Position Description:
A 3-year funded Ph.D. position is available at the University of Waterloo, Canada to conduct research into novel statistical and computational methods for geospatial pattern and trend detection in the context of interdisciplinary research on landscape and climate change. This research is motivated by the need to account for the multiplicity of tests in the application of large numbers of spatially replicated hypothesis tests to detect significant patterns and trends in multitemporal remote sensing data or climate model outputs. The applicant will develop and adapt statistical and computational techniques for these applications and will further be expected to develop his or her own research agenda with a methodological or more applied focus.

Qualifications:
The successful applicants will have a solid background in statistics and ideally prior exposure to remote sensing, physical geography or related fields as demonstrated by outstanding undergraduate and Master’s records in relevant fields. Applications from students with multidisciplinary training and ideally one degree in Statistics or a related discipline are particularly welcomed. Programming skills in R are a requirement, and prior experience using geospatial data would be desirable.

Work Environment:
This research will be conducted in the Department of Geography of the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada (https://uwaterloo.ca/gem/) within the joint Waterloo-Laurier graduate program in Geography (http://geograd.uwaterloo.ca/). The student will be a member of the Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change (IC3), which is a network of researchers across campus (http://ic3.uwaterloo.ca/).

Funding Support:
Applicants that are Canadian citizens or permanent residents will be funded through research and teaching assistantships at a level that will exceed the minimum guaranteed Ph.D. funding currently set by the University which is C$20,600 per year. This funding will be supplied for three years with a possibility of further funding the fourth year depending on progress. Candidates who are not Canadians or permanent residents are welcome to apply but may need to seek additional funding (e.g., scholarship bursaries).

Application:
Applicants are asked to submit their CV electronically to Dr. Alexander Brenning (brenning@uwaterloo.ca). Please include transcripts of grades, a sample of your written work (e.g., Master’s thesis, seminar or conference paper) and the names of two referees. After this initial selection process, a formal application to the graduate program must be made through the University of Waterloo’s online application page (see http://grad.uwaterloo.ca). Applications are accepted until May 31st, 2013 or until the position is filled. Preference may be given to Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. For informal inquiries contact Dr. Alexander Brenning by email (brenning@uwaterloo.ca). For general information on the graduate program in Geography please visit its website (http://geograd.uwaterloo.ca/).