PhD opportunity:Modeling of prevention and control of harmful non-indigenous species in Southeast Asia. We would like to invite applications for a joint PhD between Imperial College London and National University of Singapore on modeling for prevention and control of harmful non-indigenous in Southeast Asia. Harmful non-indigenous species (NIS) are one of the main causes of the loss of global biodiversity. NIS invasions impose enormous costs on human health, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and water use, utilities, buildings and natural areas. NIS invasions are increasingly a threat to biodiversity and agricultural systems in Southeast Asia. High biodiversity of forests and marine ecosystems confers resistance against NIS invasions, however, the alarming deforestation and degradation rates in Southeast Asia are expected to increase the vulnerability of regional ecosystems to NIS invasions. The introduction, economic and ecological impacts of biological invasions in the region is very poorly documented. The scarcity of research on NIS in Southeast Asia prevents knowing the magnitude of the problem and hence deters evidence-based management policies to be coordinated and adopted. This situation is worrying given the importance of proactively identifying and preventing the establishment of NIS to avoid future ecological and economic impacts. The PhD student will have flexibility in the formulation of original research questions and approaches, ranging from an ecological, economic or interdisciplinary approach. The project will aim to answer: (i) what is the current state of NIS presence and their economic and ecological impacts in Southeast Asia? (ii) which NIS present the highest threat and should be prioritized by management efforts? (iii) and what are the effects of forest degradation and fragmentation on NIS dispersal and impacts? Successful applicants will be jointly supervised by Prof John Mumford (Imperial College London, Centre for Environmental Policy) and Dr Roman Carrasco (Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore). Programme characteristics and requirements The NUS-Imperial Joint PhD Degree is an award conferred by both institutions, which allows PhD students to spend half of their time at each institution. This programme is particularly aimed at those who want a joint degree from two leading universities or whose research would benefit from the expertise of the two academic research groups with complementary strengths or engaged in an inter-disciplinary collaboration. This programme is a great way of taking research forward on an international level. A student's candidature will commence at the beginning of the semester at his/her home institution. Students at NUS are expected to submit their PhD thesis after 4 years of full-time study. In principle, students are required to spend the equivalent of 50% of the study period at each institution. Students must spend the last six months before submission of thesis at their home institution. Students are expected to meet the programme requirements as specified by their home institution. In addition, students must satisfactorily complete the graduate transferable skills training course offered by Imperial College. Please visit http://www.science.nus.edu.sg/graduates/researchprog/imperial.htmlfor further details. Funding NUS as home institution: 4 years funding is available to international students through a competitively-allocated department scholarship from the Department of Biological Sciences at NUS. In order to apply you must have a 2.1 or above in a relevant ecological/ environmental/ economic degree. Deadline for applications: 20th of April 2012. To apply, please send us an up-to-date CV and a brief outline (<500 words) of your research interests as they relate to the project. Contact Please email [email protected](Dr Roman Carrasco) or [email protected](Professor John Mumford). Webpages: http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/staff/roman.html http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/people/j.mumford
