Dear Prospective Ph.D. Students: I am interested in taking Ph.D. students who propose to work at the intersection of disturbance dynamics, ecosystem thresholds, and coupled human-natural systems.
My research group examines how global environmental changeincluding shifting fire cyclesalters plant communities and ecosystem function. Our research balances cutting-edge fieldwork with analysis of global ecological data to examine how human changes to fire patterns are encouraging forest-savanna transitions, degrading ecosystems, and increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Together with an international community of collaborators, we work across disciplines and scales from individual organisms to entire ecosystems. Please see my website for more details: http://www.geog.psu.edu/people/balch-jennifer There are two opportunities for Ph.D. graduate work with me: in either geography or ecology. Please take a look at both programs: Penn State Geography - Prospective Grad Students DEADLINE DECEMBER 16th http://www.geog.psu.edu/graduate-program-information/future-graduate-students Penn State Ecology Degree Program DEADLINE JANUARY 15th http://www.huck.psu.edu/education/ecology/ If you are interested in working with me, please email me with the following: 1. A paragraph or two telling me a bit more about what type of science makes you most excited and what types of research questions you are interested in (please take a look at my published papers and research themes to see what aspect of my work interests you specifically), 2. your c.v., 3. an "unofficial" transcript, 4. a writing sample, 5. and a brief description of your career goals or what you hope to get out of graduate school. There are possible opportunities for highly competitive students to get support via teaching and/or research assistantships. But I also strongly encourage my future students to explore opportunities for outside funding. Please see external funding opportunities listed by the Penn State Graduate School here: http://www.gradsch.psu.edu/index.cfm/graduate-funding/types-of-graduate-support/external/ Best wishes, Dr. Jennifer K. Balch Assistant Professor Department of Geography The Pennsylvania State University 302 Walker Building University Park, PA 16802 Email: [email protected] Twitter: Fire Works Lab @DrBalch Website: http://www.geog.psu.edu/people/balch-jennifer
