My name is Matt Stocker and I work at the USDA in Beltsville, MD and am an ENSP and ENST alum. We have several job openings for students who have graduated with their undergraduate degree or current graduate students. The jobs encompass biological/microbial analysis of water quality as well as working with unmanned vehicles to image water all to improve food safety.
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The Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Laboratory (EMFSL) in Beltsville Maryland has several paid job openings for those interested in either biological and chemical analysis of water quality and/or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) based imaging of surface water. The specific project goals associated with this position are 1) identifying spatial and temporal dynamics of E. coli and phytoplankton in irrigation water sources 2) improve monitoring design methods by determining the most effective sampling locations, and 3) to identify environmental water parameters which will expedite the assessment of microbial water quality through the development of predictive models all of which include an aim to reduce the incidences of foodborne illnesses. More information about the project goals can be found here: https://www.ars.usda.gov/
The prospective candidate should be a recent graduate or master’s student with education in environmental or agricultural sciences, biology, chemistry, hydrology, or a related field. The biological science technician position will include a mix of laboratory, field, and data entry and analysis work. Ideal candidates will have some or all the following skills:
- Nutrient analysis of water or soil samples using ion selective probes and/or discrete benchtop analyzers for carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous containing molecules
- Microbiological techniques including aseptic technique, pipetting, direct plating or membrane filtration onto agars, Colilert methods, DNA extractions, and PCR.
- Operation of in-situ water quality sensors for parameters including temperature, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen
- Basic statistical coursework, experience with excel, and preferably some experience with programming languages including R and Python.
- Experience with operating UAVs for imagery
- Aerial image analysis
Onsite training of the above skills will be performed and/or strengthened and can be tailored to specifics long-term interests of the hired individuals. The position would be full time (up to 40 hours a week) for recent graduates and can be flexible for master’s students depending on course obligations and ongoing research requirements. This contractor position may be extended for several years.
Please contact Matthew Stocker (Matthew.Stocker@USDA.GOV) and cc Yakov Pachepsky (Yakov.Pachepsky@USDA.gov) with resumes and information on your general availability.