Ph.D. student assistantship available
The O'Halloran lab in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation
at Clemson University currently has an opening for a Ph.D. student starting in
summer or fall of 2017. We seek an enthusiastic and inquisitive student who is
interested in understanding mechanisms of land-atmosphere interactions with
particular focus on forests. Potential broad research topics include:
environmental controls on managed forest productivity, coastal carbon cycling,
aerosol new particle formation, albedo radiative forcing, and coastal forest
disturbance ecology. The student will have the opportunity to work at two
AmeriFlux sites in Virginia (switchgrass and loblolly pine) where Dr.
O'Halloran is co-PI, as well as take a leading role in developing new flux
tower sites in coastal South Carolina, where potential host ecosystems include
longleaf pine forest, baldcypress-tupelo wetland forest, and saltwater marsh.
A student with sufficient incoming transfer credits will spend one year
completing coursework on main campus and then relocate to the Baruch Institute
of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science to join the lab group and complete their
fieldwork and writing. A full research assistantship (including stipend and
tuition waver) is available for three years, but students will also be
encouraged to seek their own funding through national fellowships (e.g. USDA,
NASA, NSF).
The Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science is located just
outside of historic Georgetown, SC. Under a long-term agreement with the Belle
W. Baruch Foundation, the Institute is located on the 16,000-acre Hobcaw Barony
at the southern end of the Waccamaw Neck and is just 35 miles south of Myrtle
Beach and 60 miles north of Charleston. Hobcaw Barony is located on the
Atlantic Ocean, bordered by Winyah Bay and North Inlet Estuary. The Institute
is housed in a new 12,000 sq. ft. LEED-certified office building with an
adjoining 7,000 sq. ft. laboratory and support facility. Temporary housing is
available on site for visiting scientists and students in a new 10-bed cottage.
Clemson University is a highly selective, public, land-grant university serving
a uniquely driven and highly accomplished student body. Ranked as a top-25
national public university by U.S. News & World Report, Clemson is a science-
and engineering-oriented university dedicated to teaching, research and
service. Clemson recently achieved the status of Carnegie classification of
Highest Research Activities ("R1"). The University is located in a college town
setting on Lake Hartwell within view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Clemson is a
2-hour drive from Atlanta, GA or Charlotte, NC. For more information, please
visit: http://www.clemson.edu/about/
Required Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in forestry, ecology, atmospheric
science or other closely related environmental science. Strong quantitative
abilities, self-motivation and desire to do field work in coastal South
Carolina, where the work is physically demanding in a hot, humid environment.
Preferred Qualifications: M.S. degree (highly preferred) in forestry, ecology,
atmospheric science or other closely related environmental science.
Programming experience in MATLAB or R. Fieldwork experience in ecology or
forestry.
To apply, send a CV, unofficial GRE and TOEFL scores (if available) and a cover
letter stating your previous experience, interest in this specific position,
and future goals to Dr. O'Halloran. Review of applicants begins immediately.
The official university deadline to apply for summer entry is March 15.
Contact info and more details about the lab are available here:
http://www.clemson.edu/cafls/faculty_staff/profiles/tohallo
____________________________________________
Thomas L. O'Halloran, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology & Forest Science
Dept. of Forestry and Environmental Conservation
Clemson University
[email protected]
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