Research Focus: Urban plant ecology and ecological restoration, combining ecological science with applications to land management, landscape design and land use planning. Current work focuses on urban parks, long-term outcomes of restoration, invasive species interactions, and ecological succession in the urban environment. With established field sites for long-term research in New York City, we are currently developing new research partnerships in the Baltimore-Washington DC area and beyond.
Potential projects may include (but are not limited to): ecological performance of designed landscapes; novel techniques in urban ecological restoration; legacies of urban land use on vegetation dynamics; plant community ecology of urban habitats; forest regeneration in urban parks; ecological impacts of social and environmental interventions to improve urban ecological function. The faculty of the University of Maryland includes experts in a broad range of related fields, including urban forestry, urban agriculture, landscape architecture, landscape management, ecology, soil science, environmental science and policy, and many specialties in biology. Competitive support, including health benefits for students and their dependents, is available. Applicants interested in projects that could connect to the National Social and Environmental Synthesis Center (https://www.sesync.org/about) or to the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (http://www.beslter.org/) should elaborate on this in the personal statement. Send a CV, an unofficial transcript, and a personal statement detailing your research interests. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until suitable applicants are identified. All students must apply to the University of Maryland (http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/<http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/welcome/welcome.html>); the deadline for applications to the Graduate School for Fall 2015 is February 1. For promising candidates, an earlier start date may be considered. Additional details about the Graduate Program can be found at http://psla.umd.edu/. For more information, contact: Lea R. Johnson, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture College of Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Maryland 2134 Plant Sciences Building College Park, MD 20742 (301) 405-1602 Office
