Join us

I am looking for talented undergrad/grad students and postdocs!

My research is not restricted to certain seismic techniques. Instead, my studies are driven by geological problems, which require various techniques, such as receiver function, seismic tomography, earthquake relocation. Meanwhile, one of my major interests in seismic methodology is body-wave attenuation.

If you are interested in subduction zones and/or mantle structures, or if you are enthusiastic about field work (on-shore or off-shore), you may want to consider joining my group. Please email your CV and your research interests to me: swei (at) msu.edu

My group actively collaborate with other geophysics groups at MSU. We are proud of a group of faculty members covering most directions of solid earth geophysics: seismology, geodesy, geodynamics, mineral physics, and planetary geophysics. At MSU, you will get exposed to a variety of geophysical research topics and techniques, as well as collaboration opportunities.

Tips for prospective graduate students:

- The application deadline for various university and college recruitment fellowships is December 7th, but the deadline for regular admission (with financial support from the department and/or advisor) is December 31st!!!
- I expect a graduate student to have enthusiasm in earth science and a good mathematics/physics background.
- Previous experience of research or field work is helpful but not required.
- A good candidate should have a clear goal for graduate education. Put that in your personal statement. This can also help me to design research projects.
- Letters of recommendation are crucial. They should be written by mentors who know you well and can personally state your attitude, personality, and productivity. Letters from famous scientists who don’t know you well are not helpful.
- All PhD students will be fully funded (stipend, fees, tuition, and health insurance) through my research grants or through Teaching Assistantship in the department. There are several prestigious fellowships available as well.
- International students need to speak English fluently. TOEFL and GRE scores are required but not the most important factors. I will schedule a Skype interview if necessary.
- MSU requirements of English Language Proficiency for international students: For paper-based TOEFL, a minimum score of 550 (no subscore below 52) is required to be considered for regular admission, and a minimum of 520 is required for provisional admission. For internet-based TOEFL, a minimum score of 80 (no subscore below 19 for reading, listening and speaking, no writing subscore below 22) is required to be considered for regular admission, and a minimum of 70 is required for provisional admission. For IELTS a minimum score of 6.5 is required to be considered for regular admission to our department, and a minimum of 6 is required for provisional admission. Other English tests, including MELAB, MSUELT, and PTE A, are also accepted (details here).

Tips for prospective postdocs:

- I expect a postdoc to be self-motivated and to have clear understanding of the research projects.
- I hope most of your PhD work has been published or submitted by the time of the appointment.
- Letters of recommendation are crucial. They should be written by mentors or collaborators who know you well and can personally state your attitude, personality, and productivity. Letters from famous scientists who don’t know you well are not helpful.
- International postdocs need to speak and write English fluently.
- All postdocs will be fully funded for one year. Extension to a second year is generally granted based on the evaluation at the end of the first year.

My expectations for undergraduate students:

- Enthusiasm for earth science.
- Basin knowledge of geology, physics, and mathematics.
- Basic programming skills will be a plus but not required.
- Meet with me and my group regularly – work space will be provided in my lab.

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