[ES_JOBS_NET] PhD assistantships: Remote sensing of wetland landscape plant productivity

[O'Connell, Jessica]

The Wetland Landscape Ecology lab in the UT Austin Department of Marine
Science seeks PhD students to start January 2021. Research in the lab
centers around remote sensing of landscape-scale wetland dynamics, and
is related to coastal ecosystem resiliency and long-term landscape
change. Successful applicants will work on funded projects related to
coastal marsh plant phenology and plant productivity modeling, blending
together tools from landscape ecology, remote sensing, and data science.
Students will be supported with a competitive stipend.

_*Required qualifications*_: Candidates must be able to conduct
independent research and to work as part of a scientific team.
Experience in data analysis, strong quantitative skills, and the ability
to work outdoors in a hot, muddy coastal marsh environment are also
required. A minimum 3.0 GPA in upper division course work is required
for admission to the UT Austin graduate school.

_*Desired additional qualifications*_: Experience in wetlands research,
remote sensing analyses, programming in the R statistical language, and
working with Google Earth Engine, data science and reproducible
workflows. A strong background in either ecology or remote sensing and a
track record of successful publication are also desired. A master’s
degree or relevant experience is also preferred.

Students will join the O’Connell Wetland Landscape Ecology lab. The lab
is located at the UT Marine Science Institute (_www.utmsi.utexas.edu
<http://www.utmsi.utexas.edu/>_), in Port Aransas, TX. This is on
Mustang Island, with close proximity to sandy beaches, estuarine
habitats of the Gulf of Mexico, and the city of Corpus Christie, TX.
Graduate students in the Marine Science Department spend most of their
time in residence at Port Aransas, but will typically spend a semester
or more at the main campus in UT Austin to complete course work and gain
valuable teaching experience. Students will also have the opportunity to
network with a broad set of potential collaborators, through interaction
with the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long-term Ecological Research
Project (_https://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/_)

_*To apply*_: please contact Dr. Jessica O’Connell directly. Send a
cover letter outlining your research interests and career goals (no more
than 2 pages), a curriculum vitae, and contact information for three
professional references, including their name, email, phone, and
address. These materials should be emailed as a single pdf to Jessica
O’Connell (jessica.oconnell at utexas.edu), Assistant Professor in the
Department of Marine Science at the University of Texas. For more
information, see the lab web page: _www.landscapemodeling.net
<http://www.landscapemodeling.net/>_. Applicant review will begin
immediately and continue until the positions are filled.

The University of Texas at Austin is an equal opportunity/affirmative
action employer and all qualified candidates, including underrepresented
groups, are strongly encouraged to apply.

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Jessica O'Connell, PhD
University of Texas at Austin
Marine Science Institute
jessica.oconnell at utexas.edu
landscapemodeling.net