Graduate Recruitment for 2012

Students are asked to contact an appropriate faculty member before submitting an application for graduate study. Please note that this list of student assistanceships is not exhaustive, and that faculty members may be happy to supervise independent student research related to their areas of study.

Political, Urban, Economic, and Health Geography

Lea Berrang Ford: I am open to inquiries and discussions with students interested in projects in the following areas: 1) Human adaptation to the health impacts of climate change, 2) Environmental determinants of emerging infectious disease, 3) Sleeping sickness in Uganda/Africa. In particular, I welcome students with quantitative or epidemiology backgrounds and interest in evaluating environmental health datasets. Candidates should have experience or explicit interest in environmental epidemiology and health geography, and should be prepared to develop funding proposals to support research.

Sebastien Breau: Individuals interested in pursuing graduate studies in economic geography should contact me about research and funding opportunities.

Benjamin Forest: My research focuses on questions of political representation, the construction of national identities, and various issues of governance. Students interested in research in one or more of these areas should contact me -- after reviewing the information on my webpage – well before the graduate application deadline.

Adam Millard-Ball: I am interested in hearing from prospective graduate students wishing to work in the general areas of urban sustainability, transportation, and climate change policy. I also have specific opportunities on projects related to local climate change planning; the future patterns of travel demand; and the impacts of parking price reforms. Please see my web page for details on the information that you should send with your initial e-mail inquiry.

Natalie Oswin:I have funding available for one student (at the MA or PhD level) through a grant on the exportation of Singapore’s urban development expertise. Students with an interest in urban policy mobility and, ideally, previous experience in Singapore should contact me for more information. Students interested in pursuing their own individual research projects that connect to my broad interests in urban cultural politics and/ or geographies of sexualities are also welcome to contact me. But please note that funding, particularly for international students, will be limited and that it will thus be necessary to seek external sources of funding. Please see my web page for details on the information that you should send with your initial email inquiry.

Nancy Ross: I am interested in hearing from prospective graduate students (Master's or Ph.D.) for projects examing the role of the built environment in obesity and chronic disease and the relationship between income inequality of places and population health. Please contact me for further details.

Sarah Turner: I am interested to discuss graduate opportunities with prospective students wishing to work in Asia, especially Vietnam and southwest China. Currently I am particularly interested in taking on students with research interests and prior knowledge (broadly), in the fields of food security, climate vulnerability and adaptation, livelihoods, and/or migration as they pertain to ethnic minorities. Those with a broader background in Asian studies are also encouraged to apply. Please see my web page for further details, and note carefully the information that I would like you to send me with your initial email enquiry.

Also see Health related topics offered by Renee Sieber below.

Environment and Human Development

Lea Berrang Ford:  I am open to inquiries and discussions with students interested in projects in the following areas: 1) Human adaptation to the health impacts of climate change, 2) Environmental determinants of emerging infectious disease, 3) Sleeping sickness in Uganda/Africa. In particular, I welcome students with quantitative or epidemiology backgrounds and interest in evaluating environmental health datasets. Candidates should have experience or explicit interest in environmental epidemiology and health geography, and should be prepared to develop funding proposals to support research.

Natalie Oswin: I have funding available for one student (at the MA or PhD level) through a grant on the exportation of Singapore’s urban development expertise. Students with an interest in urban policy mobility and, ideally, previous experience in Singapore should contact me for more information. Students interested in pursuing their own individual research projects that connect to my broad interests in urban cultural politics and/ or geographies of sexualities are also welcome to contact me. But please note that funding, particularly for international students, will be limited and that it will thus be necessary to seek external sources of funding. Please see my web page for details on the information that you should send with your initial email inquiry.

Jeanine Rhemtulla: see Environmental Mangement node.

Sarah Turner:  I am interested to discuss graduate opportunities with prospective students wishing to work in Asia, especially Vietnam and southwest China. Currently I am particularly interested in taking on students with research interests and prior knowledge (broadly), in the fields of food security, climate vulnerability and adaptation, livelihoods, and/or migration as they pertain to ethnic minorities. Those with a broader background in Asian studies are also encouraged to apply. Please see my web page for further details, and note carefully the information that I would like you to send me with your initial email enquiry.

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Land Surface Process Studies

Gail Chmura: My research is focused on tidal salt marshes and biogeography of coastal organisms. I welcome applications from M.Sc. or Ph.D. candidates interested in these topics particularly as it relates to the value of salt marshes as carbon sinks.

Michel Lapointe: I am looking for 2 Masters' (or 1 Master's and 1 Doctoral) student to work on projects that have to do with: A) The physical controls on geometry and location of 'thermal refugia' (cool spots): critical habitats in trout and salmon streams during warmer summers; B) the effects of hydro-electric damming on river ecosystems and fish habitat: comparative studies.

Tim Moore: Peatland biogeochemistry. I seek MSc or PhD graduate students with an interest in addressing questions of the biogeochemistry of peatlands, in southern Canada and the Hudson Bay Lowlands. In particular, I am interested in:

• The rates of di-nitrogen fixation in peatlands (the major natural input of N to ombrotrophic systems) and what controls these rates (species composition, hydrology, temperature, nutrient status etc.).Dissolved nitrogen in peatlands is primarily in the organic form and we know that some plants can take up the organic forms, such as amino acids; yet we know little about what controls organic nitrogen composition, production, consumption and transport.
• Changes in peatland ecology and biogeochemistry in response to fertilization: we have been running an N and P-K fertilization experiment at the Mer Bleue peatland for 12 years in collaboration with Professor Jill Bubier (Mount Holyoke College). We have measured changes in species coverage and productivity, root dynamics, CO2 cycling and nutrient uptake. Opportunities exist for further detailed process studies within this experiment.
• Mer Bleue is the longest running study of the continuous the exchange of CO2, water and energy between the atmosphere and a peatland. The analysis of the inter-annual variability suggests that the mean and variance of the peatland’s wetness is an important control. To test this idea we plan to drain the beaver ponds surrounding the Mer Bleue site in 2012 and there are opportunities to establish the effect of this drainage (and maintained lowering of the water table) on plant ecology and biogeochemistry.
• Biogeochemistry and plant ecology of peatlands in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, in collaboration with Professors Nigel Roulet, Elyn Humphreys (Carleton University) and Peter Lafleur (Trent University). We have a research project in partnership with the Ontario Ministries of Natural Resources and Environment to analyze CO2 exchange from eddy covariance towers to relate the local vegetation and biogeochemistry to develop algorithms to calibrate and adapt light use efficiency models and also emerging radar imagery to estimate the special and temporal variability of peatland ecosystem production and respiration.
• Detecting graves using the biogeochemistry of soils. We have been examining ways in which soil biogeochemistry can detect the presence of graves, in collaboration with Profs. Margaret Kalacska (Geography) and André Costopoulos (Anthropology). We have shown that methane may be useful, as cadaver burial and associated anaerobic conditions lead to elevated concentrations and fluxes of methane. There may also be potential for nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide. The work would involve existing and experimental sites and both field and laboratory work.

Wayne Pollard: I am currently looking for a Doctoral student to work on thermokarst and the impacts of climate change related landscape processes in either the High Arctic or the western Arctic.

Nigel Roulet: See Earth System Science node.

Jeanine Rhemtulla: see Environmental Mangement node.

Ian Strachan: I welcome graduate applicants wishing to conduct research within the general area of ecosystem GHG exchange. Research will involve using tower-based micrometeorological techniques to study processes behind the surface-atmosphere exchanges of GHGs. Please visit my website where you will find my current research activities.

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Earth System Science

Dr. Elisabeth Levac (adjunct professor in Geography): I have funding to support a M.Sc. student (possibly Ph.D.) conducting palynological research. The proposed topic is Holocene millennial-scale variability in paleoceanographic records from the eastern Canadian margin. Other paleoenvironmental projects may be available. Skills in palynology are an asset. Interested students should contact me (elevac@ubishops.ca).

Damon Matthews (adjunct professor in Geography): I am looking for a PhD student in the area of Earth system modelling of recent and future climate change.  Possible projects include: (1) modeling land-use change and its impact on carbon sinks, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change; or (2) developing a model to represent Northern peatlands and their contribution to contemporary greenhouse gas budgets.  Both projects would involve the development and use of an Earth system climate model, so some experience with computer programming, modelling and data analysis is required.

Navin Ramankutty: I am looking for a doctoral or master's student to work in the area of global land use change and its implications for ecosystems and human well-being. Most of my work is focussed on global scales of analysis, but I am also interested in starting new regional-scale projects focussed on Canada or India. Please look at my website for more details about my research program and my publications on the topic. If you are interested, please send me an email detailed your interests and why you think my research program is a good fit for you.

Nigel Roulet:I am looking for two to three Doctoral and/or Masters' students and one or two post-doctoral fellows to work on various aspects of the links among hydrology, biogeochemistry and ecosystem functions, with a focus on peatlands and forested catchments in the temperate to Arctic regions.   These positions broadly address the following research questions:

• How permafrost thaws in peatlands and how that will affect the quantity and quality of dissolved organic carbon export in the Arctic?  When permafrost thaws the Arctic landscape may become much more hydrologically dynamic.  Greater active layer depths are going to expose carbon deposits that were previously inactive.  Does the thaw lead to greater carbon export and will the composition of that carbon change, thus affecting downstream aquatic ecosystems metabolism. (4 year PhD position or M.Sc. positions).
• How do patterns on peatlands form and what feedbacks are involved?  There are a number of modelling efforts that have approached simulating northern peatlands as complex adaptive systems.  However, there has been very little evaluation of these dynamic peatland models.  Further, the models are currently quite limited in what they can simulate.  Our model, the Holocene Peatland Model (HPM), is currently a one-dimensional model that could be expanded to three dimensions to look at the development of patterns and processes in peatlands.  In particular, I am interesting in understanding how hummock and hollows, and pools, ridges and flarks form in northern peatlands.  This research would likely include a substantial field component to develop the necessary functions for the inclusion of patterning in HPM. (4 year PhD position or M.Sc. positions).
• Can we use the measurements from eddy covariance systems in combination with various remote sensing platforms such as MODIS, Hyperion, and Radarsat-II to develop algorithms to estimate the present day carbon exchanges between remote northern peatlands and the atmosphere?  Can we develop methods to assimilate remotely sensed data to provide more direct inputs to peatland models? (4 year PhD position or M.Sc. positions). 
• What are the relationships among nitrogen retention, export and saturation and what are the links between dissolved organic and inorganic nitrogen and carbon in forests?  We have been working on the runoff and seasonal hydrology of seven nested basins at the Mount Saint Hilaire (MSH) nature reserve east of Montreal.  This is a particularly interesting set of catchments because MSH is covered with a relatively pristine old growth temperate forest but is located in an area of some of the highest nitrogen deposition in eastern North America.  It is, therefore, a great place to test some of the hypotheses related to N and C export and the forms of N export related to inputs. (4 year PhD position or M.Sc. positions).
• What is the current exchange of CO2 and CH4 between the atmosphere and the Hudson Bay Lowlands and what is the potential fate of the large store of carbon in the HBL, the world’s third largest peatland complex, in scenarios of future climate?  We have a research project in partnership with several other universities and the Ontario Ministries of Natural Resources and Environment to address these questions.  This work would include analysis of the measured exchanges from eddy covariance towers in the HBL and the use of the observations to evaluate and develop further the McGill Wetland Model (MWM) and the wetland-version of the DNDC model.   (2 year PDF position).

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GIS and Remote Sensing

Renee Sieber: I plan to fund up to two graduate positions for either Master's or PhD students who will investigate applications of the geoweb (GIS, digital earths on Web 2.0). One student would investigate methods to aid in communicating climate change to a general public (e.g., via mashups, geowikis, Facebook). Another student would develop applications to integrate environmental and climate change models with digital earths. Prior experience in computer programming (especially Python, PHP) or a demonstrated aptitude to learn programming is a MUST.

I also have two years funding for a graduate (masters) student to participate in a health  informatics grant to investigate existing Web 2.0 data and geo visualization tools for hotspots of injuries (i.e., motor vehicle accidents, pedestrian injury, gunshot wounds and blunt assault). Injuries represent a leading cause of death among the young worldwide.  The focus is on free and open source software (FOSS). The student would develop innovative means to model and visualize geospatial data and integrate it with other environmental and health related information. This research will yield methods and protocols for building virtual models of injury hotspots; in the process it will instantiate Web 2.0 as a working component of health informatics. A Web-based platform also lends itself to knowledge dissemination and exchange. By virtually rendering actual injury hotspots, the student's research will provide a wealth of essential, policy-relevant evidence to communities at risk, health care providers, researchers, injury prevention workers, urban planners and policy makers.

Margaret Kalacska:I welcome MSc and PhD applications for three specific areas of research: 1) Development of image processing algorithms using CUDA (previous experience with CUDA and GPGPU required); 2) Bayesian Network analysis of historical data (previous experience with Bayesian Netoworks required); 3) Distributed computing and remote sensing (previous experience with Torque Server, OpenMPI and one of Matlab, R, IDL or Octave required).

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Environmental Management

Peter Brown: I am looking for up to 2 students to work with me on stewardship economics -- designing an economic system compatible with, and respectful of, the Earth's living communities and the chemical and physical processes on which they depend. Financial support of approximately 20,000 CAD per year is available for three years. Ph.D. level student(s)preferred.

Gail Chmura: My research is focused on tidal salt marshes and biogeography of coastal organisms. I welcome applications from M.Sc. or Ph.D. candidates interested in these topics particularly as it relates to the value of salt marshes as carbon sinks.

James Ford: I am looking for a master’s student to work on climate change vulnerability and adaptation research in Arctic Canada with a health / food security focus. The candidate should have a high GPA and preferably experience working in the Arctic and/or climate change.

Margaret Kalacska: I welcome MSc and PhD applications for three specific areas of research: 1) Development of image processing algorithms using CUDA (previous experience with CUDA and GPGPU required); 2) Bayesian Network analysis of historical data (previous experience with Bayesian Netoworks required); 3) Distributed computing and remote sensing (previous experience with Torque Server, OpenMPI and one of Matlab, R, IDL or Octave required).

Adam Millard-Ball: I am interested in hearing from prospective graduate students wishing to work in the general areas of urban sustainability, transportation, and climate change policy. I also have specific opportunities on projects related to local climate change planning; the future patterns of travel demand; and the impacts of parking price reforms. Please see my web page for details on the information that you should send with your initial e-mail inquiry.

Renee Sieber: I plan to fund up to two graduate positions for either Master's or PhD students who will investigate applications of the geoweb (GIS, digital earths on Web 2.0). One student would investigate methods to aid in communicating climate change to a general public (e.g., via mashups, geowikis, Facebook). Another student would develop applications to integrate environmental and climate change models with digital earths. Prior experience in computer programming (especially Python, PHP) or a demonstrated aptitude to learn programming is a MUST.

I also have two years funding for a graduate (masters) student to participate in a health  informatics grant to investigate existing Web 2.0 data and geo visualization tools for hotspots of injuries (i.e., motor vehicle accidents, pedestrian injury, gunshot wounds and blunt assault). Injuries represent a leading cause of death among the young worldwide.  The focus is on free and open source software (FOSS). The student would develop innovative means to model and visualize geospatial data and integrate it with other environmental and health related information. This research will yield methods and protocols for building virtual models of injury hotspots; in the process it will instantiate Web 2.0 as a working component of health informatics. A Web-based platform also lends itself to knowledge dissemination and exchange. By virtually rendering actual injury hotspots, the student's research will provide a wealth of essential, policy-relevant evidence to communities at risk, health care providers, researchers, injury prevention workers, urban planners and policy makers.

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