Postdoctoral Fellowship in AI-Driven Movement Ecology and Conservation of Large Mammals – University of Michigan

[Neil Carter]

Hello,

I'm looking to recruit a postdoctoral fellow in my research group to develop AI-driven models of animal movements, leveraging high-resolution GPS tracking data and diverse environmental datasets. The fellow would collaborate closely with researchers at the University of British Columbia and Kruger National Park.

Research activities will include the development and application of advanced deep learning frameworks to model and predict animal movement and habitat selection. The fellow will integrate spatially and temporally explicit environmental covariates (e.g., NDVI, vegetation structure, topography, seasonality), enabling nuanced exploration of how landscape features and dynamic conditions influence animal movement decisions at multiple scales. Research will involve constructing, training, and evaluating AI models capable of simulating realistic movement trajectories, identifying patterns in resource selection, and revealing how animals interact with variable or human-modified environments.

The position offers opportunities to:

• Advance mechanistic understanding of animal-environment interactions to inform conservation solutions.
• Experiment with state-of-the-art AI architectures, potentially incorporating memory, multi-individual, or social dynamics.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and partners to adapt models for real-world conservation management scenarios.
• Contribute novel approaches and open-source tools to the field of computational movement ecology.

Applicants must apply here:
https://midas.umich.edu/training/postdoctoral-programs/schmidt-ai-in-science-postdoctoral-fellowship/

Applications are due November 30th

Please reach out to me (nhca...@umich.edu) as soon as possible to determine research fit before the deadline.

Best,

Neil Carter

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Associate Professor

Dana Building #2502 | 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
+1 734-764-3763 | nhca...@umich.edu

Research group website | Faculty page