IBS Center for Climate Physics

The IBS Center for Climate Physics (ICCP) directed by Axel Timmermann, is dedicated to advancing the understanding of natural climate variability, man-made climate change and their impacts on life on the Earth. The ICCP is generously funded through the Institute for Basic Science. The ICCP is located in Busan, the second largest city in South Korea. Busan has diverse natural landscape with beautiful coasts and mountains. From designer cafes, international movie and art festivals, award-winning restaurants to temples at the end of hiking trails, Busan has something to offer for everyone.

Homepage: https://ibsclimate.org/

▪ Employer: IBS Center for Climate Physics
▪ Location: Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea
▪ Job type: Postdoctoral Fellow
▪ Salary: 54-60 million KRW/year (~40,000-45,000 USD/year)
▪ Term: Full Time, 2 years, with possibility for renewal
▪ Start date: April 1st, 2024, or later

Applicants for this position should have a PhD in mathematics, physics, evolutional biology, archeology, paleoanthropology, paleoecology, or paleoclimatology. Candidates are expected to have a good publication record, excitement to work on a new research subject, high levels of curiosity, and creativity, and is capable in working in an international and interdisciplinary research environment. Computational skills and experience with Matlab, Python, or Julia are desirable.

The successful candidate will work with Dr. Jiaoyang Ruan (IBS Young Scientist Fellow) and Prof. Axel Timmermann to explore past climate effects on human evolution, and particularly on the mixture of various human lineages (e.g., Sapiens, Neanderthals, Denisovans) in late Pleistocene Eurasia. To do so, the candidate will be using the latest version of Hominin Dispersal Model (HDM version 3) that has been continuously advancing in the center over the last few years. This partial differential equation model is capable to simulate simultaneously the population density of multiple human lineages on a global geographic grid and accounts for dispersal, climate-dependent habitat and food resources (Ruan et al. 2023 Science, Timmermann et al. 2022, Nature), population growth, competitive exclusion, and interbreeding (Timmermann 2020, QSR). The project will identify spatiotemporal Denisovan distributions and their interbreeding dynamics with Neanderthals and Sapiens. The candidate will conduct HDM simulations with different climatic / demographic scenarios to quantify past climate effects on human admixture history and genetic diversity. This project will involve collaborations with leading international experts in paleo-genomics.

Please submit a cover letter, a short statement of research interest, curriculum vitae, the name of 2 references, and up to three publications to Dr. Jiaoyang Ruan (jiaoyangruan@pusan.ac.kr) and Ms. Jenny Choi (hahadaye@pusan.ac.kr). The review of applications will start immediately until the position is filled. Feel free to contact Dr. Ruan if you have any further questions about the project.