Graduate Assistantship in a NOPP Internal Wave Project (Physical Oceanography)

The Division of Marine Science of the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) invites applicants for M.S. or Ph.D. studies in Physical Oceanography starting in summer/fall 2023. We seek a skilled and motivated individual for an exciting opportunity to work on the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) project “A Global Multi-Agency Experiment on Internal Wave Energy, Mixing and Interactions in the Ocean and their Representation in Global Ocean Models and Operational Forecasts”. This project will contribute to a better understanding of the generation and fate of internal waves, the dissipation of which is relevant for the overturning circulation and global climate. The student’s work involves, e.g., 1) the validation of global ocean model simulations with internal wave resolving array observations and SWOT altimetry and 2) diagnosing internal wave processes (i.e., nonlinear interactions with waves and (sub)mesoscale background flows). There will be opportunities to collaborate with project scientists of Florida State University, University of Michigan, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Naval Research Laboratory, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and Scripps Oceanographic Institution. Funding is available for travel to collaborators, annual NOPP meetings, and science conferences. Strong skills in physics and math (e.g., calculus) are crucial, and experience with data analysis and modeling is beneficial. The project requires working in a Linux environment and programming in MATLAB and Fortran. Candidates must possess at least a B.S. degree. The TOEFL is required for non-native English speakers. DMS graduate assistants are supported with a $40,000 annual resource package, including a tuition waiver and a stipend starting at $23,400 per academic year with benefits.

Interested candidates should contact Dr. Maarten Buijsman at maarten.buijsman@usm.edu and attach a resume or curriculum vitae, GRE score (not mandatory; if available), college transcripts (unofficial acceptable), and a brief statement of research interests.

USM is a Carnegie Research University and has been designated as Mississippi’s flagship university for marine science. The Division of Marine Science is part of the School of Ocean Science and Engineering (SOSE) and is located at the John C. Stennis Space Center on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. Stennis is a “federal city” that boasts the world’s largest concentration of oceanographers and hydrographers, housing offices for scientists associated with NASA, the U.S. Navy, NOAA, and USGS. Division faculty expertise is multidisciplinary and includes biologists, chemists, geologists, physicists, hydrographers, and engineers. Learn more at https://www.usm.edu/ocean-science-engineering/.