Applications are invited for MS/PhD graduate assistantships in environmental remote sensing, GIS, and ecosystem modeling (priority given to applicants for PhD), beginning Fall 2018, with Dr. Kaiguang Zhao in the School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR), the Ohio State University. Dr. Zhao’s lab focuses on mapping, monitoring, modeling, and managing terrestrial environments across spatial scales via a combination of observation and modeling toolsets. Self-motivated individuals are sought, especially those with quantitative and computational skills who would like to address interdisciplinary environmental issues related to natural or human-dominated landscapes.
Successful applicants will have the flexibility to develop their own research topics in the general areas of remote sensing and environmental sciences, but the preference will be given to those interested in examining impacts of climate change and human activities in agriculture-dominated landscapes. The students are particularly encouraged to pursue research ideas through our newly funded projects. One project, funded by the Ohio Water Resources Center, is on the water-energy nexus issue in Ohio, seeking to answer how shale gas development affects landscape integrity and hydrological regime. A second project, funded by EPA, is to build a multi- scale hierarchical predictive tool for linking climate and land-use with river physicochemical gradients and ecological condition to predict and prevent harmful algal blooms in the upper Ohio River basin. Another project, funded by USDA, is to identify adaptive strategies and policies that can mitigate the risks posed by climate extremes in the Eastern Corn Belt Region and help to achieve sustainable and resilient agroecosystem management, through an integrated modeling approach aiming to balance agricultural production with protection of critical ecosystem services. Through projects like these, there exist numerous opportunities to collaborate with physical scientists, ecologists, sociologists, and economists. Qualified backgrounds include hydrology, geography, ecology, forestry, environmental sciences, meteorology, agriculture sciences or related fields. Degrees in statistics, physics, and computer sciences are also acceptable, if with demonstrated good understandings of biophysical ecology and environmental sciences. Skills and experiences in math, programming (e.g., Fortran, C, & Matlab), and GIS&remote sensing are highly desirable. The successful applicants must also have a strong work ethic. Financial support will be a combination of research and teaching assistantships. Prior to submitting your full application package, applicants should contact Dr. Kaiguang Zhao ([email protected]) using “Graduate Assistantship” as the email subject. Please include a brief statement of your qualification, a CV, GRE a/o TOFEL scores, and unofficial transcripts if readily available. Review of applicants will begin immediately. See here for more information about our graduate programs and admission requirements – SENR: https://senr.osu.edu/graduate/admissions, and ESGP: https://esgp.osu.edu/prospective-students/admissions.
