Postdoctoral Scholar

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

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Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants .

This is a term position; length of the term will be discussed during the interview process. Continuation past the term length discussed will be based on university need, performance, and/or availability of funding.

POSITION SPECIFICS

The Center for Healthy Aging is seeking to recruit two postdoctoral scholars for our research team with interest and background in quantitative methods to study processes related to cognition and emotion.

Applicants must have a Ph.D. in human development, psychology, cognitive science, or a related discipline by the start date, or anticipate completing the Ph.D. by that date. We seek candidates interested in daily-life measures of cognition and emotion (i.e., ecological momentary assessment), cognitive testing, and quantitative model development.

One position will focus on applying and tailoring cognitive psychometric models to study cultural differences in daily-life expressions of love. This project is supported by the John Templeton Foundation. The ideal candidate for this position has a background in multilevel modeling, Bayesian data analysis, and emotion research.

Another position will focus on developing and applying computational cognitive models for multiple projects funded by the National Institute on Aging. The ideal candidate for this position has a background in time-series modeling, computational modeling, Bayesian data analysis, and model discovery.

Professor Zita Oravecz will serve as a primary advisor for both postdoctoral scholars. They will have the opportunity to apply and develop sophisticated methodological tools to data from ongoing studies, conduct independent research in collaboration with multiple faculty mentors, prepare manuscripts, and receive mentorship including in grant proposal writing.

Possible start date: March, 2027.

BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES

Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.

BENEFITS

Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being.

For more detailed information, please visit our Benefits Page. (Note: For Postdoctoral benefits, please see our Postdoctoral Benefits page.)

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