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Assistantships
The Department has a limited number of teaching
assistantships* available each year. Applicants
with strong quantitative skills are especially desired. In
addition, many of our graduate students secure a research assistantship during at least
part of their graduate studies. Some
work with their advisors to prepare a research proposal during their first
year in the program and submit it successfully for funding.
Research Assistantships
Currently Available
Graduate
Research Assistantship:
MS Student on bio-char amendments to forest soils
Announcement:
We are
seeking an MS student to evaluate the impacts of bio-char on forest
production and belowground processes. Bio-char is a black carbon byproduct
of the fast pyrolysis bioenergy conversion process. The MS project
includes evaluating microbial responses of bio-char amendments.
Sustained
forest biomass growth can be used to help meet energy independence
goals. Removing forest biomass, such as logging residues, or thinning for
hazard fuel reduction will improve forest health, reduce the risk of
wildfires, and reduce the need for slash burning which releases pollutants
including greenhouse gases. However, high nutrient content in the tops and
limbs raise concerns over nutrient depletion potential. Such environmental
risks must be acknowledged and mitigated as part of sustainable forest
biomass production. Removals may be mitigated through bio-char
amendments. Bio-char is available for site amendments as a byproduct of
mobile pyrolysis units that are capable of converting biomass to a
high-value bio-oil. For information, on recent demonstrations of such a
portable pyrolysis unit by the Umpqua and Umatilla National Forests, the
Rocky Mountain Research Station, University of Idaho and University of
Montana see
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/umpqua/projects/fast-pyrolysis/index.shtml.
Bio-char
is equivalent to charcoal found native in fire ecosystems and such black
carbon is known to enhance soil physical, chemical and biological
qualities with resulting improvement in plant productivity. Bio-char also
has residence times exceeding thousands of years, suggesting incorporation
of bio-char has important soil enhancement and carbon sequestration
potential. Microbial population responses and resulting changes in
microbial processes are critical to understanding the impact of biochar. Numerous
questions remain regarding the response of these processes to biochar
amendments in forest ecosystems.
The MS
student will work on a USDA Forest Service funded project to consider site
carbon and nutrient dynamics concerned with bio-char amendments. The
stipend starts at $17,000 per year and includes a tuition waiver. Fees are
not included, but potential exists for additional funding, scholarships,
and teaching assistantships within the Forest Resources Department and the
University of Idaho. The successful candidate will be an MS student in the
College of Natural Resources at the University of Idaho.
Qualifications:
The MS
candidate should be familiar with sampling and analyzing forest soil
nutrient availability, and knowledgeable of above and belowground
processes controlling variation in productivity and soils throughout the
Inland Northwest. Desirable background includes experience with forest
bioenergy, including biochar production, forest soil microbial
populations, mycorrhizae, nitrogen fixation, plant mineral nutrition,
soils, and geology. Desire to conduct field work in managed forests and
strong verbal and written communication skills are critical.
Highly desired
qualifications include experience with statistical analysis, plant and
soil nutrient analysis, and publishing
research results in refereed journals.
Applicants must have an undergraduate degree in forest soils, geography,
forest management, ecology, agronomy, biogeochemistry, or closely related
field.
In
addition, the candidate should be self-motivated, focused, and able to
work independently and work as part of a multidisciplinary team. It will
also be necessary to operate field vehicles, work in strenuous field
conditions, and climb trees for sample collection.
How to
Apply:
To apply
for this position, please email the following to Mark Coleman;
mcoleman@uidaho.edu:
(1) your CV including GRE (and TOEFL scores where appropriate); (2)
undergraduate transcripts; (3) a 1-2 page description of your research
interests and career goals with a description of your technical and
personal qualifications for this position; and, (4) contact information
for three references. Inquiries are welcome.
Starting
Date:
Desired start date is January 2010. Funding is available to start work
prior to that time.
Spatiotemporal coupled snowmelt and soil temperature dynamics in complex
landscapes
The
altered spatiotemporal distribution of winter snowpack is perhaps the
single greatest ongoing and future climatic impact in many areas of the
world. This project is focused on the determination of the physiographic
and climatic controls on the spatial and temporal distribution of snow and
the rain/snow transition zones. The research takes place at the
Reynolds/Dry Creek NSF WATERS Testbed facility located in southwestern
Idaho and utilizes automated meteorological stations, fiber-optic
distributed temperature sensing, and high-resolution LiDAR imagery, and
physically-based modeling to reveal vegetation, topography, and snowmelt
interactions. This fully funded PhD position is available through The
Center for Ecohydraulics Research, which is supported through the National
Science Foundation and other federal research agencies. The position
requires a masters degree in geology, hydrology, engineering,
or closely related science field.
Contact
Dr. Timothy Link (tlink@uidaho.edu)
for further details about the project.
Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship
program (IGERT) Ph.D. Assistantships:
IGERT
Northern Rockies Team Announcement
IGERT Palouse Team
Announcement
IGERT San Juan - La Selva Biological Corridor, Costa Rica Team
Announcement
IGERT Turrialba,
Costa Rica/Volcánica Central - Talamanca
Biological Corridor Team Announcement |
