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(a)fs.fed.us
www.usu.edu/beetle/