Postdoctoral Researcher, Consumer Adoption of Electric Vehicles & Survey Design and Implementation
About us
The Electric Vehicle (EV) Research Center launched in early 2007, with the support of the California Energy Commission. Now, the EV Research Center collaborates closely with state and federal agencies, utilities, automakers, regulators, and other research institutions to provide the rigorous research and impartial policy analysis that are needed to meet the climate, environmental, and equity goals of our society.
Moving forward our research is focused on measuring, monitoring, and understanding multiple aspects of the quickly evolving markets for zero emission vehicles, the incentives and policies needed to meet the goals nationally and internationally, the demand for infrastructure and energy, the development of new supply chains, and environmental impacts of the transition to electric transportation.
The program receives support from industry partners, planning agencies and research foundations, and works in close cooperation with the federally funded National Center for Sustainable Transportation and other research programs at UC Davis. For additional information on the EV Center and on ITS Davis, please see ev.ucdavis.edu (https://ev.ucdavis.edu/) and its.ucdavis.edu (https://its.ucdavis.edu/).
Position Description
The selected candidate will join a team investigating the future of electric mobility at the University of California, Davis. The postdoctoral researcher will mainly work on survey design and implementation and modeling and analyzing the results related to transportation electrification as well as travel behavior modeling research. The postdoctoral researcher will engage in exciting projects addressing the issues of EVs and consumer behaviors, as well as develop knowledge and investigate topics relevant to the increased adoption and use of EVs.
The position’s general duties include: (1) designing, overseeing, and conducting research using both quantitative and qualitative methods, (2) identifying funding opportunities; leading and contributing to proposals to apply to those opportunities. (3) supervising, and mentoring students and other team members working on research projects, (4) writing articles for refereed academic journals, technical reports, and/or for conferences, (5) presenting research to a variety of audiences.
Qualifications & Skills
1) Candidates should have completed a doctoral degree in Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering/Planning, Computer Science, Economics, Geography, or a related field at the time of hire. Candidates with strong multidisciplinary skills covering more than one of these areas are particularly encouraged to apply. Extremely well-qualified candidates with slightly different qualifications and/or research focus might be also considered under special circumstances.
2) The postdoctoral researcher must have a deep understanding of travel behavior, travel demand modeling, discrete choice modeling, including demonstrable experience in:
- Transportation issues, particularly those related to zero-emission vehicle transportation.
- Spatial analysis using tools such as ArcGIS or QGIS.
- Quantitative methods for data analysis using statistical software such as R, Python, STATA, or equivalent.
3) Because the center’s researchers employ a range of methods to address topics relating to the purchase and use of electric vehicles, experience in the following areas is also important:
- Market research, forecasting, and modeling the adoption of new technologies.
- Survey design and implementation.
4) The postdoctoral researcher should have a record of publications in peer-reviewed academic journals and other publication venues.
5) The postdoctoral researcher must have excellent verbal and written English language communication skills.
6) The postdoctoral researcher must be able to work collaboratively with a research team ranging from undergraduate research assistants to research faculty.
Preferred Skills
1) Experience in working with large datasets.
2) Additional academic, industrial training or other professional experience in managing projects.
3) Ability to obtain funding to pursue their research interests and goals, or at least demonstrated proposal writing skills.
4) Ability to lead a research team of graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and associates.
Application Procedure
Please submit your application (CV and cover letter) to Zohar Tal (ztal@ucdavis.edu)
References: 3 References required (contact information only), Letters of reference will only be solicited for finalists
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