead instrument deployment, data collection, modeling, and analysis efforts within the territory to better characterize USVI water infrastructure systems. This work is in collaboration with diverse local stakeholders, including the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), Witt O’Brien’s (WOB), the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (VIWAPA), the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources (VIDPNR), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) among many others. Results from this work will directly support ongoing efforts to improve water distribution, drainage, and infrastructure in the territory and protect communities from future storms, droughts, and natural disasters.

Towards this goal, you will be participating in diverse research activities, including data collection, analysis, and science communications collaborating with teams in the USVI and Monterey, CA, and will have or are developing a broad range of experience and expertise in water infrastructure systems and research, including but not limited to:

• Water infrastructure systems design and operation (e.g., asset management, engineering design, hydraulic and hydrologic modeling)

• Instrumentation for water resources and system assessment (e.g., infrastructure condition assessment, sensor deployment, real-time data acquisition, database design, web and online services)

• Community outreach and engagement (e.g., interviewing, focus groups, science communications, and qualitative research methods

Along the way, you will engage in activities and research in several areas. These include, but are not limited to:

• Travel to U.S. islands and military installations to collect on-site, real-world data on water infrastructure condition, function, and operation;

• Develop descriptive models and software for data acquisition, data-model fusion, and system analysis alongside prescriptive models for emergency response, infrastructure upgrade, and long-term planning;

• Assist with real-world decision-making for island and installation water infrastructure upgrades and protection against future threats;

• Publish new models, data, and analyses in peer-reviewed journals and technical reports; and,

• Network and join a cohort of scholars and researchers across government and academic settings working on water infrastructure vulnerability and resilience research.

Anticipated start date:

Initial appointments are expected to begin around June 2024. However, there is the possibility for appointments to start earlier or later depending on candidate availability. Exact start dates will be determined at the time of selection and in coordination with the selected candidate. Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis and the position will be filled as qualified candidates are identified.

About CID

The NPS Center for Infrastructure Defense leads research that supports the continued operation of critical military and civilian infrastructure systems in the presence of failure, natural disaster, adversarial attack, and surprise. CID supports interdisciplinary senior scholars to work with highly motivated students and develop detailed analyses and implementation plans for lifeline infrastructure systems like electric power, fuel, water, transportation, telecommunications, and supply chains. CID scholars and alumni serve as trusted advisors to the military, government, and private sector on issues surrounding critical infrastructure protection and resilience. For more information about NPS CID, visit: https://nps.edu/cid.

About NPS

The mission of the Naval Postgraduate School provides relevant and advanced educational and research experience to commissioned officers of the Naval Service to increase their combat effectiveness and enhance the security of the United States. In support of this mission as well as to sustain academic excellence, NPS and the U.S. Department of the Navy (DoN) foster and encourage an academic program of relevant and meritorious naval research. NPS research supports the needs of the Navy and the U.S. Department of Defense while also building the intellectual capital of Naval Postgraduate School. For more information about NPS, visit: https://nps.edu.

Location:

Opportunity supports both in-person at NPS in Monterey, CA and remote work and requires the ability to travel to the USVI during the appointment.

Qualifications:

The Opportunity is open to all students and recent graduates who meet the following qualifications:

• U.S. Citizens at the time of application.

• Individuals 18 years of age or older at the time of application.

• For the AD-01 level: Have completed an undergraduate (B.A., B.S. or equivalent) degree at an accredited institution of higher education in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) discipline, or have demonstrated commensurate experience working in a STEM field.  

• For the AD-03 level: Have completed a graduate (M.A., M.S. or equivalent) degree at an accredited institution of higher education in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) discipline, or have demonstrated commensurate experience working in a STEM field.

General Qualifications:

• Familiarity with office automation software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.  

• Able to work independently on assigned tasks in between meetings with supervisor. 

• Able to work virtually from your location using online collaboration and meeting tools such as Microsoft Teams (has computer and Internet access).

• Able to travel for short periods to Monterey, CA and other locations in the Caribbean and/or US

• Knowledge and interest in learning Caribbean and USVI water infrastructure and related issues (e.g., rainwater catchment, water hauling, desalination, well and aquifer assessment, coastal drainage and flooding).

Some or all of following qualifications are desired:

• Fluency in Python or R. Python preferred.

• Experience with sensor placement and instrumentation, especially for water systems (e.g., pressure, flow, or water quality sensors).

• Experience with open-source water system modeling tools, especially in Python (e.g., EPANET, Water Network Tool for Resilience - WNTR, EPA SWMM, pipedream).

• Experience with geographic information system (GIS) data and analysis for water infrastructure

• Experience with mathematical modeling and optimization with commercial solvers, especially in Python (e.g., Pyomo, PySP, Gurobi, CPLEX).

• Written code interfaces between different tools and/or developed graphical user interfaces for an analysis tool (e.g., Dash, R-Shiny, JavaScript / TypeScript, AWS, Azure).

Applicants are requested to submit a resume and cover letter introducing the applicant's particular interests in the activities described in this announcement, along with (1) how their background and skills fit and (2) how participation will advance their career ambitions to Dr. Daniel Eisenberg (daniel.eisenberg@nps.edu) and Elle Hancock (michelle.hancock@nps.edu). Review of applications will start on April 9th, 2024, and continue until the position is filled.