The National Renewable Energy Laboratory - NREL - is the only federal laboratory dedicated to the research, development, commercialization and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.
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Postdoctoral Fellow - Atmospheric Scientist
3498BR
Golden, CO
Postdoctoral Researcher
12
40
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is a leader in the U.S. Department of Energy’s effort to secure an energy future that is both environmentally and economically sustainable. With locations in Golden, Boulder and Washington D.C., NREL is the primary laboratory for research, development and deployment of renewable energy technologies in the United States. The NREL mission is to develop renewable energy and energy efficient technologies and practices, advance related science and engineering, and transfer knowledge and innovation to address the nation’s energy and environmental goals.
To assist the Solar Resources & Forecasting Group with various research projects involving the measurement, modeling, and analysis of solar radiation resources for renewable energy applications. Solar radiation data of known quality are needed to characterize the weather-driven variability of this energy resource over a wide range of historical time scales (1 s – decadal) and spatial scales (100 m – global). These characterizations are fundamental to the siting, design, economic performance modeling, and acceptance testing of solar energy conversion systems. Solar resource and meteorological data are also needed for modeling building system thermal performance and energy efficiency analyses. These data are also critical for developing solar resource forecasts in support of the increased deployment of photovoltaic and solar thermal conversion systems for central and distributed electricity generation. In addition solar forecasting forms a critical component of future plans to install and operate of high penetrations of clean technologies on the grid. This person should be a self-starter with demonstrated ability to quickly address the various scientific and technical aspects of solar and atmospheric measurements, modeling, data quality assessments involving large data sets (TBytes). This person should be able to work with a broad range of external stakeholders, including scientists, engineers, economists, policy makers, and others engaged in aspects of renewable energy systems integration.
Conduct scientific research to advance solar radiation resource measurements and modeling capabilities to improve the accuracy of solar forecasting at various times scales. Work with researchers, energy developers and utilities to acquire, manage and analyze existing resource and power production datasets. Investigate the use of satellite- and ground-based observations for estimating solar resources. Work at a high-level with DOE and organizations involved in weather forecasting and numerical weather prediction model development. Develop applications to provide solar resource data for the validation and improvement of atmospheric mesoscale models and provide inputs to real-time power plant forecasting. Develop scientific applications software for the analysis of solar radiation and meteorological parameters in time-series and geospatial domains. Work with the NREL web team to make solar resource and meteorological data publicly available as appropriate. Present research results to key stakeholders and publish scientific findings in technical journals and conference proceedings.
Must be a recent PhD graduate within the last three years.
Required Knowledge:
Demonstrates broad understanding and wide application of scientific principles, theories, and concepts in atmospheric physics (including radiative transfer) and instrumentation for the measurement of solar radiation and clouds.
Demonstrates capability to develop new scientific ideas and work independently. Demonstrates good technical writing skill as proven by relevant technical publications. Good interpersonal and communication skills.
Additional Required Knowledge and Skills:
Significant knowledge of modeling clouds, aerosols and solar radiation for various applications including numerical weather prediction and retrievals using ground based and satellite datasets. Significant programming experience in C, C++ or Fortran and Matlab/IDL. Knowledge of solar radiometry with the ability to use measurements to develop solution for solar energy applications.
Relevant Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science or Meteorology or equivalent. Ideal candidate will have modeling experience related to solar radiation and cloud physics for numerical weather prediction and satellite- and ground-based remote sensing.
Relevant science, engineering and R&D experience with peer-reviewed publications. Knowledge of solar resource characteristics, meteorology, atmospheric science, and measurement systems. Must be proficient in Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
NREL is dedicated to the principles of equal employment opportunity. NREL promotes a work environment that does not discriminate against workers or job applicants and prohibits unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, marital status, ancestry, actual or perceived sexual orientation, or veteran status, including special disabled veterans.
NREL validates right to work using E-Verify. NREL will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. For additional information, please see www.nrel.gov/employment/eeo.html.
