[ES_JOBS_NET] Ph.D. student opportunity in digital agriculture and irrigation at the University of Minnesota

[Aimee Gillespie]

Dear Colleagues,

Applications are solicited for a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) position
at the University of Minnesota shared between the GEMS Informatics Center (
https://agroinformatics.org) and the Department of Soil, Water and Climate (
https://swac.umn.edu). The selected candidate will pursue a Ph.D. degree
with a focus on digital agriculture applied to irrigation systems. The
candidate must pursue a Ph.D. in Land and Atmospheric Sciences (
https://laas.umn.edu) or Water Resources Science (
https://wrs.umn.edu/prospective-students) and must also minor in Computer
Science (https://cse.umn.edu/cs/phd-minor) and/or Geographic Information
Science (
https://cla.umn.edu/mgis/mgis-program/graduate-minor-geographic-information-science).


The candidate will be advised by Dr. Vasudha Sharma (
https://extension.umn.edu/soil-and water/irrigation) and Dr. Bryan Runck (
http://bryanrunck.com), and will start the position in summer 2022. The
assistantship will consist of an annual stipend, tuition, and health
insurance.

Research Description

Irrigated crop production has grown over 30% in the past 20 years in
Minnesota. To support sustainable irrigation management in the state, the
Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources funded the Irrigation
Management Assistant tool led by the Benton  County Soil and Water
Conservation District in 2016. The tool has subsequently been  expanded to
along the Central Sands Region of Minnesota and has been adopted by over
100  irrigators, leading to additional funding led by the University of
Minnesota.

The next phase of the tool is to expand it into a statewide application and
improve the underlying  data inputs and models that support irrigator
decision-making. The successful candidate will  develop a research project
at the interface of machine learning, human-computer interaction, and
 irrigation science to leverage new data collected by the project to
improve the performance of  evapotranspiration and soil moisture prediction
underlying the tool. These models will be  incorporated into the IMA tool
and drive recommendations to farmers on irrigation management.

While the candidate’s dissertation will focus on digital agriculture and
irrigation management,  opportunities will be provided for the student to
engage with non-profit and for-profit partners on  a number of other
natural resources and agriculture projects as desired by the candidate.

Qualifications

The applicant must have a B.S. degree, but preferably an M.S. degree, in
agricultural engineering, agronomy, soil science, crop science,
environmental science, water resources, computer science,  electrical
engineer, geographic information science, or a similar field. Prior
experience related to irrigation is preferred, but not essential.

Funding after the first year is subject to satisfactory progress. Strong
technical and analytical skills are desired, along with the ability to
carry out field research using advanced  instrumentation, coding in bash
and python, and working with the standard python data science stack. The
field research will require the candidate to make frequent trips to field
sites. Preference will be given to candidates with an excellent academic
performance record and oral and written communication skills.

The student will publish findings in peer-reviewed scientific journals and
extension bulletins. Opportunities exist for presenting results in
professional meetings and participating in scholarly activities relevant to
the training needs and career goals of the candidate. The successful
candidate will be located at University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should send Drs. Runck (runck014 at umn.edu) and Sharma (
vasudha at umn.edu) the following information:

   - Curriculum Vitae
   - Names and email address of three potential references
   - Link to GitHub or Code Samples
   - First author scientific or technical writing sample

We look forward to hearing from you or those you might consider
recommending apply for the position.

*Vasudha Sharma, Ph.D.*
Assistant Extension Professor-Irrigation Specialist
Department of Soil, Water, and Climate | swac.umn.edu
Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering | bbe.umn.edu
S-227 Soils, 1529 Gortner Ave, St Paul, MN  55108
<https://www.google.com/maps/place/1529+Gortner+Ave,+Falcon+Heights,+MN+55108/@44.9869929,-93.1858349,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x52b32c82495ed83b:0x4aa39db82b693dc0!8m2!3d44.9869891!4d-93.1836409>
University of Minnesota | umn.edu
vasudha at umn.edu | 612-626-4986
she/her/hers
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