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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. Check with
your advisor to find out about possibilities.
Research Assistantships
Currently Available
Graduate Research
Assistantship:
PhD Student for a Landscape-Level Carbon Sequestration Dynamics Study
Using Lidar and
FVS Across Multiple Forest Types
Announcement:
We are seeking a
highly motivated PhD student to participate in an interdisciplinary study
to identify Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) inputs to model how carbon
sequestration responds to changing disturbance regimes, stand conditions,
management practices, and environmental variables.
Forest managers,
particularly from private forest industries, need efficient forest
inventory methods as profit margins for forest industries forest
management have been squeezed in an increasingly global and competitive
market. Managers must consider multiple forest resource uses: timber,
wildlife, fire/fuels, recreation, etc. With the advent of global carbon
trading, forest managers also need objective, repeatable, and accurate
methods of carbon inventory. Finally, climate change presents a special
challenge to forest managers. The Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) is the
growth engine most widely applied in the private and public forest
sectors, yet improvements are underway so forest managers can respond to
these challenges.
The PhD student will
directly work with the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station
and our industry partner (Potlatch Land Holdings, Inc.) to further develop
LiDAR information technology for forest stand and landscape management.
This project will also assist in developing national standards for LiDAR
data acquisitions, processing, and products. The stipend starts at $21,600
per year for 3 years and includes a tuition waiver. Fees are not included,
but potential exists to compete for further funding, scholarships, and
teaching assistantships for forest measurement courses. The successful
candidate will be a PhD student in the College of Natural Resources at the
University of Idaho.
Technical
Qualifications:
The PhD candidate
should be familiar with remote sensing, forest ecology, and ecosystem
processes associated with forest growth and yield. Experience working with
remote sensing and GIS software, such as ARC, ENVI or ERDAS is
advantageous. Good experimental and field skills with evidence of
ability to
publish research results in refereed journals are highly desired.
Applicants are required to have a master’s degree in a physical science,
remote sensing/GIS, geography, forest ecology, biogeochemistry, or another
appropriate field.
Personal
Qualifications:
The candidate should
be self-motivated, focused, and able to work independently and work as
part of a multidisciplinary team. You should be capable of driving to
remote sites on gravel roads, hiking several kilometers and are
comfortable camping in primitive areas.
How to Apply:
To apply for this
position, please email the following to Alistair Smith;
alistair@uidaho.edu:
(1) your CV (including GRE scores and percentiles); (2) a 1-2 page
description of your research interests and ideas; please also describe
your technical and personal qualifications for this position; (3) contact
information for three references. Inquiries are welcome.
Application
Deadline:
Applications will be
considered until the position is filled.
Starting Date:
A
starting date of August 26th is ideal. However, students who can join this
project in January 2009 are also encouraged to apply.
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