PhD position in Global Ecology/carbon cycle

PhD position in Global Ecology/carbon cycle

There is an opportunity for a PhD position in the group of Dr. Vargas in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Delaware. This opening is funded by a NASA collaborative project to improve our understanding of global CO₂ respiration and its potential feedback on Earth’s climate system. The candidate 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.

The ideal candidate will have strong background 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 2023. 

Required Qualifications:

• Strong critical thinking and analytical skills
• BSc in Ecology or Earth Sciences
• Experience or interests in learning how to analyze and visualize large datasets 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working in a collaborative team
• 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:

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

The University of Delaware is an Equal Opportunity Employer which encourages applications from Minority Group Members, Women, Individuals with Disabilities and Veterans. The University’s Notice of Non-Discrimination can be found at http://www.udel.edu/aboutus/legalnotices.html

The University of Delaware (www.udel.edu) is one of the oldest land-grant institutions in the nation, one of 19 sea-grant institutions, and one of only 13 space-grant institutions. UD is designated as a high research activity university (Carnegie rated) and ranks among the top 100 universities in federal R&D support for science and engineering. Additionally, UD is in Newark, Delaware, within 2 hours of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C.