Postgraduate Research Opportunity in Engineering

A research opportunity is currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center located in Maricopa, Arizona. 

The selected participant will conduct research within the scope of our national project plan 301 (Plant Genetic Resources, Genomics, and Genetic Improvement; Component 4: Information resources and tools for crop genetics, genomics, and genetic improvement). The participant will be provided the opportunity, under the guidance of a mentor, to develop a novel tool for high throughput phenotyping in plant breeding and biotechnology. Specifically, the participant will learn system integration, data collection and image analysis for plant phenotyping in cotton, oilseeds, and other industrial and biofuel crops.

The participant will be provided opportunities to attend agricultural & biological engineering conferences and present research, participate in workshops and meetings. The participant will also have the opportunity to serve as an author on any manuscripts that result from the research effort. This will be a truly unique experience as the mentor pioneered the methods that will be used for phenotypic image analyses.

This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR), and foreign nationals. Non-U.S. citizen applicants should refer to the Guidelines for Non-U.S. Citizens Details page of the program website for information about the valid immigration statuses that are acceptable for program participation.

For more information about the ARS Research Participation Program, please visit the Program Website.

The qualified candidate should have received a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields.

Preferred skills:

If you have questions, send an email to USDA-ARS@orau.org. Please include the reference code for this opportunity (USDA-ARS-2020-0057) in your email.