GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES- Geobiologist (1st priority for 2015

GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES- Geobiologist (1st priority for 2015-16)
A. Unit overview and prologue
The Department of Geological Sciences concentrates on interdisciplinary
research and teaching in the earth sciences. We are the principal department at
the University of Colorado dedicated to the study of the solid Earth, its interaction
with the hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere, and its evolution through time.
We offer an undergraduate major program in geology with individual tracks in
geology and geophysics. In the past ten years the number of geology
undergraduate majors have increased ~ three fold, to a present total of ~ 260.
Research expertise in the department covers geomorphology, geochemistry,
biogeochemistry, planetary geology, geophysics, geodynamics, paleobiology,
paleoclimate, and energy resources. Twenty-nine tenure-track faculty members
are currently (April 2015) affiliated with Geological Sciences, along with a 75%
time senior instructor and a 50% time instructor. Of the tenure track faculty,
seventeen are full professors, nine are associate professors, and three are
assistant professors. Sixteen of these faculty members hold joint appointments
with allied campus units (CIRES, INSTAAR, LASP, CU Museum), highlighting the
interdisciplinary nature of our department. In terms of faculty FTE, sixteen are
from A&S, twelve from the Graduate School, and one is an Endowed Chair
position funded by private donations. Two additional faculty hires were
completed in the last year, including a full professor in remote sensing hired
through CIRES (arriving Fall 2016) and an assistant professor in geobiology
(arriving Fall 2017). Funding for our research program comes from diverse
public and private sector sources. From 2007-2012, annual grant expenditures
by Geological Science faculty ranged between ~$5M and ~$10M. Our funding is
obtained principally from federal agencies (NSF, NASA) with subordinate
amounts from industry and private foundation sources. Awards have recently
included a $7M multiyear NASA Astrobiology Institute award, and three NSF or
NASA Career Awards, a Packard Fellowship and a DOE Early Career Research
Grant.
We are already a top-20 geological sciences academic department in the
U.S., according to our “S-ranking” in the U.S. National Research Council’s 2010
“A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United
States”. The University of Colorado Boulder as a whole, with Geological
Sciences as a key player, was also recently ranked as the #2 Global University in
Earth Sciences by US News and World Report. But we are dedicated to further
improving our department by fostering novel, interdisciplinary research in the
earth sciences. For this purpose, we are currently spearheading a new campuswide initiative in geobiology, a discipline that involves the study of the complex
interrelationships between life and the surface and near-surface Earth
environment. Over the next few years we will be implementing a new initiative in
“geoenergy”, as briefly described in our 3-year hiring plan.
B. Academic and intellectual rationale for the position.
The geobiologist position described here is the last of three positions
approved by the CU-Boulder campus, and unanimously endorsed by the
Department of Geological Sciences, in the summer of 2012 as part of a faculty
retention offer accepted by Dr. Alexis Templeton (Geological Sciences) and in
support of a new Geobiology Initiative. The first two positions are now filled
(Organic Geochemist, joint with INSTAAR; hired Dr. Julio Sepulveda), Assist.
Professor geobiologist (hire Dr. Sebastian Kopf, starting Fall 2016). The search
for this third position was scheduled for 2014-15, but at the request of A&S,
Geological Sciences and Dr. Templeton agreed to postpone the activity until the
upcoming year (AY 2015-16).
The “open rank” geobiologist hire represents the crown jewel of the hiring
activities associated with the “Geobiology Initiative”. The preference here is to
hire an experienced, mid-rank geobiologist to solidify the world-class status
envisioned for the Geobiology Initiative. The search committee for this A&S
position has already been constituted (Spring 2015) with Dr. Alexis Templeton as
Chair and the recruitment authorization form for the position is now being
circulated (April 2015).
For any interested parties, we supply the following text describing the
some aspects of the “geobiology” initiative.
The University of Colorado, Boulder, Geobiology Initiative
What is Geobiology?
Geobiology is a well-established but rapidly growing frontier in the Earth
and Environmental Sciences that addresses the co-evolution of physical,
chemical and biological processes throughout Earth history. Endeavors within
geobiology inform our theories of the origin of life, the diversification and global
impact of biological metabolisms, our understanding of the past and future
habitability and sustainability of the planet, and whether life may exist elsewhere
within our universe. The current pace of discovery is rapid because geobiology
uniquely integrates the approaches and insights gleaned from diverse fields such
as materials science, physical chemistry, biochemistry, genomics, environmental
microbiology and ecology, planetary science, atmospheric sciences,
oceanography, geochemistry, geology, and paleontology to examine the
feedbacks between organisms and their local and global environment.
Why foster Geobiology at CU-Boulder?
Several leading Departments of Geological, Earth and Planetary Sciences
in the U.S. have initiated investments in the growth of geobiology, particularly
through cluster-hiring multiple faculty with synergistic research interests that
couple well to each Department’s existing strengths. Notable examples include
MIT, Caltech, USC, Stanford, Pennsylvania State University, and the University
of Washington. Importantly, the University of Colorado is well positioned to
establish a unique leadership position in this field, given CU’s special strengths
across campus in astrobiology, earth and environmental Sciences, molecular
biology and biochemistry.
2 The problems and approaches integral to geobiology embrace the
“interdisciplinarity” that is a hallmark of this university. Many of the emerging
research areas in geobiology could be addressed by new cross-disciplinary
collaborations on our campus that explicitly recognize how the interface between
biological and earth sciences encompasses new scientific frontiers. A few
examples include: how new advances in genomics, proteomics, and
bioinformatics can be used to unravel how past and present environmental
systems function; how to determine the properties, environmental impacts and
preservation of biologically-produced nanomaterials; how to sustainably utilize
energy resources; how to harness bioelectrochemical systems; how to identify
biological controls on the distribution and fate of energy critical elements and
contaminants; how to determine how biological processes modulate and record
landscape transformations; how to decipher the biological feedbacks during
major geological and environmental transitions in “deep time” systems; how to
define causal relationships between planetary evolution and molecular evolution.
Thus new geobiology faculty member recruited to the University of Colorado
could uniquely build upon enormous existing strengths and strongly couple not
only to Geological Sciences, but also with several other departments on campus,
particularly Molecular and Cellular Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
Astrophysical and Planetary Science, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Chemical
Engineering, Environmental Engineering, and associated institutes such as
CIRES, INSTAAR, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, and
BioFrontiers. Geobiology hires will inject new research contributions to the
established infrastructure of the University of Colorado’s federally-funded
“Observatories”, such as the Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory, Niwot
Ridge LTER, and McMurdo Antarctic Dry Valleys LTER.
Current State of Geobiology Initiative
As mentioned earlier, we have now filled two of the three faculty lines
associated with the “Geobiology Initiative”. In addition the team led by Dr.
Templeton was successful this year in obtaining a $7M NASA Astrobiology
Institute grant to study “Rock-Powered Life.”
C. Diversity
Faculty hiring in our department has always followed university guidelines
with regard to diversity considerations. We have ensured that available positions
have been widely advertised to minority institutions, have worked as individuals
to identify qualified minority candidates, and have taken advantage of special
opportunity hires through the university when they have become available
through partnerships with other campus units. At present, although our faculty
remains predominately male, 30% percent of our faculty are women, two of
whom also belong to under-represented groups.
D. Three-year hiring goals
1. Outline priorities for faculty hiring over the next three years (AY15-16 through
AY17-18), including listing areas of interest.
3 Hiring goals in geological sciences are centered on two initiatives originating in
our department. The first is a campus wide geobiology initiative which began in
2012 and involves three faculty hires, two of which have been filled. The third,
the open-rank geobiologist, is our hiring priority for 2015-16. Our second hiring
initiative is in “geoenergy”, defined broadly as energy resources associated with
the solid Earth and its interfaces with hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere
(including renewable and non-renewable, organic and inorganic, resources).
Each of the four positions described for AY16-17 through AY17-18 fall under
latter broad umbrella (sedimentology/stratigraphy, geophysics with preference for
electromagnetics, rock physics, and hydrocarbon reservoir geosciences), with
sedimentology/stratigraphy being at top of the department hiring priority list for
these years.
2. Indicate how your unit’s hiring efforts might be allocated over a three-year
period.
2015-2016 Search for open rank geobiologist
2016-2017 Search for sedimentologist/stratigrapher, geophysicist
2017-2018 Search for rock physicist, reservoir geoscientist
3. Describe how space needs can be met.
All research and office spaces required for the five positions proposed can be
accommodated in the Benson Earth Sciences Building, due to the move of two
wet lab facilities to the new SEEC Building in Summer 2015 and to faculty
retirements and resignations that have recently occurred (Roger Bilham,
geophysics; Matt Pranter, reservoir geoscience) and have vacated faculty offices
and dry lab space.
4. Describe startup needs and the department’s ability to fund their share of
startup especially if there are multiple hires over 3 years.
Start-up funds the Geobiology position will be split according to formula 25%
A&S: 25% Geological Sciences:50% Provost’s Office. We anticipate $1M total
startup costs and Geological Sciences share of $250K is already in place.
The start up funds required for the other four positions are more difficult to
estimate. The reservoir geosciences and electromagnetism may have modest
start up needs ($250K total each), and sedimentology/stratigrapher might be able
to take advantage of existing organic and stable isotope instrumentation and so
reduce the cash outlay required for this position (in a sense, a “cluster” hire with
our geobiologist/organic geochemists). For the rock physics position we will look
for campus partner(s) to help with FTE and startup costs. Geological Sciences
has had informal discussions with Dr. Waleed Abdalati, CIRES Director, who
indicated that the institute also has interests in geophysics and energy and we
will work closely with CIRES to identify areas of common hiring interests,
including rock physics.
4 5. How are opportunity hires considered in your three-year goals?
Geological Sciences has always been receptive to opportunity hires, either as
joint hires with other campus units or as spousal accommodation hires. In the
next three years, we will certainly pursue potential opportunity hires with CIRES
in geophysics and energy related sciences. Opportunity hires that do not fit under
the geoenergy umbrella will be considered but will not be high priority.
5