Postdoctoral Fellows and/or Research Assistants

We are opening up one or more postdoctoral fellows and research assistant positions to work on various projects related to air pollution, climate change, biosphere-atmosphere interactions, and sustainable agriculture and forestry. Applicants should have (i) a Ph.D. degree in Earth, atmospheric and environmental sciences, agricultural and forest sciences, ecology, or related fields (for postdoctoral fellow); or an M.Phil. or a B.Sc. degree in the abovementioned disciplines (for research assistant); (ii) a demonstrated research track record or relevant background; and (iii) proficiency in at least one programming language (e.g., R, Python, Fortran, Matlab). Experience in numerical modeling, multivariate statistical analysis, biophysical remote sensing, model-data integration, and/or familiarity with a high-performance Earth system, atmospheric or land surface model is preferred.

We are particularly interested in candidates who can work on these current projects:

1. Ozone pollution in Greater Bay Area under climate change: To develop a coupled climate-chemistry-land modeling framework to better simulate ozone pollution in the Greater Bay Area of China; focus on land-mediated processes such as dry deposition and biogenic emissions, and meteorological controls; examine different chemical mechanisms and boundary layer schemes; predict the effects of future climate and land use changes on ozone air quality.

2. Effects of agricultural production and food consumption on air pollution via nitrogen cascade: To develop model capacities to simulate reactive nitrogen emissions and regional air quality in response to changes in food production methods and food consumption patterns in China and worldwide; examine best combinations of agricultural strategies and dietary trends that jointly enhance food security, human and environmental health.

3. Climate and air quality regulating services provided by forest ecosystems: To develop model capacities to estimate the ability of regional forests to take up carbon and other air pollutants; evaluate the contribution of Hong Kong vegetation to carbon neutrality and the mitigation of climate change and air pollution.

4. Novel climate-smart systems for sustainable agriculture under global environmental change: To integrate remote-sensing, field and experimental observations of crop cultivation into models; develop data-model fusion system for upscaling, monitoring, forecasting, and advising the optimal use of fertilizer and water in agroecosystems in China and worldwide; predict future crop yield, assess environmental impacts, and suggest optimization strategies under different climate change scenarios.

5. Effects of forest management on wildfires and air quality in tropical forests: To develop model capacities to estimate fire emissions from various sources including deforestation, land degradation, agriculture, etc.; evaluate the effects of interannual climate variability (e.g., El Niño) and land use change on wildfires and air quality in the Amazon and Equatorial Asia.

6. Effects of ozone pollution and nitrogen deposition on Chinese forest ecosystems: To develop model capacities to simulate the responses of forest ecosystems to ozone pollution, reactive nitrogen deposition and CO2 fertilization; examine the modulating effects of weather extremes; predict the impacts of future climatic and environmental changes on Chinese forest productivity and water use.

Successful candidates are expected to work with the Community Earth System Model (CESM), GEOS-Chem chemical transport model and/or Terrestrial Ecosystem Model in R (TEMIR); field studies are also expected for some of the projects above. To apply, applicants should submit the following documents in the online application here and/or directly to Prof. Amos Tai: (1) an up-to-date CV; (2) a cover letter in PDF format; and (3) contact information of at least two references. For enquiries, please contact Prof. Amos Tai.

Postgraduate (M.Phil. and Ph.D.) Students in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

If you are interested in a post-graduate study in our research group, you should apply through the Graduate Division of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS) under the Faculty of Science at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. We offer research-oriented post-graduate programs at both M.Phil. and Ph.D. levels. For details of our program and application procedure, please visit here. Contact Prof. Amos Tai or EAS office directly if you have any questions or require more information.

TGABI Group Meetings

If you're interested in learning more about what we do, you're more than welcome to join our research group meetings, which generally happen weekly. The most current schedule can be found online here. The password is the chemical formula of ammonium nitrate.