Team-based PhD Student Assistantships in Arctic/Boreal Ecology and Remote Sensing
An interdisciplinary team at Columbia University (Natalie Boelman and Kevin Griffin) and the University of Idaho (Jan Eitel and Lee Vierling) recently received funding for several exciting positions to study Arctic-Boreal Ecology using remote sensing, field observations, and GPS-based animal tracking. We seek sincere, motivated, creative individuals to apply for three Ph.D. assistantships to work in the Alaskan and Canadian Arctic/Boreal ecosystems. Our two major objectives are to:
- Integrate laser altimetry (LiDAR), passive spectral, and tree ecophysiological data to link the biophysical structure of one of the world’s largest ecological transition zones – the Forest Tundra Ecotone (FTE) - to its ecological function. Please see https://above.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/inv_pgp.pl?pgid=3396 for further information on this project. This is a collaborative project among Jan Eitel, Lee Vierling (Univ. of Idaho), Kevin Griffin and Natalie Boelman (Columbia University).
- Understand how highly mobile animals migrate and select habitat in rapidly changing tundra and boreal forest regions. Please see https://above.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/inv_pgp.pl?pgid=3391 for further information on this project. (1 PhD position at University of Idaho). This is a collaborative project among Jan Eitel and Lee Vierling (Univ. of Idaho), Natalie Boelman (Columbia Univ.), Mark Hebblewhite (Univ. of Montana), Laura Prugh (Univ. of Washington) and Gil Bohrer (Ohio State Univ.)
For these two projects, we are looking for students with experience and/or strong interest in remote sensing (2 at Univ. of Idaho) and plant ecophysiology (1 at Columbia Univ.).
Within a highly collaborative team environment, the accepted PhD candidates
will collectively learn cutting edge remote sensing tools and approaches in ecological remote sensing (including LiDAR and spectral image analysis), and study tree physiology and forest/tundra ecology.
Financial support is available via a newly funded NASA Terrestrial Ecology project as part of the Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) field campaign.
Preferred start date is July 2016 for the PhD students.
If you are interested in any of these 3 positions, please apply to graduate programs at the University of Idaho and/or Columbia University as follows:
If you are interested in the 2 Remote Sensing positions, please apply to the University of Idaho. Application deadline is Feb 1 2016. You should apply to the Dept of Natural Resources and Society.
You can and find instructions on how to apply here: >>
Questions about the University of Idaho program are best directed at Lee Vierling.
If you are interested in the 1 Plant Ecophysiology position, please apply to Columbia University. Application deadline is Jan 3rd 2016. You should apply to the Dept of Earth and Environmental Sciences (DEES).
You can find instructions on how to apply here: >>
Questions about the Columbia University program are best directed at Natalie Boelman.
