PhD Position in Fate and Hydrological Pathways of Wastewater Contaminants within Watersheds

The RESTORE Research Group in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Western University is seeking a PhD student to conduct research on assessing the contribution of onsite wastewater treatment systems in delivering nutrients and emerging contaminants to tributaries including identification of the contributing hydrological pathways (groundwater and surface water pathways). The project is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks to address their priority to evaluate the sources and pathways delivering contaminants to surface waters in the Great Lakes Basin. The student project will include applying state-of-the-art field and laboratory techniques to conduct intensive field studies to quantify the pathways delivering contaminants to tributaries from onsite wastewater treatment systems in Southern Ontario, Canada. Student responsibilities will include designing and executing field experiments, laboratory water sample analysis, spatial GIS analysis, reporting research outcomes, and coordinating with the research team. There is also opportunity for the project to include hydrological contaminant transport modeling. The student will be jointly supervised by Dr. Robinson at Western University and Dr. Roy at Environment Climate Change Canada.

Applicants are expected to have a background in groundwater or surface water hydrology. Experience in designing and implementing field sampling and monitoring systems and spatial GIS analysis is desirable.

The successful candidates will be based in the RESTORE Research Group (https://www.eng.uwo.ca/restore/) which has recently been awarded over $6M to conduct field, experimental and modelling investigations focused on groundwater issues. RESTORE is a growing, well-recognized research group with more than 25 graduate students, research engineers and laboratory technicians working in five well-equipped laboratories and modelling offices. Western University (http://www.uwo.ca/) is a leading Canadian academic institution that is committed to excelling as an innovative research-intensive university.

Please send your CV, a list of two references (along with contact phone and email), unofficial transcripts and a cover letter summarizing qualifications and research interests to Dr. Clare Robinson (crobinson@eng.uwo.ca). Start date is September 2021 but opportunities for an earlier start date are possible. Applications will be reviewed as they are received and will continue until the position is filled.