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The opportunity

• Exciting opportunity for an early career researcher with a PhD in agronomics, farming systems or crop production, plant biology, nutrition or physiology
• Explore halophytes as sources of fuel, feed ingredients and high value materials from salines areas
• This is a 3-year opportunity located at either Bribie Island or St Lucia in Queensland

CSIRO Early Research Career (CERC) Postdoctoral Fellowships provide opportunities to scientists and engineers who have completed their doctorate and have less than three years of relevant postdoctoral work experience. These fellowships aim to develop the next generation of future leaders of the innovation system.

Production of feedstocks has been identified as a key bottleneck in the development of renewable liquid fuels for hard-to-abate industries including aviation, green steel, and heavy machinery as well as co-products like bioplastics and animal feeds. This project will explore halophytes (salt tolerant plants) to unlock the potential to grow biofuel feedstocks in marginal areas including saline lands, aquaculture wastewaters, and nutrient-effected near-shore waters. 

This CERC Fellow will work with a team across Agriculture & Food programs of Sustainability, Aquaculture, and the Towards Net Zero Mission to explore halophytes as sources of fuel, feed ingredients and high value materials from saline areas. We aim to unlock the potential from the ~2 million hectares of saline land spread across 20,000 farms in Australia, along with nearshore marine and aquaculture systems (ABS 2002). This untapped productivity in using halophytes as a ‘bioconverter’ model for saline areas has the potential to address biofuel feedstock constraints, while also developing halophytes to support marine production and enable the expansion of aquaculture to meet growing national protein demand by remediating nutrient rich effluents from land-based fish and prawn production systems.
 

Your duties will include:

• Undertaking literature reviews to understand the current state of technology for halophyte biofuel feedstocks and key R&D questions.
• The assessment of halophytes as biofuel feedstocks and as bioremediation tools including running plant trials to assess plant productivity, oil and biomass yields, nutrient uptake, and time to harvest under a range of different growing environments including soil based and floating systems. 
• Examining the potential of biofuel oil and biomass via several potential biofuel pathways.
• Land-use mapping of potential production areas for bioenergy halophytes in Australia and logistical analysis of the viability of supply chains from those growing areas.
• Sustainability assessments such as life-cycle analysis (including carbon foot-printing) or multi-criteria decision analysis.
   

Location: Bribie Island or St Lucia

Salary: AU$96k - AU$105k plus up to 15.4% superannuation

Tenure: Specified term of 3 years

Reference: 97354

To be considered you will need:

• A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as agronomics, farming systems or crop production, plant biology, nutrition or physiology. Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (full-time equivalent) of postdoctoral research experience.
• A current Australian driver’s licence or the ability to obtain one.
• Experience conducting plant trials with scientific rigor in controlled environments and in the field including assessment of plant performance, yield and/or nutrient uptake.
• High level written and oral communication skills with the ability to represent the research team effectively internally and externally, including the presentation of research outcomes at national and international conferences.
• A sound history of publication in peer reviewed journals and/or authorship of scientific papers, reports, grant applications or patents.
   

For full details about this role please view the Position Description

Eligibility

Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

Flexible working arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. 

Diversity and inclusion

We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish. 

About CSIRO

At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact. 

CSIRO is committed to values-based leadership to inspire performance and unlock the potential of our people.

Join us and start creating tomorrow today!

How to apply

Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.

Applications close

5 September 2024, 11:00pm AEST