Postdoctoral Fellowship

The YCNCC was established in 2021 to advance fundamental and applied science on enhancing natural Earth systems to create safe, effective, and scalable methods of reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. The YCNCC mission strongly emphasizes meaningful ecological and social co-benefits, and the Center’s efforts span departments and schools at Yale, convening faculty, research scientists, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and staff to work collaboratively on natural solutions for climate mitigation. We welcome applicants to the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program with research interests across the Center’s three areas of focus: Ecosystem Capture, Geological & Ocean Carbon Capture, and Industrial Carbon Utilization. 

Candidates should identify and contact faculty with the relevant expertise to discuss their proposed project and ensure the faculty member is willing and able to host them. In addition to YCNCC’s Scientific Leadership Team and Faculty Affiliates, faculty hosts can be from any school/department at Yale, including the School of the Environment, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and any relevant department within the Faculty of Arts Sciences. Applications lacking a letter of support from a potential Yale faculty host will not be considered. 

The program accepts applications through Interfolio annually between October and December. Candidates selected for the program will be contacted by the end of February and are expected to accept or decline as soon as possible, but no later than March 31st. Successful candidates are expected to begin their program at Yale between July 1 and December 31 of the following year.

Qualifications

A PhD or equivalent degree in a relevant discipline and less than a total of four years of prior postdoctoral experience. 

Application Instructions

A complete application includes:

• Full CV, including a complete bibliography.
• Research proposal, 3 pages maximum (including figures but not including references) that includes an explanation of how the proposed project would advance the mission of the Center.
• 2 Letters of Recommendation
• PDFs of 1 to 2 publications (in prep or submitted manuscripts are permissible)
• Letter of support from a Yale faculty member, 1 page maximum, which should:
  • Specify the research infrastructure that will be available to the applicant to complete their project, such as facilities, equipment, computing resources, field sites, etc.
  • Provide a brief description of the faculty advisor’s mentoring philosophy and approach, including how they foster an inclusive environment
  • Explain how the candidate’s project expands the faculty member’s research enterprise and adds to Yale’s overall expertise in the field
  • Note that this letter should not be about the applicant’s qualifications, but rather about the support that will be provided by the faculty mentor.