Graduate Student Position in Forest Ecology & Biodiversity--Spring 2015
I am looking for an outstanding graduate student (PhD applicant preferred), to examine patterns of plant diversity and composition, and/or forest regeneration, in northern hardwood forests of the Adirondack Mountains of New York State in relation to gradients in atmospheric deposition, soils, climate, and deer browse. Additional research opportunities exist within another project on climate-vegetation relationships across a large vegetation-climate monitoring network established by our lab across the northeastern United States along elevational transects on 12 mountains (from New York State to Maine) and along the Appalachian Trail Mega-Transect (from Georgia to Maine). The position is based at State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) in Syracuse (http://www.esf.edu/), with collaborative partners including E&S Environmental Chemistry, USGS, UC Berkley, New York State DEC, and Cornell University Cooperative Extension. The student will be supported by a combination of research and teaching assistantships (4 years for a PhD student, or 3 years for MS student), with additional research funding likely pending satisfactory performance. The position starts between January 10 and March 31, 2015 (earlier is better), and will entail field work preparation, followed by intensive field surveys of vascular forest understory plants during the summer months (May 1 to August 25), and data analysis in Fall 2015. There is an opportunity to subsequently develop a thesis around and beyond the first summer of field data and/or other vegetation-climate datasets available in the group, and to gain valuable college teaching experience as a teaching assistant. Qualifications: - MS or BS in plant or forest ecology, botany, or a related field - GPA >3.5 and GRE scores >70% (lower may be acceptable with peer-reviewed publications) - Strong ability to identify vascular plants (especially of northern hardwood forests), including the use of dichotomous keys and/or other field guides - Driver' s license - Ability to work long hours in potentially adverse field conditions over a period of several months - Excellent time management, interpersonal, and team/collaborative skills - Ability to use GPS, compass, and to read maps/use GIS - Ability to organize data (e.g., in Excel or Access) and run basic statistics (e.g., ANOVA) Formal applications to SUNY ESF can be made via http://www.esf.edu/graduate/admission.htm and their review will start on December 15, 2014, and will continue until the suitable candidate is found. Earlier inquiries with a brief (1 short paragraph) statement of candidate's educational goals and qualifications for the position (as itemized above), CV, and three contacts for references are encouraged and should be sent to Martin Dovciak (mdovc...@esf.edu). ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Martin Dovciak, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Roosevelt Forest Ecologist State University of New York, College of Environmental Science & Forestry 459 Illick Hall, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Phone: (315) 470-6749, Fax: (315) 470-6934, E-mail: mdovc...@esf.edu, Faculty webpage: http://www.esf.edu/faculty/dovciak/ Lab webpage: http://www.esf.edu/efb/dovciak/ Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Martin_Dovciak/? ev=hdr_xprf Course webpages: http://www.esf.edu/efb/dovciak/Teaching.htm
