Stay tuned for future undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral research opportunities. Individuals interested in writing a graduate or postdoctoral fellowship proposal with Dr. Felton should contact him at andrew.felton2@montana.edu
Current Openings:
Graduate position in plant ecology and ecohydrology
Location: Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
Categories: PhD student
Compensation: Stipend (26K/yr), tuition waiver, health insurance, & student fees
Application deadline: Applications accepted on a rolling basis
Position begins: Summer or fall of 2023
We are seeking graduate students that want to work with us on advancing our understanding of how grassland plants differ in their use of summer precipitation versus winter precipitation. Most grassland ecosystem scientists think that summer precipitation is crucial for invigorating growth in such systems, but there is surprisingly limited mechanistic evidence supporting this. Please consider coming to work with us at Montana State University (Bozeman) as a graduate student (masters or PhD) to begin summer or fall of 2023.
Your position would be fully funded including stipend (26K), tuition, health insurance, and fees. The USDA-funded project focused on advancing our understanding of the seasonal origin of soil water used to drive ecosystem functioning across western US drylands. This work will provide a mechanistic basis for understanding which ecosystems may be most vulnerable to increases in climatic variability and extremes, such as drought. The project will primarily involve field sampling of vegetation across western US grasslands and laboratory-based isotopic analyses. You’ll have opportunities to acquire an array of skills in field ecology and ecohydrology including field sampling methods, isotope analysis, and even remote sensing and geospatial analysis. You will also be part of a collaborative team that includes researchers at University of Nevada, Reno and Chapman University.
The Environmental Systems Science Lab is dedicated to cultivating an environment that prioritizes the success of its graduate students through individual development towards students’ professional development towards their long-term goals. The individuals and job opportunities in science are diverse and there is no single set of skills that lead to success.
Review of applications will occur on a rolling basis and until the position is filled.
If you are interested, please send me an email with a short one-page cover letter and your CV (or resume) combined into one document as an attachment in the email.
PhD position in ecosystem recovery from climate extremes
Location: Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
Categories: PhD student
Compensation: Stipend (26K/yr), tuition waiver, health insurance, & student fees
Application deadline: Applications accepted until position is filled.
Position begins: August 15, 2023
The Environmental Systems Science lab in the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences at Montana State University is recruiting one PhD student for USDA-research projects to begin Fall of 2023. Research projects will use experiments and satellites to understand how the structure and functioning of western US ecosystems recover from climate extremes. Review of applications will commence on 15 December 2022. The position will begin 15 August 2023.
We are seeking a PhD student to lead work on USDA-funded projects focused on the mechanisms of dryland recovery from drought. The PhD student will lead work investigating how and why vegetation composition and the timing of vegetation productivity (phenology) recovers from a prolonged ‘dustbowl-like’ drought. The student will use near-surface remote sensing cameras to track the temporal dynamics of vegetation greenness within previously droughted experimental plots in the shortgrass prairie of Colorado. The student will also ‘scale up’ this work using remote sensing datasets to understand spatial variability in drought ‘legacy effects’ on primary productivity across western US drylands. The project involves collaboration with researchers at Colorado State University and will provide a springboard for the student to develop additional questions and research. The PhD position is supported for 4 years through research assistantships with the potential for a 5th year through teaching or research assistantships. For information about the PhD program at Montana State, see this link: https://landresources.montana.edu/grad/gradprogams.html
Qualifications: Master’s degree in Ecology, Environmental Science, or a related field; experience and skills with quantitative data analyses using R; strong written and oral communication skills; desire to work both independently and collaboratively with others; and/or experience mentoring or supervising others. Experience with remote sensing and spatial analysis is a plus.
Application: To apply, please send an email with the subject “PhD Student Application” to: Dr. Andrew Felton (andrew.felton2@montana.edu) that contains the following in a single PDF document: (1) one-page cover letter describing your academic and research experience, reasons for pursuing graduate school, your specific current research interests, and how your research interests fit the lab; (2) curriculum vitae; and (3) email address and phone number for two references; Inquiries about the position are welcome. For questions, please contact: andrew.felton2@montana.edu
Graduate position in plant ecology and ecohydrology
Location: Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
Categories: PhD student
Compensation: Stipend (26K/yr), tuition waiver, health insurance, & student fees
Application deadline: Applications accepted on a rolling basis
Position begins: Summer or fall of 2023
We are seeking graduate students that want to work with us on advancing our understanding of how grassland plants differ in their use of summer precipitation versus winter precipitation. Most grassland ecosystem scientists think that summer precipitation is crucial for invigorating growth in such systems, but there is surprisingly limited mechanistic evidence supporting this. Please consider coming to work with us at Montana State University (Bozeman) as a graduate student (masters or PhD) to begin summer or fall of 2023.
Your position would be fully funded including stipend (26K), tuition, health insurance, and fees. The USDA-funded project focused on advancing our understanding of the seasonal origin of soil water used to drive ecosystem functioning across western US drylands. This work will provide a mechanistic basis for understanding which ecosystems may be most vulnerable to increases in climatic variability and extremes, such as drought. The project will primarily involve field sampling of vegetation across western US grasslands and laboratory-based isotopic analyses. You’ll have opportunities to acquire an array of skills in field ecology and ecohydrology including field sampling methods, isotope analysis, and even remote sensing and geospatial analysis. You will also be part of a collaborative team that includes researchers at University of Nevada, Reno and Chapman University.
The Environmental Systems Science Lab is dedicated to cultivating an environment that prioritizes the success of its graduate students through individual development towards students’ professional development towards their long-term goals. The individuals and job opportunities in science are diverse and there is no single set of skills that lead to success.
Review of applications will occur on a rolling basis and until the position is filled.
If you are interested, please send me an email with a short one-page cover letter and your CV (or resume) combined into one document as an attachment in the email.
PhD position in ecosystem recovery from climate extremes
Location: Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
Categories: PhD student
Compensation: Stipend (26K/yr), tuition waiver, health insurance, & student fees
Application deadline: Applications accepted until position is filled.
Position begins: August 15, 2023
The Environmental Systems Science lab in the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences at Montana State University is recruiting one PhD student for USDA-research projects to begin Fall of 2023. Research projects will use experiments and satellites to understand how the structure and functioning of western US ecosystems recover from climate extremes. Review of applications will commence on 15 December 2022. The position will begin 15 August 2023.
We are seeking a PhD student to lead work on USDA-funded projects focused on the mechanisms of dryland recovery from drought. The PhD student will lead work investigating how and why vegetation composition and the timing of vegetation productivity (phenology) recovers from a prolonged ‘dustbowl-like’ drought. The student will use near-surface remote sensing cameras to track the temporal dynamics of vegetation greenness within previously droughted experimental plots in the shortgrass prairie of Colorado. The student will also ‘scale up’ this work using remote sensing datasets to understand spatial variability in drought ‘legacy effects’ on primary productivity across western US drylands. The project involves collaboration with researchers at Colorado State University and will provide a springboard for the student to develop additional questions and research. The PhD position is supported for 4 years through research assistantships with the potential for a 5th year through teaching or research assistantships. For information about the PhD program at Montana State, see this link: https://landresources.montana.edu/grad/gradprogams.html
Qualifications: Master’s degree in Ecology, Environmental Science, or a related field; experience and skills with quantitative data analyses using R; strong written and oral communication skills; desire to work both independently and collaboratively with others; and/or experience mentoring or supervising others. Experience with remote sensing and spatial analysis is a plus.
Application: To apply, please send an email with the subject “PhD Student Application” to: Dr. Andrew Felton (andrew.felton2@montana.edu) that contains the following in a single PDF document: (1) one-page cover letter describing your academic and research experience, reasons for pursuing graduate school, your specific current research interests, and how your research interests fit the lab; (2) curriculum vitae; and (3) email address and phone number for two references; Inquiries about the position are welcome. For questions, please contact: andrew.felton2@montana.edu
Fellowships:
Graduate Fellowships
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship: https://www.nsfgrfp.org
Postdoctoral Fellowships
USDA-NIFA Postdoctoral Fellowship: https://nifa.usda.gov/grants/funding-opportunities/agriculture-food-research-initiative-education-workforce-development
NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology: https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/postdoctoral-research-fellowships-biology-prfb
Graduate Fellowships
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship: https://www.nsfgrfp.org
Postdoctoral Fellowships
USDA-NIFA Postdoctoral Fellowship: https://nifa.usda.gov/grants/funding-opportunities/agriculture-food-research-initiative-education-workforce-development
NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology: https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/postdoctoral-research-fellowships-biology-prfb
