Jobs:Job-00539
Start reviewing process: 1 December 2021
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Posting:
Position: PhD Position
Start reviewing process: 1 December 2021
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Employer: University of Michigan, Dept of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Salary: Tuition, stipend, and benefits. The Dept of Earth and Environmental Sciences guarantees 12 month/ year funding to PhD student contingent on good standing and progress toward degree for four or five years.
Required education: Bachelors or MS degree in geological sciences, hydrology, civil engineering or similar field.
Position description: The geomorphology research group at the University of Michigan invites applications for a PhD student opportunity in Earth and Environmental Sciences. Preference will be given to candidates with background in geological sciences, hydrology, civil engineering or similar field. A successful candidate will have an emerging record of scholarly independence and previous work or research experience.
The PhD student will integrate into a growing group at UM focused on the intersection of surface processes and societally relevant changes to natural landscapes. Specific project work involves participation in a collaborative NSF-funded effort in the Nepalese Himalaya investigating how tectonics, erosion and weathering contribute to formation of the “critical zone” and how the critical zone is linked to generating damaging natural hazards such as landslides. A major focus of the project is to develop models of landscape evolution that account for the interconnected processes that regulate landsliding, which is a primary mechanism for hillslope erosion and lowering in tectonically-active mountain belts. The PhD student role will be on the integration of theory with field data. Specific activities include working with landslide modules within community-based landscape evolution models and evaluating field data to test various theories relating geomorphic processes to tectonics. We seek to understand how erosion rates and processes (e.g. transition to landslide-dominated erosion) relates to fracturing and weathering of the underlying rock mass and how these processes are derived from the larger tectonic system. The larger collaborative project involves a lively group of team members from other universities in the US, UK and Nepal including faculty, research scientists, postdocs and graduate students with expertise in geotechnical engineering, remote sensing, geophysics, geochemistry and hydrology.
Individuals interested in applying to graduate school at the University of Michigan to pursue this research project should first contact Dr. Marin Clark (marinkc@umich.edu) with a short description of research interests and relevant experience, and PHD APPLICATION in the subject line. Admission to the graduate program is prioritized for students who have established a faculty connection prior to the graduate admissions deadline in early January. The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences is a top-ranked, energetic community committed to advancing scientific knowledge with substantial student engagement and training opportunities. The University of Michigan is a major public research institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a vibrant college community in the southeastern portion of the state. The state lies within the Great Lakes region of the US, a place of substantial history and natural beauty, with many recreational activities indoor and out.
The University of Michigan is strongly committed to diversity within its community and actively recruits applications from identity groups that broaden participation in the Earth and Environmental Sciences.
