Opportunities
Staff Positions
STEPS Senior Diversity Officer
The Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center is now seeking highly qualified applicants for STEPS Senior Diversity Officer. The Senior Diversity Officer is responsible for providing informal and formal professional mentorship for STEPS undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars. The Senior Diversity Officer provides additional support for the educational and integration goals and activities of STEPS, particularly as it relates to the training, retention, and graduation of students. The Senior Diversity Officer will also develop and implement cross-cutting DEI programming to build and sustain an inclusive Center environment for all STEPS participants. To learn more and apply, please visit the job posting, https://jobs.ncsu.edu/
Graduate Research Positions
Available graduate positions are not limited to those posted below. If you are interested in student opportunities in STEPS, please contact us.
PhD Position at the University of Florida
Graduate Student Assistantship in Phosphorus Sustainability
Starting Fall 2022, the Soil and Water Sciences Department at the University of Florida is seeking a highly qualified PhD student in the field of phosphorus (P) sustainability as it relates to soil, water, and the environment. The student will be located at the Everglades Research and Education Center in Belle Glade, Florida, working under the supervision of Dr. Jehangir H. Bhadha. The student will be working on research topics related to (i) developing treatment technologies to capture P from agricultural discharge, (ii) controlling and utilizing legacy P in soils and sediments, (iii) exploring materials for P sensing. This is a four-year multidisciplinary project with primary study location in South Florida, and coordinate efforts with collaborators across the nation. Candidates with a MS degree in Soil Sciences, Agricultural Engineering, Water and Environmental Sciences, or related fields will be desired. Looking for a highly motivated applicant with experience in field and lab work. High GPA, along with a strong publication record, experience working with hydrological modeling is desired.
For more information, contact Dr. Jehangir Bhadha jango@ufl.edu, and submit a formal application to the UF Soil and Water Sciences Department Graduate Program by January 2, 2022: http://soils.ifas.ufl.edu/academics/graduate-studies/apply/
PhD Position at NC State
We are recruiting a PhD student in the areas of geospatial modeling, nutrient biogeochemistry, and environmental/agricultural data analysis. The student will be co-advised by Dr. Natalie Nelson (Biological and Agricultural Engineering) and Dr. Dan Obenour (Environmental Engineering) at NC State University, and could pursue a PhD in either Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, or Geospatial Analytics. The student will work with a team of environmental and agricultural modelers to develop new approaches for simulating phosphorus fluxes in agriculturally-intensive watersheds using a combination of models ranging from mechanistic to machine learning. The work will largely be computational, though there will be opportunities to engage in field activities. Prior modeling and/or programming experience is preferred, particularly in open source languages like R or Python.
For more information and to apply, please contact Dr. Natalie Nelson (nnelson4@ncsu.edu) and Dr. Dan Obenour (drobenou@ncsu.edu).
Undergraduate Positions
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
STEPS REU and Research Experience for Future Farmers (REF)
STEPS will support 15 students for ten weeks during the Summer 2022 through a multi-institutional REU/REF program. Students will work on independent research projects within the Center under the mentorship of STEPS Scholars and faculty. Students will be placed on projects that align with their research and career interests at one of the eight STEPS academic institutions.
Learn more and apply here.
Basic and Environmental Soil Science Training (BESST) REU
Learn from a broad and diverse group of mentors, developing skills in chemistry, physics, microbiology, ecology, geology, and hydrology. Join us for a 10-week individualized summer research experience including a week-long traveling field camp, workshops with leading scientists, and opportunities for post-summer travel to National Professional Scientific Meetings.