Graduate Research Assistantships
Forest Ecohydrology & Watershed Systems (FEWS) Lab at the University of California, Merced is seeking applications for two fully funded Ph.D. research assistantships in forest ecohydrology of the Sierra Nevada. The projects supporting these positions are part of a larger effort to better understand the interplay between climate, vegetation, and subsurface water storage under changing climate and forest composition and structure. We will be using in-situ and remote sensing measurements and numerical modeling for predicting water portioning between runoff, storage, and evapotranspiration across the landscape. Potential research topics can include isotope ecohydrology, ecosystem services, water and vegetation dynamics, montane groundwater, and forest soil health.
Adaptive Watershed Management: Healthy forests provide a range of ecosystem services, from storing, filtering, and delivering clean water for downstream uses to sequestering carbon and provisioning habitat for wildlife. However, many of these ecosystem services are at risk due to overgrowth, changing climate, extended fire season, hot droughts, and epidemics of forest pests and diseases. The major land managers in the region are undertaking fuel treatments to reduce the risk of large-scale wildfires and restore forests to a healthy and more-sustainable state. This project aims to investigate how active forest management impacts key ecohydrological processes across scales and critical zone characteristics.
Advancing Nature-Based Climate Solutions: Sierra Nevada range, known as the water tower of California, receives 27 percent of the state’s precipitation and supplies more than 60% of California’s consumptive water use. Snowmelt from this region supplies irrigation water to central valley farms that grow half of the USA’s vegetables, fruits, and nuts. The quality and quantity of this critical natural resource are increasingly threatened by climate change. This project will investigate active forest management as a Nature-Based Climate Solution (NbCS) to address climate change and its impact on forest health, water availability, carbon sequestration, and other related ecosystem services.
The incoming students will join the Environmental Systems (https://es.ucmerced.edu/) Graduate Group at University of California, Merced in Fall 2025. University of California provides a highly competitive graduate research assistantships, benefits, and full tuition waiver (see pay scale here: https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2024-25/oct-2024-scales/t22.pdf). Graduate teaching assistantships are available to students interested in teaching and mentoring opportunities. UC Merced offers multiple internal fellowships to meritorious and high achieving outstanding graduate students (https://graduatedivision.ucmerced.edu/funding/internal).
Prospective candidates are encouraged to contact Dr. Safeeq Khan (msafeeq@ucmerced.edu) with their curriculum vitae (CV) and a brief statement of interest. This research statement should describe their academic goals, motivation for pursuing a Ph.D. at UC Merced, and relevant experience in the area described above. Applicants with background in Civil & Environmental Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Earth Sciences, Natural Resources Management, Water Resources, or in related fields are preferred. These positions require driving long-distances and carrying research equipment in mountainous terrain.
Undergraduate Research Assistants:
We are always interested in passionate, hardworking students either looking for summer job opportunities or like to volunteer on research and/or educational outreach efforts related to our research projects. At this time, we are particularly interested in students with interests and skills (e.g. hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, ATV, snowmobile) in mountain hydrology. Good communication and teamwork skills are always a plus. If you are interested, please email Dr. Safeeq Khan (msafeeq@ucmerced.edu) or stop by his office (SRE 423) for more information.