Forest Policy and Economics Lab: The UMaine Forest Policy and Economics Lab is a diverse group of faculty, staff, and students focused on researching integrated and applied approaches to helping solve complex natural resource and environmental issues. Our Lab has done research in all seven continents of the globe. We’ve investigated topics ranging from estimating global timber supply and carbon stocks under different socioeconomic and policy conditions to understanding how landowners prioritize the management of their farms and forests.
The lab is led by Dr. Adam Daigneault, Assistant Professor of Forest, Conservation and Recreation Policy. Our Lab includes students from the School of Forest Resources, School of Economics, Ecology and Environmental Sciences Program, and School of Food and Agriculture. As such, there is strong emphasis on cross campus collaborations, including with the Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions and Center for Research on Sustainable Forests.
Lab members are currently working on or have received degrees in Forest Resources, Resource Economics and Policy, Ecology and Environmental Science, Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, and Sustainability.
The UMaine Forest Policy and Economics Lab is currently accepting applications for three PhD graduate assistantships, starting in Fall 2023.:
Graduate Research Assistantship (Ph.D.) in Human Dimensions in Financialization of Forest Lands (co-advised with Dr. John Daigle)
The University of Maine School of Forest Resources is seeking a highly qualified Ph.D. student for integrated socio-environmental systems research, starting in Fall 2023. The student will be supported by a National Science Foundation grant researching the socio-environmental past and future of timberlands in Maine. The graduate research assistant will help develop spatial and causal process models to represent the socio-environmental feedbacks and consequences of three decades of forest financialization, then use these models to co-produce future landscape scenarios for informing policy and governance processes. (full description)
Graduate Research Assistantship (Ph.D.) in Integrated Forest Ecosystem Service Modeling
The University of Maine’s Forest Policy and Economics Lab is seeking a highly qualified Ph.D. student for integrated, multi-objective forest ecosystem service modeling research, starting in Fall 2023. The student will be supported by a USDA Sustainable Agricultural Systems grant focused on promoting economic resilience and sustainability of the Eastern US Forests. The graduate research assistant will help develop and run forest systems models, with an emphasis on quantifying socioeconomic impacts related to value and allocation of ecosystem services. (full description)
Graduate Research and Teaching Assistantship (Ph.D.) in Forest Policy and Economics
The University of Maine’s Forest Policy and Economics Lab is seeking a highly qualified Ph.D. student for forest and conservation policy research, starting in Fall 2023. The graduate assistant will primarily focus on developing and using the Maine Integrated Forest Ecosystem Services (MIFES) decision support tool to analyze natural resource and conservation policy. (full description).
All positions have a preferred start date of September 2023.
To apply for any of these positions: Please submit a cover letter explaining your interest in the position, your qualifications, and research areas of interest, a CV that includes contact information for three references, university transcripts, and GRE scores (if available) via this Form.