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Graduate Research
Interested in pursuing an M.S. or Ph.D. degree focused on the cutting edge of coastal engineering, hazards, and resiliency? Are you interested in working in a multidisciplinary environment and engaging with the public, private, and federal sectors? There are currently three available Ph.D. opportunities for Fall 2023.
Ph.D. Student Assistantship in Estuarine Hydrodynamics
Position Description: The University of Georgia (UGA) School of Environmental, Civil, Agriculture, and Mechanical Engineering (https://engineering.uga.edu/schools/ecam) is seeking a highly-motivated Ph.D. student to begin Fall 2023. The graduate student will work under Dr. Matthew Bilskie and be part of the Coastal Ocean Analysis and Simulation Team (COAST; https://www.coast.engr.uga.edu). The Ph.D. student will also work with other graduate students, post-docs, and faculty affiliated with the Institute of Resilient Infrastructure Systems (https://www.iris.uga.edu/). In particular, the Ph.D. student will work with the Odum School of Ecology and Crop and Soil Science faculty.
The general scope of work includes hydrodynamic modeling of coastal salt marsh environments and a significant fieldwork component. The Ph.D. student will develop a hydrodynamic model to simulate tidal flows in complex marsh environments and examine conditions to changing marsh and tidal creek landscapes. The student will also assist in field campaigns involving deploying sensors (ADCPs and pressure transducers) and ecological measurements of marsh grass and oyster reefs.
The student assistantship includes a full tuition waiver, stipend, and funds to attend conferences and workshops.
Qualifications: Candidates have an M.S. degree in Mechanical, Civil, Environmental, or Coastal Engineering or a related field. The ideal candidate will have experience with computer programming /scripting (Matlab, Fortran, Python, R, bash scripting, etc.), the Linux command line, and GIS. Experience with coastal hydrodynamic models (ADCIRC, DELFT3D, XBEACH, etc.) and fieldwork (ADCP, pressure sensors, GPS RTK) is a plus. Strong communication and writing skills and the ability to work within a lab group setting are essential. Although it is not necessary to have all these skills at the start, the ideal candidate will be willing to learn from others and motivated to self-teach skills.
Please contact Dr. Matthew Bilskie by email at mbilskie@uga.edu with the subject heading “UGA COAST Graduate Student Inquiry – Estuarine Modeling” and provide a cover letter, CV and contact information for at least three references.
The UGA COAST and IRIS lab is located in the new $64 million Interdisciplinary-STEM-II building with state-of-the-art research and laboratory space.
https://news.uga.edu/uga-completes-phase-2-of-stem-research-complex/
Ph.D. Student Assistantship in Coastal Nature-Based Feature Design
Position Description: The University of Georgia (UGA) School of Environmental, Civil, Agriculture, and Mechanical Engineering (https://engineering.uga.edu/schools/ecam) is seeking a highly-motivated Ph.D. student to begin Fall 2023. The graduate student will work under Dr. Matthew Bilskie and be part of the Coastal Ocean Analysis and Simulation Team (COAST; https://www.coast.engr.uga.edu). The Ph.D. student will also work with other graduate students, post-docs, and faculty affiliated with the Institute of Resilient Infrastructure Systems (https://www.iris.uga.edu/).
The general scope of work includes hydrodynamic modeling of the coastal nature-based features (e.g., barrier island and salt marsh environments) with a substantial fieldwork component. The Ph.D. student will develop hydrodynamic and sediment transport models to assess flood mitigation strategies for various landscape configurations that will inform the future engineering design of nature-based infrastructure. The student will also assist in field campaigns involving RTK-GPS surveys, and deployment of monitoring equipment (ADCPs and pressure transducers), among others. There will be a tight-knit collaboration with other graduate students and post-docs across an interdisciplinary research team.
The student assistantship includes a full tuition waiver, stipend, and funds to attend conferences and workshops.
Qualifications: Candidates have an M.S. degree in Mechanical, Civil, Environmental, or Coastal Engineering or a related field. The ideal candidate will have experience with computer programming /scripting (Matlab, Fortran, Python, R, bash scripting, etc.), the Linux command line, and GIS. Experience with coastal hydrodynamic models (ADCIRC, DELFT3D, XBEACH, etc.) and fieldwork (ADCP, pressure sensors, GPS RTK) is a plus. Strong communication and writing skills and the ability to work within a lab group setting are essential. Although it is not necessary to have all these skills at the start, the ideal candidate will be willing to learn from others and motivated to self-teach skills.
Please contact Dr. Matthew Bilskie by email at mbilskie@uga.edu with the subject heading “UGA COAST Graduate Student Inquiry – NEWN Scales” and provide a cover letter, CV, and contact information for at least three references.
The UGA COAST and IRIS lab is located in the new $64 million Interdisciplinary-STEM-II building with state-of-the-art research and laboratory space.
https://news.uga.edu/uga-completes-phase-2-of-stem-research-complex/
Ph.D. Student Assistantship in Atmospheric Science/Coastal Engineering
Position Description: The University of Georgia (UGA) Department of Geography (https://geography.uga.edu/) and the School of Environmental, Civil, Agriculture, and Mechanical Engineering (https://engineering.uga.edu/schools/ecam) is seeking a highly-motivated Ph.D. student to begin Fall 2023. The graduate student will work under Dr. Matthew Bilskie and Dr. Marshall Shepherd with an affiliation with the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems (IRIS; https://iris.uga.edu/) and the Coastal Ocean Analysis and Simulation Team (COAST; https://www.coast.engr.uga.edu). The Ph.D. student will also work with graduate students, post-docs, and faculty affiliated with IRIS.
The general scope of the Ph.D. project is to assess the pre- and post-disaster performance of natural (e.g., coastal wetlands, dunes, barrier islands, etc.) as proxies for the performance of nature-based features. The Ph.D. student will be responsible for developing novel field-data collection methods, performing coastal hydrodynamic model simulations, and linking measurements and models to develop guidance on the performance of nature-based solutions during extreme weather conditions.
The student assistantship includes a full tuition waiver, stipend, and funds to attend conferences and workshops. Funding is being made available through the Network for Engineering with Nature (N-EWN; https://n-ewn.org/) program.
Qualifications: Candidates have an M.S. degree in Atmospheric Science, Physics, Mechanical, Civil, Environmental, Coastal Engineering, or a related field. The ideal candidate will have experience with computer programming /scripting (Matlab, Fortran, Python, R, bash scripting, etc.), the Linux command line, and GIS. Experience with atmospheric and/or coastal hydrodynamic models (WRF, ADCIRC, DELFT3D, XBEACH, etc.) and fieldwork (ADCP, pressure sensors, GPS RTK) is a plus. Strong communication and writing skills and the ability to work within a lab group setting are essential. Although it is not necessary to have all these skills at the start, the ideal candidate will be willing to learn from others and motivated to self-teach skills.
Please contact Dr. Matthew Bilskie by email at mbilskie@uga.edu with the subject heading “Graduate Student Inquiry – PrePostDisaster” and provide a cover letter, CV, and contact information for at least three references.
The UGA COAST and IRIS lab is located in the new $64 million Interdisciplinary-STEM-II building with state-of-the-art research and laboratory space.
https://news.uga.edu/uga-completes-phase-2-of-stem-research-complex/
