Ms/PhD assistantships in forest policy & administration at Texas A&M

Funding is available for one or more masters and/or PhD students to work as research assistants on several projects related to forest policy and administrative decision-making. Current projects focus on (a) comparative research on the impacts of forest policy in developing countries at the national level, and (b) comparative research on the decision-making of foresters employed in government agencies & the private sector in India, the US, and Mexico. Students with significant experience in the forest sectors of these three countries, or in other developing countries, are particularly encouraged to apply. Students will have to formally apply to either the masters or PhD programs in Ecosystem Science and Management at Texas A&M University. Students who are accepted will receive funding through a a combination of research and teaching assistantships, which will be sufficient to cover tuition fees and a basic cost of living. 

To apply for these positions, please consult the details of the application process at:http://forrestfleischman.weebly.com/potential-graduate-students.html. 

This website also contains much more detail about the research projects & the programs at Texas A&M. Applications are due January 1st.

Abstract submission for 4th iLEAPS Science Conference 2014 is now open!

Dear Colleagues,

Apologies for cross-posting!

Abstract submission for 4^th iLEAPS Science Conference 2014 is now open!

Instructions, abstract template and submission form can be found at http://www.ileaps-sc2014.org under Abstract submission menu. We encourage you to submit an abstract to one of the Conference sessions:

1. Influence of land use and land cover changes on atmospheric chemistry and on the exchange of reactive compounds

Conveners: Laurens Ganzeveld, Kirsti Ashworth

2. Physical, chemical and biological processes regulating the tropical forest interface with the atmosphere

Conveners: Paulo Artaxo, Alex Gunther, Andi Andreae and Hugh Coe

3. Biogenic emission of reactive gases from terrestrial and marine sources

Conveners: Dan Yakir, Ilan Koran, Yinon Rudich, Tanja Suni, Emilie Brevière, Megan Melamed, Greg Foster, Leonor Tarrason

4. Extreme events and environments

Conveners: Francesco Loreto, Dan Yakir, Jaana Bäck, Markus Reichstein, Sebastian Leuzinger, Paulo Artaxo, Sirkku Juhola

5. The use of soil-vegetation-atmosphere observations and modeling for state-of-the-art sustainable agricultural and horticultural applications

Conveners: Anne Verhoef, Weihong Luo

6. Greenhouse gas exchange and other land-atmosphere-interactions under human management from urban to agricultural systems: processes, measurement, and modelling

Conveners: Jianwu Tang, Yanling Wang

7. Land-based geoengineering

Conveners: Sonia Seneviratne, Hannele Korhonen, Julia Pongratz, Olivier Boucher, Andy Pitman

8. Boundary layer processes in land-atmosphere interactions

Conveners: Laurens Ganzeveld, Jordi Vila

9. Interactions among aerosols, clouds, precipitation, and climate

Conveners: Daniel Rosenfeld, Johannes Quaas, Niku Kivekäs

10. Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX)

Conveners: Sergei Zilitinkievic, Aijun Ding, Hanna Lappalainen, Tuukka Petäjä

11. The role of land use and land cover changes in global and regional climate

Co-sponsored by GLP and AIMES

Conveners: Peter Verburg, Almut Arneth, Nathalie de Noblet-Ducoudré, Bart van den Hurk

12. Integrated Fire Research for the Earth System

Co-sponsored by IGAC and WMO

Conveners:  Johannes W. Kaiser, Melita Keywood

13. Response mechanisms of hydrological processes under changing environments

Conveners: Liliang Ren (IAHS Vice-President)

14. Bridging the gap between hydrometeorological and biogeochemical land-surface modelling

Conveners: Gordon Bonan, Joe Santanello, Eleanor Blyth, Sonia Seneviratne

15. Remote Sensing and data-assimilation in land-atmosphere interaction studies.

Conveners: Laurens Ganzeveld and Paul Palmer

16. Land-atmosphere-society interactions in developing countries

Conveners: Aliyu Salisu Barau, Martin Claussen, Adnan Abdulhamid , Jürgen Scheffran, Boyd D. Joeman , Tim Brücher

17. Scale and heterogeneities in land-atmosphere interactions and metrics definition

Conveners: Prof Pierre Gentine, Benjamin R Lintner, Kirsten L Findell

18. Climate – adaptation interactions – sustainable solutions for a changing planet

Conveners: Martin Wattenbach, Genxing Pan, Changming Fang

19. Open invitation for bottom-up ideas

Conveners: Tanja Suni, Aijun Ding, HC Hansson, Alex Guenther

Deadline for abstract submission: 31 January 2014

Notice of abstract acceptance: 1 March 2014

All information at http://www.ileaps-sc2014.org

Call for Applications (deadline to apply is January 20th, 2014) Annual Darwin Scholarship Programme - Monitoring and Communicating Biodiversity August 20– 30th, 2014

Call for Applications (deadline to apply is January 20th, 2014) Annual Darwin Scholarship Programme - Monitoring and Communicating Biodiversity August 20– 30th, 2014

The scholarship programme is aimed at… 
Young Scientists from around the world, probably working for a non-governmental organisation, government department or in a Biology or Ecology faculty at University. You should be under the age of 35 and studying at graduate or post graduate level or be a young lecturer or work for an environmental organisation. 

The aim of the Darwin Scholar Programme is to develop “better naturalists” in the spirit of Darwin’s love of nature and observing the natural world. The Scholarship will focus on three areas: skills of observation and identification, skills of recording biodiversity and skills of communicating biodiversity to different target groups. 

Funding the Scholarship... 
The full cost of the 10 day scholarship programme is 1450 GBP per person. This covers the costs of all accommodation, teaching, and local travel in the UK during the programme. It does not cover the cost of international travel or getting to Preston Montford Field Centre in Shrewsbury and from Juniper Hall Field Centre near London. 

The FSC will assist successful applicants in this process and provide suggestions of sources of funding and also letters of support for applications to grant organisations. 

There will be a reduction in the course fee available to a limited number of eligible scholars up to a maximum of £625. For scholars who have been awarded a reduction in fee the cost of the programme will be 825 GBPs. 

How do you apply? 
We are looking for up to 25 scholars from countries across the world to join this 7th Darwin Scholarship Programme. 

Before you apply please make sure that you are able to meet these criteria: 
 You are aged 35 or under; 
 You are studying for or have a degree in Ecology, Biology or related subject; 
 You are an undergraduate, postgraduate, postdoctoral student, young lecturer or work for an environmental organisation; 
 You can speak and read English well. This is very important. There will be no interpretation or translation facilities; and 
 You have the support of your University or other organisation for the Scholarship programme.

There is no application form. To apply you will need to send us: 

1. Your CV 
Your CV can be in any format that is usual for your country – but must include your home and work 
addresses, email and telephone contacts, and skype address if you have one. You must also include the name of two referees we can write to. Please do not include reference letters with your application. Do try and keep less than 5 pages. 

2. A short letter in English 
Your letter should be of no more than two sides of A4, explaining why you want to take part in the 
scholarship programme. It should provide the following information – why you want to become a 
Darwin scholar, your personal assessment of your identification/observation capacity, your views on how well science is communicated to a wider audience and the role of scientists in education and what you will do with the new skills that you gain through the scholarship. You need to persuade us that you are the young, dynamic and enthusiastic scientist we are looking for from your country. 

3. A letter of support 
A letter from your University or organisation that states clearly that you have permission to take part in the scholarship programme. 

4. Request for a reduction in the course fee 
If you would like to apply for a reduction of up to 625 GBP please state why you consider that you are eligible in your short letter. 

Your application should reach the Field Studies Council not later than Monday 20th January 2014. It is not necessary to have guaranteed funding before making your application. 

Your application should be emailed to global@field-studies-council.org 
Contact person is Janet Jones

2014 summer internship/course in Geneva for graduate students

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I'm writing with a request: that you could alert your network of graduate students about Duke's summer internship/course for masters or Ph.D. students, located in Geneva, Switzerland.  Students from various fields (e.g., public policy, environmental science, law, political science, business, medicine) are welcome.

I'm the instructor for the "Environment, Energy, and the Economy" track, and we also offer tracks in health policy or humanitarian action.  To maximize students' face-time and interaction with policy practitioners, we place students in summer internships in institutions around Geneva (e.g., UNEP, WTO, UNHCR, WHO, WMO, UNCTAD, UNECE, ILO, ITC, Earthmind, IUCN, ICTSD, IISD) and we also provide an intensive 5-day course of guest speakers and site visits.  Geneva is excellent for that because it is home to UN bodies, NGOs, business groups, country missions, etc.  The program offers a course-only option if students do not wish to hold an internship — the courses usually are held in the last week in June or first week in July.  Outside of the course week, students gain professional experience with their internship placements and also have ample time for networking, researching, socializing, and traveling in a great spot right in the center of Europe.

The application deadline is Monday, November 25, at 5:00 pm EST.

A webinar info session with past participants will be held on Friday, October 25, at 3:00 pm EST — to sign up for the webinar, students should email program assistant Maggie Woods at: margaret.j.woods@duke.edu 

Please see the program's website for more information: www.sanford.duke.edu/geneva

Any questions, please contact program assistant Maggie Woods at: margaret.j.woods@duke.edu 

Would you mind distributing this information to students who may be interested?

Thank you for your help,

    Tana

Dr. Tana Johnson

Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Political Science

Instructor: "Environment, Energy, and the Economy" Track in the Duke Program on Global Policy and Governance — Geneva, Switzerland

Duke University, Sanford School of Public Policy