Remote Sensing Graduate Student Assistanship

The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks is inviting applications for a PhD position in the area of hyperspectral remote sensing of vegetation and forest fires.

The research will particularly focus on:

1. Improving Alaska’s boreal forest fuel map
2. Developing algorithms to scale up fuel maps from local experiment sites to the boreal forest domain of Alaska

The successful applicant will join an inter-disciplinary team of scientists with expertise in remote sensing, fire ecology, economics, and climate. We offer an exciting opportunity to be a part of UAFs HyLab team and to actively lead efforts in planning data acquisition campaigns and analysis of airborne hyperspectral data using HySpex sensor and ground based hyperspectral data using PSR+ field spectrometer. The student will develop novel hyperspectral image processing methods to improve boreal land cover map at strategically selected sites and develop algorithms to quantify biomass, canopy moisture content, and live versus dead biomass with the goal to improve fire risk assessment. The student will have opportunities to disseminate the research findings through publications in scientific journals and presentation at international conferences.

Essential qualifications:

A Master’s degree in Geosciences, Geography, Biology or related Engineering discipline. Experience with remote sensing data analysis and image processing; excellent communication skills in English.

Desired qualifications:

Experience with hyperspectral data processing, python or Matlab programming, land-cover mapping from satellite or airborne images; familiarity with field survey and data collection, RTK GPS, and programs such as ArcGIS, ENVI or ERDAS.

Timeline:

To ensure consideration, please apply by April 19, 2019. Visit Department of Geosciences Prospective Student page for details on admission requirement and process. Contact Mandi Goddard, Graduate Coordinator, at magoddard@alaska.edu or +1 9074747755 for admission related questions.

For any question about the project please contact Dr. Santosh Panda (skpanda@alaska.edu) or Uma Bhatt
(usbhatt@alaska.edu).

This position is funded by Alaska EPSCoR Fire and Ice project.

As a public, regional, comprehensive university, UAF is committed to building a culturally diverse and inclusive organization and strongly encourages women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans to apply.