[ES_JOBS_NET] Fully funded PhD opportunities - Food & Energy solutions

[Greg Barron-Gafford]

Hello Everyone,

I am looking for 1-2 PhD students to start in the Fall of 2020 to work on
sustainable solutions for our food and energy systems.  Cities and states –
particularly those in the Western United States – are increasingly seek
resilience strategies to manage expanding populations and demands for food
and energy.  At the same time, a changing climate threatens our historic
reliance on dwindling sources of water and may reduce capacity for food and
renewable energy production.  For the last five years, we have been
studying the potential for co-locating agriculture and photovoltaics –
agrivoltaics – as an untapped opportunity to simultaneously increase food
and energy production while reducing water use.
This project will provide students an opportunity to learn physical science
in an applied setting, working on areal-world problem.  You can learn more
about this project, by checking out this portion of our website:
https://www.barrongafford.org/agrivoltaics.html
Also, here is a free read link to our recent article on this work:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0364-5.epdf?author_access_token=RduqgDWgyu90mvu-RB6DW9RgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0O97Lc9kleZWba0tQ-k-7tIlZGbnB6ZL4SOzl8a4rPD9IuBrjAeWq--cJR60bfbCroy01kiCE8CKI6Of6hGsKYrJ74WecY0rcX7lhteq3zLcw%3D%3D

Our Research Group uses a combination of field measurements of carbon and
water fluxes (plant ecophysiology) and environmental monitoring to describe
the impacts of this co-location in terms of water use efficiency, changes
in phenology, plant performance, impacts of solar panel performance,
potential for up-scaling to larger installations, etc.  We have a new
project beginning in 2020 across multiple working food producers in
California and Colorado, in addition to existing efforts in Arizona.

Students with a background in physical geography, carbon and water flux
measurements, ecology, ecohydrology, and / or urban food systems are
encouraged to apply, but *prior knowledge of plant ecophysiological
techniques should not be a barrier for an interested student*.

The deadline for fall admission is January 5 for both domestic and
international applicants:
https://geography.arizona.edu/node/555
The position would have guaranteed funding through the  first four years
through a combination of TAships and RAships, and we have summer finding
covered as well.  We are a diverse group looking to use our research to
make meaningful change in the world.  Our research group is committed to
fostering an inclusive learning and working environment that embraces the
diversity of experiences and interests represented in our communities and
the broader world.

Please reach out via email if you are interested.

All the best,
Greg

Greg Barron-Gafford
Associate Professor
School of Geography & Development;
B2 Earthscience, Biosphere 2
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
website: http://www.barrongafford.org/
520.548.0388
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