PhD Position in Remote Sensing of Crop-Disturbance Interactions: The Dao Laboratory in the Department of Agricultural Biology (AgBio) at Colorado State University is seekinga PhD student starting in the fall of 2023. This position focuses on understanding the interactions betweenplants and crops and biotic and abiotic stresses using drone hyperspectral remote sensing.
Our group is broadlyinterested in addressing questions related to the detection of physiological and biochemical responses ofplants to the impacts of droughts, pests and pathogens, and invasive species and weeds from gene to speciesand landscape scales.
Our approach integrates various methods and tools including but not limited to remotesensing, spatial science, biochemical and genetic methods, biological modeling, and machine learning.A specific PhD project can be developed through the discussion between the candidate and myself.
Joining our group, the student will have opportunities to joinand collaborate with researchers in the AgBio department,College of Agricultural Sciences, and NSF-ASCEND BiologyIntegration Institute. The student also has opportunities to learnand use our high-end drone hyperspectral (HySpex Mjolnir),multispectral, thermal, and LiDAR sensors and will be trained ondrone operation with CSU Drone Center.
This position is fundedthrough research and teaching assistantships with an expectedstipend of approximately $28,000/year and full graduate student benefits from Colorado State University. Interestedstudents can apply to graduate programs in the AgBiodepartment or the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology.
Interests and Qualifications: the candidate should have a BSc degree in the field of Plant Biology, PlantEcology, Agriculture, Remote Sensing, Geography, Environmental Science, Computer Science, or relateddisciplines. A Master’s degree is useful but not required. We are particularly seeking candidates with experiencein remote sensing and geospatial data collection and analysis.
Candidates with knowledge and experience innew computational, analytical, or machine-learning image analysis methods are preferred. Also, experience orknowledge in plant physiology, biochemistry, and R and Python programming is an asset.
If you are interested, please email me with the following documents:
– Research statement outlining your academic background, interest, and/or proposed PhD projects.
– CV and copies of transcripts (unofficial copies are acceptable).
– Names and contact information of three references.
Please combine these documents into ONE PDF file named YourSurname_PhD_Application.pdf and send it to Dr. Phuong Dao at pdao2@wisc.edu . Apply by April 1, 2023. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
“Our group is committed to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion. All students are welcome to apply regardless of race, gender, origin, and cultural background. Candidates from underrepresented groups in STEM are encouraged to apply, and all applications will be considered equally.” For details (http://daolab.weebly.com).