PhD opportunity in forest fire ecology in the Harvey Lab at the University of Washington, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences (UW-SEFS)
The Harvey Lab at the University of Washington (https://depts.washington.edu/bjhlab/) is seeking a prospective PhD student who is interested in fire ecology and forest resilience in the Cascade Mountains. This funded PhD position will be joining a collaboration between UW, the US Forest Service, and the Washington Department of Natural Resources, where we will be examining the role of fire on forest resilience in the east and west cascades in a warming climate. This topic will form the core of the student’s graduate research, but the student will work with Dr. Harvey to develop additional interesting/important questions in their dissertation. Research in the Harvey Lab examines how disturbances (e.g., fires and insect outbreaks) and their interactions shape forest ecosystems across spatial and temporal scales. We are particularly interested in how the frequency, size, and severity of disturbances are changing, and what those changes mean for forest structure, function, and ecosystem services. By testing and advancing theory in forest ecology, landscape ecology, and disturbance ecology, we connect scientific understanding to forest management. See links in the “Opportunities” tab on the Harvey Lab website (https://depts.washington.edu/bjhlab/) for further information on working towards a graduate degree in the Harvey Lab at UW-SEFS. We are committed to promoting an equitable, diverse, and inclusive environment, and encourage applications from students who share this commitment. The ideal candidate will have experience in several (but interest in most!) of the following areas: • MS degree in biology, ecology, forestry, environmental science, or related field – or BS degree and ~2 years of related professional experience • Forestry measurements (e.g., tree size, diameter, allometrics, dendrochronology, regeneration surveys, stem mapping) • Geospatial techniques (e.g., GIS and/or remote sensing) • Fuels measurements (e.g., Brown’s fuels transects, canopy fuel measurements) • Quantitative analyses (e.g., general statistics, linear modeling, spatial statistics) • Simulation modeling (e.g., Forest Vegetation Simulator, LANDIS, or iLand) • Scientific writing (e.g., manuscript preparation and/or proposal writing) • Leading large field crews in data collection through variable weather conditions • Botanical knowledge of major trees, shrubs, and herbs in the Cascade Mountains ***** This position could start in the spring (e.g., April or May) of 2019 to prep for the summer 2019 field season, but the student will need to start in the summer 2019 field season at the latest. Interested candidates are requested to create a single PDF document which contains the following: • A one-page statement that demonstrates (a) how your experience prepares you for this project, (b) which aspects of the project interest you most, and (c) your career goals after grad school. • A current CV • Unofficial undergrad (and grad if applicable) transcripts • Unofficial GRE scores and percentiles (taken within the last five years) • List of three references (name, position, institution, email address, and phone number). <<References will not be contacted until after the formal application process at UW-SEFS.>> Email this PDF document to Dr. Brian J. Harvey ([email protected]) no later than Friday Nov 9, 2018. Dr. Harvey will contact candidates to schedule a skype conversation in mid-Nov, and then top candidates will need to apply to UW-SEFS by the application deadline of Dec 1, 2018.
