Graduate student assistants sought for project in Chile

We seek 1-2 graduate students to assist with a 5-year National Science Foundation supported field study on Octodon degus social organization in Chile. The program is based at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) and involves collaborations with researchers in Chile and Colombia. We are particularly interested in applications from prospective students with (i) research interests that integrate behavioral ecology and/or geospatial analysis (e.g., GIS) and (ii) Spanish speaking skills.

The prospective student(s) will contribute to a long-term study of how climatic conditions influence the fitness consequences of spatiotemporal variation in social organization and social structure. Students will work in cohorts consisting of Biology, Geology, and Math students, facilitating integrative projects and mathematical modeling of data collected in the field. The field season in Chile extends between mid-May to late November, which covers the period of mating and offspring production and care. Students may participate in 1-2 field seasons. Students may enroll in the UTC Environmental Science Masters program at UTC or be enrolled in a Masters or PhD program at another U.S. institution. Students may be at any stage of their graduate program, so long as they are full-time and can commit to an entire field season.

Criteria for selection:

1. U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident (green card holder), currently a full-time student or official commitment to become a full-time student by beginning of Winter/Spring 2025. Students do not have to be affiliated with UTC.
2. Ability to communicate in Spanish.
3. Academic major: Biology, Environmental Science, Geology or related disciplines.
4. Potential for future success, to bring unique perspectives to the program and to work effectively with a team.
5. Ability to work long hours and live in a remote area (45 min drive from nearest city),
6. Relevant coursework.
7. GPA (3.0 or higher; students with GPAs lower than 3.0 may apply but need to address the issue in their statement of interest).
8. All things equal: students interested in studies requiring two field seasons are preferred.

Financial benefits:

1. $600/week stipend.
2. Round-trip flight on U.S. carrier.
3. Housing in Chile.
4. Travel costs in Chile (truck rental, gas, tolls).
5. Supply/Equipment support.
6. Travel insurance (if enrolled at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga).

Professional benefits:

1. Training from diverse faculty group with interests in Biology, Geology, Math.
2. Participation in long-term study and access to long-term dataset.
3. Collaborative and individual projects increase potential for diverse publications.
4. Potential support for participation in scientific meetings.
5. Broad professional networking.
6. Potential thesis/dissertation project.

Interested students should prepare a single PDF file containing (i) a 2-page statement highlighting their research interests (with an emphasis on how this relates to the degu study), personal/professional goals, and how they meet the criteria for selection, (ii) unofficial undergraduate and graduate transcripts, and (iii) a CV with contact information of two people with knowledge of the student’s potential for research and to enrich diversity of the program. If the student is already enrolled at another institution, they should include their Masters or PhD advisor in the contact list. Please email questions or applications to Professors Loren Hayes (loren-hayes@utc.edu) and Azad Hossain (azad-hossain@utc.edu) by 15 October2024.