I. SPECIAL INFORMATION/SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTATION
POSTDOCTORAL MENTORING PLAN
The postdoctoral research associate will be employed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). The institution has established procedures for mentoring postdoctoral associates and assessing their overall career development. As employees of UAF, postdoctoral associates are members of the same collective bargaining unit as faculty members and accordingly enjoy a level of oversight and professional support that helps ensure their intellectual and career progress. This oversight includes annual workload agreements and annual reporting of professional activities through campus-wide processes. The Office of Faculty Development (OFD) (http://www.uaf.edu/provost/faculty_development/) provides a full program of professional development resources that are available to post-doctoral associates. Post-doctoral associates can attend the same OFD orientation and skill development workshops as faculty members. These workshops not only meet immediate professional needs, but also serve as a resource in their longer-term intellectual and professional development.
The postdoctoral associate will be fully integrated into the Geophysical Institute’s (GI) (http://www.gi.alaska.edu) organizational framework, and included as a colleague and peer. At the department level, the postdoctoral associate will participate as a member of the relevant research group at the GI with the other faculty, research associates, postdoctoral associates, and students. Research groups hold regular monthly research meetings where group members discuss scientific and professional topics. The postdoctoral associate will also be able to communicate their scientific progress to the wider UAF community through a variety of established seminar series on campus.
The PIs will serve as the mentor for the postdoctoral associate. The postdoctoral research associate will be integrated into the research team and participate in the regular group meetings with the PI, Co-I’s and graduate students. As a key person on the project the postdoctoral associate will travel to consult with collaborators on the progress of the project and discuss challenges.
The postdoctoral associate will be supported to travel to meetings (e.g. American Geophysical Union) and present their work through existing funds and future proposals submitted. UAF supports postdoctoral associates to submit grants and permits them to serve as principal investigators. These experiences are critical in the professional development of early-career researchers and empowers them to pursue subsequent scientific positions in research and academia.