2 PhD opportunities in global C cycle research

There is an opportunity for 2 PhD positions to work in a NASA funded collaborative project to improve our understanding of global CO2 respiration and its potential feedback on Earth’s climate system. This opportunity will work closely with a collaborative team from University of Montana (UMT), University of Delaware (UD), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to improve our understanding of global respiration by combining spaceborne observations with surface measurements to provide estimates of bottom-up and top-down respiration for benchmarking models. One position will be based at UMT (focusing on top-down approaches) and another at UD (focusing on bottom-up approaches). 

The ideal candidates will have strong backgrounds or interest in ecological or land surface models, biogeochemistry, or a related discipline within earth sciences, and a commitment to collaborative and open science. 

The candidates are expected to start their PhD programs in early 2022. 

Required Qualifications:

• Strong critical thinking and analytical skills
• Creative approaches to solving problems
• BSc in Ecology or Earth Sciences
• Experience  with computer code to analyze and visualize large datasets 

   

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working in a collaborative team
• MSc in Ecology or Earth Sciences that has resulted in publication of research
• Proficiency in commonly used computer languages, such as R or Python
• Experience with machine learning or artificial intelligence approaches

Research Team:  

Ashley Ballantyne (University of Montana)

Ben Bond-Lamberty (Pacific Northwest National Laboratories)

Rodrigo Vargas (University of Delaware)

To apply:  

Please send the following information to Ashley Ballantyne (ashley.ballantyne@umontana.edu):

• CV
• Brief statement of research interests pertaining to the project
• At least 2 references with email addresses

Thank you for your interest in these positions,

Ashley, Ben & Rodrigo