Two PhD Fellowships Available: Forest Ecosystems and Management

The College of Natural Resources at Utah State University (USU) seeks to establish a small cohort of graduate students whose research will be linked under the theme “Managing for Resilience in Forested Ecosystems of the Intermountain West”. This program will use emerging research tools, common coursework, seminars and specific shared extension projects to provide the student fellows with skills and knowledge necessary for effective science-based input to management decisions about forested landscapes undergoing or threatened with large-scale change. Current topics related to management, adaptation and resiliency of forest ecosystems and their components in a changing climate will be emphasized.  Research will address issues related to two focal areas: 1) Stand and clonal dynamics in aspen-associated forests of the Intermountain West, and 2) Ecology of native bark beetles (Dendroctonus spp) in forests of the Intermountain West, USA.  

The student fellows will benefit from coordinated mentoring by an Advisory Board of faculty members who have active research programs in dynamic forested landscapes: Drs. Karen Mock, Jim Long, Ron Ryel, Mike Kuhns, and Zhao Ma from USU's College of Natural Resources, Dr. Barbara Bentz with the USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station, and Dr. Paul Rogers with the USU-affiliated Western Aspen Alliance.  

PhD fellowships will be $24,000 per year for 3 years (Fall 2011 through Spring 2014). Tuition waiver and student health insurance will be provided.

Additional information, including application instructions and access to the full proposal are available online:

http://www.cnr.usu.edu/wild/htm/available-phd-fellowships

Barbara J. Bentz
Research Entomologist
USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station
860 N. 1200 E. Logan, UT 84321
435-755-3577 (office)
435-890-3186 (mobile)
435-755-3563 (fax)
bbentz@fs.fed.us
www.usu.edu/beetle/