Prospective Grad Students.
I accept graduate students through the Dept. of Plant and Soil Sciences and Dept. of Geological Sciences. Information on the graduate admission is available at the graduate student office. Currently, I have funding to support graduate students in the two research projects described below. Interested students are strongly encouraged to contact me or visit me at University of Delaware.
Additionally, there are university fellowships for doctoral students. These opportunities usually require the description of dissertation research projects along with academic records. The dissertation research should be developed between the prospective students and the potential advisor. If interested in these opportunities, make sure you read my research interests and engage me in developing your dissertation idea in the context of soil formation, biogeochemistry, or geomorphology well before the application deadlines.
I share significant amount of time with graduate students toward their intellectual growth. I am also responsible for financially supporting the students throughout their graduate program. Graduate students will be, however, expected to deliberately refine/sharpen their own dissertation projects and to work with me in seeking supplemental funding such as:
Graduate students, in addition to their own research project, are expected to be involved in lab activities that often include but are not limited to being a mentor for a new member or a undergraduate student in the lab, participating in lab meetings, maintaining laboratory equipments, etc. Here are two complementary advices for graduate students.
Prospective Undergraduate Students
In general, undergraduate students are paired with graduate students and are given a responsibility for an independent part of graduate student's research projects. Undergraduate researchers are also expected to participate in lab meetings and are given opportunities to present their research projects. Here are two useful resources for undergraduate research experience at UD.
Funded Projects
We are looking for two highly motivated doctoral students with MS. degree in geochemistry, biogeochemistry, hydrology, soil science, ecosystem ecology, geomorphology, or chemical and environmental engineering who will complete their doctoral dissertation on the following projects. The projects have intensive field, laboratory, and modeling components. Applicants should be capable of independently conducting field work in remote environments and have strong verbal and writing communication skills. Experience in analytical chemistry and computer modeling is preferred.
1.Theoretical and empirical integration of geochemical and morphologic evolution of soil covered hillslopes: responses to channel incision.
Field site in Sierra Nevada, California
Funding source: National Science Foundation EAR. |
This is a collaborative research with Simon Marius Mudd at Univ. of Edinburgh, UK. We are tracking down how tectonically driven river incision propagates upslope geochemically. This study will theoretically and empirically integrate the understanding of hillslope geomorphology based on a century of sediment budget-oriented research with a geochemistry-oriented understanding of soil spatial variation. Ultimately, this study will contribute to understanding the coupling between tectonics and climate via chemical weathering.
The admitted doctoral student will be trained across the fields of geochemistry and geomorphology. The student will be trained in field, laboratory, and modeling approaches. The student will conduct field works in the scenic Fall River in Sierra Nevada California and will have opportunities to visit and intellectually interact with the project collaborator Dr. Simon Mudd and his doctoral student at University of Edinburgh, UK. The graduate student will also have experience of supervising/mentoring one undergraduate student over the course of the project.
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2. Accelerated mineral chemical weathering rate by biophysical soil mixing along an earthworm invasion chronosequence.
Glacial extent in North America. The glaciated area has been devoid of earthworms until the recent invasion of European species. Although earthworms are known for their agricultural benefits, exotic earthworms are dramatically altering the forest structure and soil geochemistry in the forests that have evolved without native earthworms during the past.
Funding source: USDA NRI
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Earthworms vertically mix soil profiles which are not optimized for maximum chemical weathering because mineral dissolution is most intense near the ground surface where weathering susceptible minerals are often depleted. Along a well documented earthworm invasion chronosequence in Minnesota, we test a hypothesis: Rates of mineral dissolution and subsequent inorganic nutrient release are proportional to mixing rates. This work is a collaborative effort with Anthony Aufdenkampe at Stroud Water Research Center and Cindy Hale at University of Minnesota, Duluth.
The admitted doctoral student will be trained across geochemistry, hydrology, and ecology via field, laboratory, and modeling exercises. The student will conduct field works in the northern Minnesota hardwood forests and will have opportunities to interact with organic geochemist Dr. Anthony Aufdenkampe and ecologist Dr. Cindy Hale. The graduate student will also supervise/mentor one undergraduate student over the course of the project.
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