The UCAR Visiting Scientist Programs (VSP) announces the 2014 call for applications to the Postdocs Applying Climate Expertise (PACE) Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. The program has been developed to:

• Grow the pool of scientists qualified to work at the interface between climate science and its applications;
• Transition advances in climate science and climate prediction into climate-related decision making tools and frameworks; and
• Increase and strengthen collaborations between climate research institutions and decision-making institutions across all sectors.

Postdoctoral scientists undertake research projects and develop tools that will apply climate prediction information to climate-impacted decisions. The work is conducted under the specification and direction of institutional mentoring partners: a Climate Research institution¹ and a Decision Making institution.²

Postdoctoral Applications

The program seeks recent or anticipated PhDs who have expertise in climate science and who are interested in applying their knowledge of the climate system to increase decision-making capacity in climate-sensitive sectors.

The application process for postdoctorates entails two steps:

• Applicants submit a cover letter, vitae, one to two pages describing in detail their qualifications as a climate expert, which includes a statement of their motivation for wanting this fellowship, a list of professional references, a description of their PhD thesis research, and their PhD and Master's thesis titles and abstracts. Applications are judged primarily on the quality of climate research education and background. Due date is 3 January 2014.
• Finalists are notified near the end of January and are then provided information on the 2014 hosting partner institutions and opportunities. To complete the application process, finalists write a short proposal to address the climate issues of interest to the decision-making institution and arrangements with the two hosting institutions. This portion of the application is due 1 March 2014.

PACE fellows are UCAR employees and receive a fixed annual salary plus UCAR benefits (health and dental insurance, paid time off, paid holidays, TIAA/CREF retirement fund, and life insurance). A relocation allowance and an allowance for travel during the appointment are provided.

Hosting Institution Applications

Interested host partners submit a joint Statement of Intent to host that is coordinated between the proposing Climate Research¹ and Decision Making partners.² The statement serves as an application, and a commitment to support half of the costs, on the part of the institutional partners to participate in PACE and to jointly host a postdoctoral fellow. Acceptance of institutional partners to participate in PACE will be based on how well the Statements of Intent align with PACE goals. Strong preference is given to institutional partners focusing on real-time climate-impacted decisions. PACE fellows spend significant time at both hosting institutions and, ideally, have an office space provided by the hosts in both locations.

The Statements of Intent inform the postdoctoral candidate finalists of the research possibilities and work locations that exist for each project, and serve as an agreement on the terms and commitments of the participating institutions.

Statements of Intent must include:

• Description of each partner institution
• Explain what you do and what you are about.
• Description of the problems, decisions and/or issues to be addressed
• Why do you want to participate in this program? What problem needs to be addressed?
• Mentoring roles and responsibilities
• Describe how postdoc will be mentored, identify mentors and include contact information.
• Commitment of office space and electronic communications capability.
• Matching Funds
• Provide contact information for obtaining matching funds, for each of the two years.

For additional information and instructions on how to apply, please visit: www.vsp.ucar.edu/pace

For any other questions, please call (303) 497-8649 or e-mail vspapply@ucar.edu

¹ Climate Research (CR) Institutions: The CR partner should be involved in the development, production and application of climate information. Examples of such institutions include, but are not limited to, universities tied to the RISAs, Regional Climate Centers, and federal research facilities.

² Decision Making (DM) Institutions: The DM partner is involved in climate-related risk management and decision-making. Examples include national-, regional-, state-, or municipal-level agencies and organizations (public and non-profit) that manage or regulate natural resources or produce a public good. Note that the DM partner is expected to cover approximately 50% of the cost of the postdoctoral researcher for two years.