Graduate Research Assistantships (Ph.D. and MS) in drought and dust flux, Northern Great Plains, U.S

The Department of Sustainability & Environment at the University of South Dakota is accepting applications for a Ph.D. and a Master’s student in Sustainability for the Fall 2025 semester. The students will work on a project funded by an NSF collaborative grant to assess land use and dust emission potential of the 1930s Dust Bowl and present day that will inform future drought and dust emission modelling of the Northern Great Plains. The Ph.D. student will be using data analytics/machine learning techniques and should have a master's degree in ecology, geography, environmental sciences/engineering, computer science/engineering, or other earth science disciplines. Knowledge of Python, Google Earth Engine and R, and strong writing and communication skills are required. Candidates with advanced skills in machine learning, data visualization, model/variable selection, Bayesian statistics, and the ability to handle Big Data from diverse sources using high performance computing (HPC) are preferred and strongly encouraged to apply. The master’s student will collect wind erosion data and work with the 1930s aerial photographic record in ArcGIS and should have a bachelor’s degree in geology, environmental sciences, or related disciplines. Successful applicants will conduct/support field work, including sUAS flights, in remote regions of the Northern Great Plains, present findings at national and international conferences and have the opportunity to work closely on collaborative dust modeling efforts. The research assistantships come with a 12-month stipend and a 100% tuition waiver. Interested students should contact Mark.Sweeney@usd.edu and Ranjeet.John@usd.edu. Please remember to add Ph.D. or M.S. in the subject line based on the position you are applying for.