Assistantships
Temporary Researcher I in Soil Science/Pedology
Questions may be directed to search committee chair Dr. Janis Boettinger at Janis.Boettinger@usu.edu
Position Opens: June 15, 2012, and is open until filled.
Application Review: Begins July 5, 2012.
Salary: $32,000 minimum annual salary plus excellent benefits package; depending on qualifications.
The Department of Plants, Soils, and Climate at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, seeks a full-time (100% fiscal year) Research Associate to manage laboratory and field research programs in Soil Science/Pedology, and provide limited teaching and departmental service support. This is a temporary professional position with present support for approximately 12 months; continued employment beyond this commitment is contingent on continuation of funding and acceptable performance. Available immediately (desired start date August 1, 2012).
Position Summary:
The Research Associate duties include, but are not limited to:
(1) Manage the research activities of graduate and undergraduate students and others in Soil Science/Pedology, including training personnel in the proper use and maintenance of the research equipment; developing and promoting standard operating procedures, up-to-date chemical and equipment inventories, and best research practices in both laboratory and field settings; (2) Collect, prepare, and analyze soil samples;(3) Manage and archive data electronically and contribute to the analysis of data and writing manuscripts; (4) Participate in research meetings; interact with faculty, staff, and students; and assist with outreach as needed and as time permits; (5) Instruct or assist with instruction of one lower division undergraduate course per year (3 credits) mentored by a faculty member; (6) Participate in departmental service as needed and as time permits. Note that this position requires some travel and time away from home during the field season.
Minimum Qualifications:
(1) A Master’s degree with relevant experience in Soil Science or a related field; (2) Experience conducting, analyzing, and interpreting soil science/pedology research; (3) Ability to work for extended periods in potentially harsh environmental and physically demanding conditions and ability to work effectively with minimal supervision and as a productive team member; (4) motivated with strong interpersonal and communication skills; (5) Valid US driver’s license.
Preferred Qualifications:
(1) Undergraduate teaching experience in soil science or closely related field; (2) Experience with geographic information systems.
Instructions to Potential Applicants:
The quicklink to the position search is http://jobs.usu.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=57365 Along with the on-line application please attach (1) a cover letter; (2) a current resume/CV; and (3) the names and contact information for at least three references familiar with your work.
Graduate Student Opportunity for Land Use and Land Cover Change Study
We seek a highly motivated graduate student (M.Sc. or Ph.D.) to participate in the studies of land use and land cover change in the Southern Great Plains, USA. Researchers at the Earth Observation and Modeling Facility (EOMF) use both optical remote sensing data (e.g., MODIS, Landsat) and synthetic aperture radar data (PALSAR) to quantify land use and land cover change. Student will carry out field surveys for ground truth data in support of algorithm development and validation, and develop new algorithms that synergize both optical images and SAR images for better quantification of land use and land cover change in the region. Student will also present the research results in national and international scientific meetings and conferences, as well as peer-reviewed scientific journals. The position will start in fall 2013 semester (8/2013).
Graduate Program: Candidates may apply for graduate programs in Plant Biology or Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology
(http://mpbio.ou.edu) at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.
Qualification: Candidates may have a B.Sc. or M.Sc. degree in ecology, natural resources, forestry, agriculture, geography, Earth System science, statistics, computer science and mathematics. He/she may have good working experience and publications in one or more areas: remote sensing, GIS, land use models, computer programming language (C++, C, IDL, Python), and statistic software (e.g., R, Matlab). Good communication and writing skills is a plus.
Financial Support: We will support the successful candidate with a 12-month Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) stipend and annual tuition. The financial support is renewable annually dependent upon the project progress, candidate’s performance and fund availability.
Contact Person: For additional information, please contact Prof. Xiangming Xiao
(xiangming.xiao@ou.edu) at the Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, and the Centerfor Spatial Analysis, University of Oklahoma.
The Earth Observation & Modeling Facility (http://www.eomf.ou.edu) is part of the Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology (http://mpbio.ou.edu/) and the Center for Spatial Analysis (http://csa.ou.edu/). It is located at the Stephenson Research and Technology Center (http://srtc.ou.edu/). The EOMF has a state-of-the-art computational facility with 400+ Terabyte raid disk system and 10 Linux servers; and it also has access to the OU’s supercomputer with 1040 quad-core CPU chips and the OU’s PetaStore facility (several Petabyte disk and tape storage). The EOMF data portal hosts several hundred terabytes of data (e.g., satellite images, geo-referenced field photos, climate) to support the studies of ecology, forestry, agriculture, and epidemiology of infectious diseases. The EOMF aims to develop a strong research and education program that integrates geo-informatics, eco-informatics and bio-informatics.
Graduate Opportunity for Terrestrial Carbon Cycle and Biogeochemical Modeling
We seek a highly motivated graduate student (M.Sc. or Ph.D.) to participate in the studies of terrestrial carbon cycle. Multi-year observations will be carried out at integrated Grassland Observation Sites (iGOS) and Integrated Cropland Observation Sites (iCOS) in Oklahoma, which are equipped with eddy co-variance flux towers, Phenocam, COSMOS, optical and thermal remote sensing, in addition to co-locating with Oklahoma Mesonet sites. Student will participate in (1) in-site data collection, analysis and modeling; (2) develop and evaluate algorithms that links in-situ data with satellite data (Landsat, MODIS, VIIRS, SMAP); and (3) assimilate satellite-derived data products with biogeochemical models. Student will present their research results at national and international scientific meetings and conferences, as well as peer reviewed scientific journals. The position will start in fall 2013 semester (8/2013). Information same as Opportunity for Land Use and Land Cover Change Study above.
Fellowships
For a list of University Fellowships click here.
Apogee Instruments/Campbell Scientific Fellowship
Up to five awards of $1,000 per year will be made to each of five graduate students. These awards are for students who have completed their plan of study and research proposal.
For fellowship consideration send the following to the scholarship committee:
1. A fully signed copy of the plan of study (including signature by the Dean of the Graduate school).
2. A fully signed copy of the cover page and list of hypotheses from the thesis or dissertation proposal.
3. GRE scores from all three categories (the sum must be above 150), undergraduate GPA (above 3.3), and Graduate GPA (above 3.6).
4. Must have at least 9 months left in their graduate program.
Selection criteria will also be based on the insight demonstrated by the hypotheses in the research proposal and the extent to which the proposed research is hypothesis driven.
Bringhurst Fellowship for Fruit Science
Tanner/CSI Fellowship
This year it will awarded to TWO students. $3,200 per student.
Scholarships
For College of Agriculture Scholarships click here (Deadline January 31).
For a list of University Scholarships click here.