Position Details

The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI; www.stri.si.edu) seeks an outstanding laboratory scientist to lead and manage the Analytical Biogeochemistry Laboratory (ABL) at STRI. The ABL provides services to the entire STRI community, including staff scientists, fellows, students, interns and a wide range of international STRI associates. The ABL analyzes samples from projects in plant, animal and microbial ecology, physiology, geology, paleontology, hydrology, and climate sciences. Sample types include plant and animal tissues, soil and water. The ABL maintains instrumentation for organic and mineral element analysis, including a combustion TOC analyzer, an elemental C-N analyzer, an ICP-OES, and an IRMS. 

The new head of the ABL at STRI will supervise a team of analytical personnel, leading and managing all operations of the laboratory. These include but are not limited to: analysis of all samples, storage and archiving of resulting data and processed samples, maintenance of all equipment and associated infrastructure, routine assessment of data quality and control, adoption of new cutting-edge technologies, financial and administrative management, and communication with the broader STRI community. The laboratory head will support a wide range of ongoing research at STRI and may collaborate on projects, but will not be expected to maintain their own research program.

STRI is headquartered in the Republic of Panama, with modern research and laboratory facilities, a library with extensive holdings in the natural and anthropological sciences, and terrestrial and marine field stations throughout the country. STRI has a vibrant and collaborative scientific community of 37 staff scientists and hosts over 1200 scientific visitors per year, including fellows and interns supported through an intramural program. Staff scientists maintain diverse research programs in the ecology, evolution, physiology, development, and behavior of marine and terrestrial organisms and ecosystems, both ancient and modern, and the role of human interactions in shaping tropical environments. Strong interdisciplinary links between our scientists and the broader Smithsonian community provide excellent opportunities for addressing large-scale long-term research questions that are not possible elsewhere.