Research Opportunities

PhD Student Collaborator - Fall 2022

Background: I am hoping to bring on a student collaborator for Fall 2022 to pursue a PhD examining seasonal water production and flow pathways within permafrost landscapes of the high Canadian Arctic [within the Arctic archipelago]. The research may use a combination of approaches including numerical modelling, physical experimentation and possibly fieldwork [funding dependent]. There is plenty of room for student collaborators to chart specific trajectories within the general topic area, as well as the methodological approaches used. The final research proposal will ultimately be a collaboration which is firmly rooted in your own interests and motivations. The research will contribute to a larger program which seeks to better understand how new drainage basins develop within permafrost landscapes due to a warming climate [see video to the right to learn more]. Student collaborators will have an opportunity to be part of a team of scientists from the University of British Columbia, Western University and other institutions. Keep reading below for important details.

Notes about Funding: The timeline for PhD research in Canada is commonly on the order of 4 years; this sets the general funding horizon for this research. Going beyond 4 years means we have to get more creative about funding, and seek out opportunities as a team. At the moment I have funding to support this first year of research, and have applied for funding to support years 2-4. I am also happy and excited to help student collaborators apply for direct funding of their research. If you are a Canadian citizen you are eligible to apply for an NSERC CGS M, CGS D and/or PGS D scholarship. Application deadlines are in the Fall of each academic calendar years. Other funding sources available to Canadian citizens for the opportunity discussed above includes the Weston Family Awards in Northern Research. The deadline to apply for this years Weston call is January 27, 2022, which gives time for us to collaborate on an application --> PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU ARE INTERESTED in applying for a Weston Family fellowship [see below under closing requests and instructions]. Students originating outside of Canada without Canadian citizenship can compete for other funding sources, but will generally be limited to specific departmental or university fellowships and teaching assistanships [see more below], or perhaps funding from your country of origin or residence. The successful PhD student collaborator will receive a minimum funding package of $24,000CAD per year plus coverage of regular graduate program tuition and fees [see here for more information about regular graduate program tuition and applicable fees including regional transit pass and basic provincial medical/dental coverage]. It is expected that a portion of the funding package will include teaching assistantships through the Department of Earth Sciences, or possibly the School of the Environment, and that student collaborators will apply for eligible outside funding mentioned above.

Program Specifics and Application: After we have discussed your interest in the research and any specific questions [see below under Closing Request and Instructions], you will apply for admittance to the PhD program of the Department of Earth Sciences at Simon Fraser University where I hold an Associate appointment [The School of Environmental Science presently does not offer a master’s or doctoral in Environmental Science]. Details regarding the graduate program in the Department of Earth Sciences as well as the application procedure, general requirements and funding opportunities can be viewed here: http://www.sfu.ca/earth-sciences/graduate/prospective.html. To be eligible for scholarships administered by Simon Fraser University applicants are strongly encouraged to apply by January 15th, 2022. The application for graduate studies within the Department of Earth Sciences includes a CAN$90 or CAN$125 fee and can be found here: https://sims.erp.sfu.ca/psp/csprd_2/SFUGAAPP/SA/c/SFU_ADMISSIONS.SFU_GA_APPLICATION.GBL?. Note that if you are originating outside of Canada and do not hold Canadian citizenship you will need to understand immigration policies and procedures. Feel free to reach out to SFU International Service for Students for advice at the following site: https://www.sfu.ca/students/iss.html.

Training: I am very open to working with student collaborators who have a variety of academic training. The opportunity discussed above is well suited for student collaborators with a bachelor’s or master’s degree [or equivalent] in Earth Science, Physical Geography or Environmental Science [with a strong foundation in math, chemistry and physics in either case], Geophysics, Physics, Civil or Environmental Engineering, Applied Mathematics, and related fields. Student collaborators with training or a strong interest in hydrologic numerical modelling, granular physics, fluid mechanics, and some experience in either computer programming [Python, Matlab, C...] or high performance computing is a plus. Ultimately, the student collaborator must be admissible to the Department of Earth Sciences.

Closing Request and Instructions: If your are interested in this research opportunity please reach out to me directly and send (1) a brief statement of interest in the research and why you would like to pursue it, (2) an updated CV or resume, and (3) the contact information for two academic references. Please send this information to shawn_chartrand@sfu.ca. We can arrange a time to talk and discuss the research over Zoom, and talk about other questions or concerns before taking the time to apply. In your e-mail to me please use the following subject line: PhD Opportunity in Arctic Hydrology -- if you do not use this subject line I may not respond to your request, and, if you do not reach out to me directly I will not know if you applied for admittance to the Department of Earth Sciences.


NOTES TO STUDENT COLLABORATORS

My Commitment to Student Collaborators, the Research Group and the Larger Community (order below is somewhat arbitrary)

  1. TRAINING ENVIRONMENT: I am committed to fostering and providing a safe and supportive learning environment for all members of our research group, and for those that we interact with directly or indirectly. I actively work to this end by:

    • Promoting open dialogue and constructive debate; this permits us to practice talking about and debating science, and in the process learning to recognize our own biases, which in turn encourages us to be more open to alternative perspectives and ideas;

    • Talking openly about making mistakes, and the important role that mistakes have for our individual learning and the science we pursue; one way we will make progress here is by adopting a whiteboard (or chalkboard) learning environment where we place emphasis on actively framing and working out problems with our peers and colleagues, rather than using projected slides to talk around ideas; this takes lots of practice and commitment, but in the end our science is sharper and deeper, and it helps us better appreciate alternative ideas and points of view (a philosophy taught to me by my mentors A.M. Jellinek, C.J. Johnson and D.J. Furbish);

    • Building and maintaining a research group where all members actively participate in developing and refining a common set of engagement rules which honours mutual respect.

  2. COLLABORATION: I am committed to an intellectual co-conspiracy type of collaboration (taught to me by D.J. Furbish), and will extend all student collaborators patience, personal and intellectual respect, dedication and will provide ample room to chart your own trajectory and explore ideas on your own terms (taught to me by all my mentors - P.J. Whiting, M.A. Hassan, A.M. Jellinek, D.J. Furbish, C.J. Johnson and V. Radić).

  3. INDIVIDUALITY: I am committed to working individually with student collaborators to provide a suitable path of research engagement and participation if the environment I foster is a barrier for your involvement. In short, if I am in some way leading to research participation barriers I will work to take those walls down.

  4. REPRESENTATION: I am committed to actively working toward a more inclusive and representative research population. In our group we will make time and room to read and discuss issues around equity, diversity, inclusion and representation. I will recruit broadly and will continually learn how to do this most effectively, and I strongly encourage applications from scientist members of under- and poorly-represented communities within the natural sciences--across dimensions of gender, sexual orientation, race, culture or framing knowledge systems (King, L., MacKenzie, L. et al., FACETS, 3(1), 2018). I will always welcome feedback on how I can be a more successful collaborator, ally and active leader.

  5. CONFERENCES: I am committed to providing all members of our research group with equal and funded opportunities to attend Canadian and international conferences, and I will work with group members to maintain a document of upcoming events with instructions of how to apply, so that all are equally aware and can support each other in identifying options that may be most appropriate given one’s research goals.

  6. FUNDING: This is always a tricky issue since students can be funded or seek funding under several different models. For example, students can attain their own funding provided one is eligible for the specific funding agency. Or, students can be funded under a research stipend with supplemental funding from one or more teaching assistanships. I will always be transparent with student collaborators regarding my ability to provide a research stipend, and the specific amount. With all this said, I am committed to doing everything I can to either directly provide, or work with student collaborators to compete for funding. I also operate under an equal funding model for all students that I directly support, MSc and PhD collaborators alike.

OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION: Simon Fraser University is located in the city of Burnaby, which is within the Vancouver Metro Area and includes the city of Surrey, as well as many other smaller cities. It is a fun and exciting place to live, offering a range of opportunities from seasonal apple and blueberry picking, to mountain and water sports -- and everything in between which a larger metropolitan area in North America offers. As you consider the research opportunity I encourage you read widely about living in the Vancouver Metro Area, which is expensive and competitive in terms of housing [not trying to discourage just trying to be transparent!]. Students make it work and generally rely on one another to find housing choices that are doable and acceptable. I will do everything I can to introduce you to current graduate students who may be able to offer some helpful tips and advice. We can discuss further when we talk about the research.