The Yang Lab (https://sib.illinois.edu/yang) in Global Change Ecology and Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry in the Departments of Plant Biology and Geology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign seeks creative and motivated graduate students to join the lab in Summer/Fall 2016. We explore how human activities are changing how natural and managed ecosystems function and how ecosystem responses to global change can feedback to fuel or slow future global change. We are particularly interested in the controls on greenhouse gas emissions, the effects of anthropogenic nitrogen inputs on ecosystem nitrogen retention and loss, the effects of plant community composition shifts on ecosystem nitrogen and carbon dynamics, and the coupling of biogeochemical cycles beyond carbon and nitrogen (i.e., iron coupled processes). Students will be encouraged to develop their own research related to these themes. Potential local field sites include the Multifunctional Woody Polyculture research farm, SoyFACE, the Bondville Ameriflux site, and the Upper Sangamon Basin which is part of the Intensively Managed Landscapes Critical Zone Observatory. Prospective students are also encouraged to consider applying for the IGERT program in Vertically Integrated Training with Genomics (http://www.igb.illinois.edu/vintg/igert), which provides the opportunity to develop research at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.
There are multiple opportunities to join the lab to pursue a Masters or Ph.D. degree: (1) Department of Plant Biology (http://www.life.illinois.edu/plantbio/index.html) Deadline January 1 (2) Department of Geology (http://www.geology.illinois.edu/) Deadline January 15 (3) Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology (http://sib.illinois.edu/peec/) Deadline January 1 If you are interested in joining the lab, please email Dr. Wendy Yang at [email protected]. Please include a brief statement of your research interests and your CV. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wendy H. Yang, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Departments of Plant Biology and Geology University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 265 Morrill Hall 505 S Goodwin Ave Urbana, IL 61801 Lab/Office: 639 Morrill Hall Office phone: 217-244-2614
