[ES_JOBS_NET] MS/PhD positions in environmental geochemistry | University of Illinois-Chicago

[Matzen, Sarick]

The Matzen Environmental Geochemistry group at the University of Illinois-Chicago is seeking graduate (MS or PhD) students to start in Fall 2025.

We study trace metal(loid) cycles in environmental systems. We focus on work in urban soils, especially urban agricultural systems, bringing geochemical tools to support food sovereignty and environmental justice (EJ) movements. We use this work as a springboard to collaborate broadly on projects in diverse environments from deep sea hydrothermal vents to extraterrestrial ocean worlds. We are especially interested in how the chemical form of contaminants informs landscape-scale contaminant transport and bioavailability.

Student are sought to work on two projects:

  1.  Sustainable remediation methods for lead in urban residential and agricultural soils
  2.  Transport of marine metal-organic colloids

Work will involve a combination of field experiments, meso-scale experiments (e.g., soil column studies), wet chemical analyses, synchrotron work (X-ray absorption spectroscopy and spectromicroscopy), and electron microscopy to characterize metals and organic constituents. Synchrotron work is a major focus of our group and students should have a passion for connecting geochemical speciation to broad scale environmental cycling. For the urban soils work, prior experience with community-based work and/or environmental justice issues is a plus.

Chicago is an excellent place to investigate environmental metal-organic transport. Strong EJ movements and a thriving urban agricultural scene bring attention to addressing the long legacy of soil and air pollution. Within the Earth and Environmental Sciences department, there are opportunities to collaborate with other faculty on urban environmental chemistry and elemental behavior in extreme environments (hydrothermal systems on Earth and astrobiological settings). The proximity of the Advanced Photon Source makes UIC an ideal place for synchrotron-based work investigating metal speciation, and the UIC Electron Microscopy core has state of the art instrumentation. Finally, Chicago is a fascinating and diverse city with vibrant cultural opportunities.

Prospective students can learn more about the Matzen group at https://eaes.uic.edu/profiles/matzen-sarick/ and the department at https://eaes.uic.edu/.

Interested candidates should reach out to Sarick Matzen with a CV and brief description of their interests. The Matzen group seeks to foster inclusion in the geosciences and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds. Details on department application requirements are at https://eaes.uic.edu/graduate-degree/. The fall semester application deadline is January 15, 2025.


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