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<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Biological Engineering/Science
PhD students wanted</b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I am recruiting a PhD and/or MS student to join the
Landscape Flux Group within the Department of Biological and Agricultural
Engineering at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The research
projects will be based in rice agricultural systems in Arkansas, where we are
working with farmers to modify irrigation practices to reduce methane production
while saving water. The projects use flux budgeting methods to understand the
landscape’s ecological and hydrological functioning. This research will connect
between site dynamics and climate drivers with the goal of creating simplified
process representations used at the scale of the global climate model. Resources
are available for travel, equipment and international collaboration. The
projects are in collaboration with scientists from the USDA-ARS office in
Jonesboro, AR. </p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">These positions can start immediately, in January 2016, or
in summer or fall of 2016. Students should have a background in one or more of
the following disciplines: environmental or biological engineering, wetland
ecology, biogeochemistry, biometeorology, watershed or surface-water hydrology,
agricultural sciences or engineering. Some ability to code in Matlab or a related
language is beneficial, as is experience in gas flux measurements using either
chamber-based or eddy covariance methods. These positions will require (eventually)
a valid US driver’s license.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">My research group develops budgets of water, energy, and
carbon in different wetland ecosystems. This research uses micrometeorological
techniques to evaluate land-atmosphere fluxes of water vapor, carbon dioxide,
methane and heat. For example, the eddy covariance technique is used to
determine the turbulent flux within atmospheric boundary layers, whereas hydrological
methods are used to estimate the horizontal fluxes of dissolved carbon in
surface and subsurface waterways. Together these methods quantify major
environmental fluxes that serve as inputs for process-based predictive modeling
and landscape management. More information on my group is available on my
website (<a href="http://wordpress.uark.edu/brrunkle/">http://wordpress.uark.edu/brrunkle/</a>).
</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Additional information about graduate admission
requirements, possible supplemental fellowships, and material about the
department may be found here: <a href="http://bio-ag-engineering.uark.edu/Academic/Graduate_Program/index.php">http://bio-ag-engineering.uark.edu/Academic/Graduate_Program/index.php</a>.
A non-engineering pathway for a Ph.D. is possible through the U of A’s
Environmental Dynamics program (<a href="http://environmental-dynamics.uark.edu/index.php">http://environmental-dynamics.uark.edu/index.php</a>).
Information about the university and its land grant mission may be found here: <a href="http://arkansas.edu/about/index.php">http://arkansas.edu/about/index.php</a>.
Furthermore, the university offers competitive Doctoral Academy and
Distinguished Doctoral Fellowships, which are significant awards over and above
the departmental stipend. Details on these opportunities are available here: <a href="http://grad.uark.edu/future/funding/index.php">http://grad.uark.edu/future/funding/index.php</a>.
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<p class="MsoNormal">The University of Arkansas is in the middle of a significant
period of growth in both its student numbers and in raising its profile in
research and innovation. There are significant opportunities here for
collaborations on-campus in water, soil, nanotech, and other laboratories. Fayetteville
Arkansas is a beautiful and culturally vibrant college town amidst the Ozark
Mountain Range. There are plentiful outdoor recreational activities, good
restaurants, and proximity to the world-class art collection of the Crystal
Bridges Museum of American Art.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Please email me, Dr. Benjamin Runkle (<a href="mailto:brrunkle@uark.edu">brrunkle@uark.edu</a>), with a CV, GRE scores,
TOEFL if relevant, unofficial transcript, the names of two references, a sample
of your scientific writing, and a description of your research interests. I am
committed to EO/AA principles and a diverse workplace.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif;color:black">Benjamin R. K. Runkle</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif;color:black">Assistant Professor, Department of Biological and Agricultural
Engineering</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif;color:black">The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville AR 72701 </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif;color:black">ENGR 231</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif;color:black">Phone: 479-575-2878</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif;color:black"><a href="mailto:brrunkle@uark.edu"><span style="color:blue">brrunkle@uark.edu</span></a>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif;color:black"><a href="http://wordpress.uark.edu/brrunkle/" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">http://wordpress.uark.edu/brrunkle/</span></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><a href="http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SeZEXyoAAAAJ&hl=en"><span style="color:blue">http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SeZEXyoAAAAJ&hl=en</span></a>
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