The Williams Lab at the University of British Columbia (Department of Geography and Biodiversity Research Centre) is looking for a Ph.D. student to join our growing group for Fall 2017. Ongoing research includes projects on (1) contemporary evolution and the speed at which populations move across landscapes, (2) plant life history strategies in changing climates, and (3) variation in plant-herbivore and plant-pollinator interactions across space and time. We take a variety of approaches including experiments in the field and greenhouse and quantitative modeling. The PhD student will have the opportunity to develop his or her own research goals related to the broader lab objectives.
Competitive applicants will have completed an independent research project that has the potential to move toward publication; be motivated to develop or expand on their quantitative skills (statistical or modeling); and will bring curiosity and independence to their research. Students in the group benefit from interacting both with a diverse group of geographers interested in the environment, and with ecologists and evolutionary biologists from across UBC, who are brought together by the Biodiversity Research Centre for classes, seminars and discussion groups. We have ties with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, and land managers at native prairie sites across the Pacific Northwest that can facilitate locating field sites and developing applied angles of research projects. Applications are due in early January 2017, but I encourage interested students to contact me well before this date. Please send an email ([email protected]) including a brief statement that describes your research interests and why you are interested in graduate school, and attach your CV and an unofficial transcript. Please see the lab website for more information: http://williamslabubc.weebly.com/ and find information about applying to UBC Geography here: http://www.geog.ubc.ca/graduate/. All students admitted to Geography are guaranteed a stable minimum income that comes from a combination of teaching assistantships and UBC fellowships. Outstanding students will be competitive for a UBC Four Year Fellowship, and I would be happy to assist Canadian students with their NSERC CGS-D applications.
