POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE, Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) - Howland Lab, is a one-year Postdoctoral Scholar position supported in part by the flagship MIT Climate Grand Challenge project "Preparing for a new world of weather and climate extremes," a project which is co-lead by the Howland Lab and will join a collaborative group of Postdoctoral, PhD, SM, MEng, and undergraduate researchers in the Howland Lab and MIT Parsons Laboratory. Meeting escalating energy demand from emerging uses, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers, will require an unprecedented scale-up in low-cost and reliable energy infrastructure, especially renewable energy generation, transmission, and energy storage. Minimizing the cost of maintaining a reliable balance between electricity supply and demand is critical to integrating renewable energy generation at scale. Meanwhile, the rapidly changing climate and extreme events are increasing the complexity of ensuring reliability in energy systems. Critically, there are major uncertainties in the future weather patterns on which energy systems depend. This project will integrate high-resolution climate model downscaling, based on dynamical modeling and generative AI, with high-fidelity energy system modeling to address key challenges at the interface between climate change mitigation and adaptation emerging in modern power systems.

REQUIRED: Ph.D. in Atmospheric science, Civil and Environmental engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related field; knowledge of and demonstrated skillset in physics-informed machine learning, numerical weather prediction, regional climate modeling, computational fluid dynamics, computer programming, high performance computing, data analysis, and technical writing; ability to work and communicate effectively in a multidisciplinary research team; track record of publications and scientific output; ability to work independently; and excellent organizational, analytical, and writing skills. PREFERRED: background in energy, power system modeling, and/or uncertainty quantification.

To apply, please submit the following to Prof. Howland (mhowland@mit.edu) with [MCGC] in the subject line: Cover letter describing your relevant experience, scholarly interests, and preferred start date; Curriculum vitae & relevant publications; and 2-3 references (names and contact information).

11/17/2025