I am seeking postdoctoral candidates to nominate for the Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellows Program at Princeton University. The candidate could work on one of several ongoing projects involving cooperation and social bonding, depending on the candidate’s background, but I also encourage more independent project ideas. Candidates will earn an annual salary of $75,000, with additional support for computing, professional development, and research. Candidates must have a PhD within 4 years of their start date (which must be between July 1 and September 1, 2025). Full details below.
Interested candidates should send me their CV and a 1-page “statement of interest” by October 7. The statement of interest can be a link to an online document and it can describe whatever the candidate thinks is relevant, but it should include (1) a description of a proposed or possible project and (2) how their appointment would diversify Princeton’s EEB Department (note that neither race nor ethnicity is considered in the selection of fellows).
By October 15, I will pick one candidate to nominate. We will then discuss the project they proposed or I might suggest other possible projects they can work on. The candidate must then develop those ideas into a 3-page research proposal by the nomination deadline of November 1. Full details are below.
I am potentially interested in any candidate who wants to work with me, and candidates should feel free to pitch any project idea they want. However, here are some types of expertise I am particularly interested in:
- Bat biologists, especially from Latin American countries, that can speak English and Spanish and have strong research and fieldwork experience, especially with vampire bats. The candidate would live and work with me at Princeton University and do fieldwork in Costa Rica and/or Panama.
- Candidates with expertise in Bayesian modelling and inference with social network data. Princeton’s EEB department is an excellent place to develop skills in quantitative and computational methods in ecology and behavior.
- Candidates with expertise in multivariate statistics and machine learning methods as applied to bioacoustics.
- Candidates with expertise in neuroendocrine mechanisms of wild social behavior.
- Candidates with access to long-term datasets of social behavior, particularly datasets that document interactions involving new members that recently joined groups.
Statement from Director of the Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellows Program:
We are pleased to invite nominations for the Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellows Program. The program recognizes and supports outstanding scholars who will make important contributions in their fields. By bringing together scholars across the natural sciences, engineering, the social sciences, and the humanities, the program allows them to deepen their disciplinary expertise while testing out new ideas from other disciplines. These scholars will contribute to the University’s excellence and its diversity, broadly defined.
The Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellows Program is meant to encourage early-career scholars to pursue a career in academia by supporting their postdoctoral work at Princeton. The program annually supports a small and select cohort of postdoctoral researchers, each appointed at the postdoctoral research associate rank and holding a full-time, fully funded, one-year appointment renewable (with a salary increase in line with University policies) for a second year. The Office of the Dean of the Faculty sponsors various workshops and programming to provide fellows with additional development opportunities, while I will meet monthly with the fellows as a group to build a sense of community among them and provide additional mentorship.
In order to be considered, candidates must be nominated by a member of the faculty who will serve as their sponsor or PI and provide (or otherwise arrange for) lab/office space for the candidate. (Note the PI or the home department must have existing space available, as it cannot be provided centrally.) All assistant, associate, and full professors may nominate a candidate and serve as their sponsor/PI.
Nominations for this program should be submitted via our online nomination form. Details of the nomination process are outlined below.
Deadlines
• November 1, 2024 | Priority Deadline: Faculty sponsors/PIs nomination of candidates for AY26 (review of nominations begins only when nomination and applicant materials are submitted, and begins on November 1). Applications received by that date will receive the fullest consideration.
• November 15, 2024 | Final Deadline: All nomination and applicant materials must be received by this date. Applications will not be accepted after November 15, 2024.
• December 20, 2024 | Selection Notification: Selections will be made and faculty notified.
• Successful candidates may be appointed as early as July 1, 2025, or as late as September 1, 2025, but no later as this is a cohort-based program.
• If a candidate cannot produce satisfactory evidence of completing all requirements of the PhD by September 1, 2025, they forfeit their place in and support by the program.
Eligibility
To apply, candidates must meet one of the following criteria:
• Earned a PhD in a discipline in the humanities or social sciences within two years of their anticipated start date and do not currently hold a tenure-track position;
• Earned a PhD in the natural sciences or engineering within four years of their anticipated start date and do not currently hold a tenure-track position;
• Anticipate receiving a PhD in a discipline in the humanities, social or natural sciences, or engineering by the start date of their appointment (no later than September 1, 2025).
Note that preference will be given to candidates who are not already at Princeton.
Responsibilities
Pursuit of a research project crafted by the candidate in consultation with their faculty sponsor. If the fellow is in the natural sciences or engineering, the research project should be part of the research group or the lab of the faculty sponsor/PI. As part of the nomination, a plan should be presented for the fellow to be thoroughly integrated into the life of the department, program, or center. This plan can include teaching or participating in one undergraduate course or advising undergraduate independent work. No teaching is required, but fellows who wish to teach may do so with the approval of their department and the Office of Dean of the Faculty. In such cases, a secondary appointment as a lecturer will be required.
Financial support
Two years at full-time, at an annual salary of $75,000 with the possibility of renewal for a third year (within ODoF standard guidelines), if the additional year is funded by the department or the faculty PI, aligned with the Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellow Program salary. In certain circumstances and within limits, the salary may be augmented by the PI. Up to $2,000 for a computer will be available to each postdoctoral researcher; the computer will be considered the property of the University and should be returned to the department by the end of the appointment. An annual research fund of $3,000 for professional development, such as travel to conferences, will also be provided for both years of the appointment. This research fund may be supplemented by the department or PI on an individual basis. Fellows will be eligible for moving expenses per program guidelines. All other costs/requests for support associated with the appointment are the responsibility of the faculty sponsor/PI.
Nomination process
Individual faculty sponsors/PIs nominate candidates and develop a plan with the candidate to facilitate the candidate’s research. No more than one nomination will be accepted per faculty sponsor/PI. Preference will be given to those faculty who do not already have a postdoctoral researcher in the program. Faculty sponsors should complete the online form and upload their letter of nomination. An email will be sent to the candidate directing them to an application page to submit additional materials and contact information for three references. References will be contacted automatically.
Nomination materials
Curriculum vitae; research statement by candidate (approximately three pages, no more than four); contact information for three references; letter of nomination from the faculty sponsor/PI, including a plan for the candidate’s research and other activities during the appointment, and a discussion of how through their research, teaching, and service, the candidate will contribute to the diversity of the curriculum, broadly defined. Race and ethnicity are not considered in the selection of fellows.
It is my sincere hope that you will take advantage of this program, which will greatly benefit our faculty and our students. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Rayna Truelove, associate dean for diversity and inclusion in the Office of the Dean of the Faculty, (609) 258-7081.
Carter Lab 