EPA National Aquatic Resource Research Fellowship

A postgraduate research training opportunity is available at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA), Office of Water in Washington, DC. The opportunity will be served with the Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds (OWOW).

The selected candidate will be at the Monitoring and Analysis Branch and will support activities related to the National Aquatic Resource Survey (NARS) program which addresses coastal waters, lakes, rivers/streams and wetlands. NARS is a statistically based survey designed to characterize the ecological and recreational condition of the nation's waters. NARS is implemented through an EPA, state and tribal partnership and is a key activity in EPA's efforts to achieve national water-quality goals under the Clean Water Act.

Research Project : This research project will provide an opportunity to learn about EPA's efforts to monitor and assess aquatic resources across the United States via large-scale, statistically-based studies. The selected participant will support scientific research activities related to indicators of ecological/recreational significance including developing and implementing processes for improving data quality, accessibility, and transparency.

Specific areas of focus may include:

• Analyzing NARS data and presenting results to EPA, state, federal and tribal partners,
• Learning techniques to compile and perform quality assurance of indicator data collected in NARS including   development and application of R scripts and other tools,
• Developing tools for analyzing; visualizing; and transferring data, analytical approaches, and results
• Researching potential indicators (e.g., diatoms, periphyton metagenomic, phytoplankton, zooplankton, harmful algal blooms)

Learning Objectives : This will provide an opportunity to gain an understanding of EPA's Clean Water Act programs and observe how EPA coordinates with states, tribes, and other federal agencies to meet national water quality goals. The participant will have access to interact with resource managers and scientists from other agencies and across the country. Under the guidance of a mentor, the participant will generate reports, analyze data, create outreach materials, and have opportunities to submit and present research and project results to interagency groups, professional societies and conferences, and scientific publications.

Anticipated Appointment Start Date : Winter 2021

Eligibility Requirements

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
• Degree: Master's Degree or Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or anticipated to be received by 1/3/2022

Participant Stipend : The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. At this time, the annual stipend for master's degree $60,000 and doctoral degree ~$72,000.

To apply visit: https://www.zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/EPA-OW-OWOW-2022-01

 if you have additional questions about the application process please email [email protected]  and include the reference code for this opportunity.