Research Specialist in Plant Breeding - Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (...
- Employer
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Location
- Champaign, IL
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- Administrative Jobs
- Academic Affairs, Research Staff & Technicians, Institutional & Business Affairs, Facilities Management & Sustainability
- Employment Type
- Full Time
- Institution Type
- Four-Year Institution
Job Details
RESEARCH SPECIALIST IN PLANT BREEDING
144501
Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
EXTENDED
Illinois is a world leader in research, teaching, and public engagement. We serve the state, the nation, and the world by creating knowledge, preparing students for lives of impact, and addressing critical societal needs through the transfer and application of knowledge. Illinois is the place where we embrace difference. We embrace it because we value it. Illinois is especially interested in candidates who can contribute, through their research, teaching, and/or service, to the diversity and excellence of the Illinois community.
The University of Illinois is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer that recruits and hires qualified candidates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability or veteran status. For more information, visit http://go.illinois.edu/EEO.
PRIMARY POSITION FUNCTION/SUMMARY: Conduct and manage research on plant breeding and genetics of perennial grasses.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
RESEARCH
- Prepare and execute experiments on plant breeding and genetics of perennial grasses, especially Miscanthus and sugarcane. Work will be conducted in the field, greenhouse, growth chamber and office.
- Supervise the cultivation of plants in the field and greenhouse, and propagation of plants in preparation of field trials.
- Collect data from research experiments; implement high-throughput systems that include designing barcodes, setting up and using Bluetooth enabled measuring devices, and linking the collection devices to tablet computers for in-field data collection.
- Manage data files and organize completed files on the local area network.
- Supervise the collection and processing of seed and biomass samples.
- Coordinate and participate in off-campus field experiments with collaborators.
- Conduct routine maintenance on field plot research equipment.
RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION
- Supervise the hiring and work of hourly employees.
- Maintain inventories of supplies, equipment, seed, and plants in the greenhouses.
- Order supplies as needed.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Education: Required: Bachelor's degree in biology, agriculture, horticulture or related field. Alternate degree fields will be considered/accepted depending on the nature and depth of the experience as it relates to this position.
Experience: Required: Three years plant breeding and genetics research experience. Preferred: Five years grass and/or forage breeding and genetic research experience. Experience leading a field crew would be desirable.
Training, Licenses or Certifications: Required: Already have or ability to obtain IL pesticide applicator’s license.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Required: Plant breeding and genetics research. Effective communication, organizational, personal relations, and leadership skills. Ability to work effectively as both a team member/leader and independently with minimal supervision. Preferred: Knowledge of the operation and maintenance of greenhouses, tractors, threshers and small farm equipment.
Environmental Demands: Most work will be conducted in field and greenhouse settings. Work may be physically demanding including hot, humid, or inclement weather. Position involves lifting and hauling up to 20 pounds. Lifting, stooping, bending, and walking distances is required.
SALARY: Commensurate with experience and qualifications
APPOINTMENT STATUS: Full-time academic professional, grant-supported appointment renewable annually pending continued funding and satisfactory progress within the position. Qualified individuals will be eligible to receive vacation, sick, and personal leave; retirement through the State Universities Retirement System; and group health, dental, vision and life insurance.
START DATE: As soon as possible after the close date
TO APPLY: Applications must be received by May 18, 2021. To apply, all candidates must submit an online profile through https://jobs.illinois.edu by the close of the posting period. Qualified candidates must upload a letter of which details qualifications noted above, resume and the names and contact information of three professional references. All requested information must be submitted for your application to be considered. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. For further information, please contact Erica Hanson, Human Resources, elhanson@illinois.edu.
The University of Illinois conducts criminal background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer. The University of Illinois System requires candidates selected for hire to disclose any documented finding of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment and to authorize inquiries to current and former employers regarding findings of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment. For more information, visit Policy on Consideration of Sexual Misconduct in Prior Employment. As a qualifying federal contractor, the University of Illinois System uses E-Verify to verify employment eligibility.
College Name or Administrative Unit:OVCRI Category:6-Research Title:Research Specialist in Plant Breeding - Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (144501) Open Date:04/09/2021 Close Date:05/18/2021 Organization Name:Inst for Sustain, Enrgy, and Env
Organization
Since its founding in 1867, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has earned a reputation as a world-class leader in research, teaching, and public engagement.
Faculty
A talented and highly respected faculty is the University's most significant resource. Many are recognized for exceptional scholarship with memberships in such organizations as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Engineering.
Our faculty have been awarded Nobel Prizes, Pulitzer Prizes, and the Fields Medal in Mathematics.The success of our faculty is matched by that of our alumni: 11 are Nobel laureates and another 18 have won Pulitzer Prizes.
Academic Resources
Academic resources on campus are among the finest in the world. The University Library is one of the largest public university collections in the world with 11 million volumes in its 37 unit libraries. Annually, 53,000,000 people visit its online catalog. Students have access to thousands of computer terminals in classrooms, residence halls, and campus libraries for use in classroom instruction, study, and research.
Research
Students and scholars find the University an ideal place to conduct research. The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology is a model for interdisciplinary research, where eighteen research groups from sixteen University departments work within and across three broadly defined themes: biological intelligence, human-computer intelligent interaction, and molecular and electronic nanostructures. The University is also home to the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA).
Undergraduate Education
The University has a fundamental commitment to undergraduate education. Nearly 28,000 undergraduate students are enrolled in nine undergraduate divisions, which together offer some 4,000 courses in more than 150 fields of study.
Undergraduate admission is highly selective. In the 2001 freshman class, students in the middle 50% had ACT scores between 25 and 30 and ranked between the 83rd and 96th percentiles of their high school graduating classes.
The University enrolls over 9,000 graduate and professional students in more than 100 disciplines. It is among the top five universities in number of earned doctorates awarded annually in the United States.
Also integral to the University's mission is a commitment to public engagement. Each year about 65,000 Illinois residents participate in scores of conferences, institutes, courses, and workshops presented statewide. Research and class projects take students and professors off campus to share expertise and technical support with Illinois farmers, manufacturing firms, and businesses. In a typical year, student volunteers log more than 60,000 volunteer hours.
The Arts
A major center for the arts, the campus attracts dozens of nationally and internationally renowned artists each year to its widely acclaimed Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. The University also supports two major museums: the Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion; and the Spurlock Museum, a museum of world history and culture.
Other major facilities include the multipurpose Assembly Hall (16,500 seats); Memorial Stadium (70,000 seats), site of Big Ten Conference football games; and the Intramural-Physical Education Building, one of the largest recreational facilities of its kind on a university campus.
Inclusive Illinois, one campus, many voices
Inclusive Illinois is the University’s commitment to cultivating a community at Illinois where everyone is welcomed, celebrated, and respected. Illinois is about how we value difference to make a difference. http://www.inclusiveillinois.illinois.edu/
As evidence of the University’s commitment to enhance the working, living, and learning environment for faculty, staff, and students, the University will encourage a standard of conduct and behavior that is consistent with the values of inclusivity. In an environment of inclusivity, there is no place for acts of hatred, intolerance, insensitivity, bigotry, threats of violence, harassment or discrimination.
Inclusive Illinois, one campus, many voices
Inclusive Illinois is the University’s commitment to cultivating a community at Illinois where everyone is welcomed, celebrated, and respected. Through education, engagement, and excellence, each voice creates the Inclusive Illinois Experience.
How can we appreciate difference to make a difference?
Illinois is the place where we embrace difference. We embrace it because we value it. We value it because we know that we have so much to learn from each other in our living, learning, and working environment.
Illinois is the place where we recognize the power of possibility and where great potential is realized. Inclusive Illinois is the vision of that place: a vision made real by leadership and commitment.
Illinois is the place where consensus is forged by discourse and where everyone’s contributions are recognized: significant contributions that elevate us because they are informed and enhanced by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, age, physical ability, religion, class, and national origin. We are enriched by these perspectives, and we are united by the very discourse that brings these views together.
It is a process. It is transformative. And we celebrate the remarkable changes we set in motion here … taking an important step … crossing boundaries … starting with our own.
It all starts with each of us: with our willingness to embark on the journey in the search for answers, and with our openness and acceptance of the answers we find. Illinois is the place where it all comes together.
Learn more about how Inclusive Illinois promotes diversity here.
Commitment to Equal Opportunity
The commitment of the University to the most fundamental principles of academic freedom, equality of opportunity, and human dignity requires that decisions involving students and employees be based on individual merit and be free from invidious discrimination in all its forms, whether or not specifically prohibited by law. Among the forms of invidious discrimination prohibited by the University policy but not law is discrimination, including harassment, on the basis of sexual orientation. Complaints of invidious discrimination in violation of University policy are to be resolved within existing University procedures. The policy of the University of Illinois is to comply with all federal and state nondiscrimination, equal opportunity, and affirmative action laws, orders, and regulations. The University will not engage in discrimination or harassment against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, disability, unfavorable discharge from the military, or status as a disabled veteran or a veteran of the Vietnam era. This nondiscrimination policy applies to admissions, employment, and access to and treatment in University programs and activities
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