Student Opportunities

Currently, several excellent opportunities exist for Ph.D. and MS students interested in diverse areas of hydrogeology and environmental geology, including,

• 1-2 Ph.D. Fellowships in the Freshwater Sciences Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program, which is funded by the NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) program and is a collaboration between faculty at the University of Alabama (UA) and the University of New Mexico (UNM). Research areas include solute transport, groundwater-surface water interaction, and groundwater microbiology. For more information, please visit http://www.as.ua.edu/igert.
   
• 1 Research Assistantship to work on a 3-year NSF project. In this collaborative project with Stanford University, we will study how preferential flow paths affect solute transport in aquifers of fluvial deposits. This project is a follow-up to our recent studies at a well-known, intensively instrumented, field tracer test site in Mississippi, about one hour of drive from our campus. The new project involves detailed 3-D computer modeling, laboratory column experiments, and field tracer tests. Working on this project, the students can get a solid training in cutting-edge science, and acquire practical experiences in using computer models and conducting field work.
   
• 1-2 Research Assistantships to work on a groundwater model field application project. This project is intended to demonstrate the usefulness of the simulation-optimization approach to reduce the costs of cleaning up contaminated groundwater at three Superfund sites, as part of the Department of Defense Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP). This project offers a unique opportunity to learn about groundwater modeling, groundwater quality restoration, and groundwater resource management. The skills in these areas are all highly sought after in today's job marketplace.

For more information, please contact Professor Chunmiao Zheng at czheng@ua.edu.