Forest Biogeochemistry and Hydrology Assistantship: Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Fluxes in Response to Cellulosic Biofuel Systems

The Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation and the Virginia Water Resources Research Center at Virginia Tech are seeking applicants for a graduate research assistantship position in Forest Biogeochemistry and Hydrology at the M.S. level.

An applicant is sought for research on factors controlling soil carbon and nitrogen fluxes along the hillslope-riparian-stream continuum created by a series of cellulosic biofuel production systems involving varying mixtures of loblolly pine and switchgrass at established, instrumented sites in northwestern Alabama. This is part of an ongoing collaborative research project with the North Carolina State University, University of Georgia, USFS Southern Research Station, and Weyerhaeuser Company to study effects of alternative cellulosic biofuel management systems on productivity, biogeochemistry and hydrology in the southeastern US. Position is available beginning August 2013 or January 2014.

M.S. research assistantships in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation pay excellent annual stipends ($19,000-20,000) and include a full tuition waiver and a health insurance premium subsidy.

Minimum qualifications include: a B.S. degree in forestry, soil science, ecology, watershed management, hydrology, or a related natural resources field; good written and oral communication skills; and willingness to conduct field research under sometimes demanding conditions in the southeastern US. For more information contact: