Programs and Events
GVMWA 3rd Annual Pub Night in Support of Minerals Ed in BC
Burger, beer, and fries!
Moose’s Down Under, 830 W Pender St
November 5th, 2019, 4:30pm - 8:30pm
Prize draw + trivia quiz!
The Greater Vancouver Mining Women’s Association (GVMWA) is delighted to host this fun and friendly event and invites all to attend. 100% of funds collected from the event will support the minerals and mining education of BC students though subsidies and awards.
Ticket price : $22
Available online through EVENTBRITE or at the door (subject to availability)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gvmwa-3rd-annual-pub-night-tickets-72471503217
*Ticket allows one beef or veggie burger with fries, and a standard beer, wine or soda.
Avalanche Risk Management (REM 427/627), SFU
Snow avalanches claim about 13 lives in Canada every year, more than any other natural hazard. Most victims are backcountry recreationists, but avalanches also threaten villages, utility lines, resource operations and cause traffic hazard and economic loss by blocking critical transportation corridors.
In this course, you will get an interdisciplinary overview of avalanche risk management that covers the physical processes involved in avalanche formation, the characteristics of terrain threatened by avalanches, the methods used for assessing avalanche hazard and mitigating the risk, and the medical aspects of avalanche survival.
After this course, you will have a comprehensive understanding of how avalanche risk affects Canadians and how it is managed in different contexts, such as commercial guiding, ski areas, transportation and public safety. The material taught in this course will either deepen your understanding of what you might have learned in an Avalanche Skills Training or CAA course or provide you with an academic starting point for a professional career in avalanche safety by giving you deep insight into the inner workings of avalanche safety in Canada.
The course is instructed by Pascal Haegeli, Assistant Professor at SFU’s School for Resource and Environmental Management. Pascal has been an avalanche safety researcher and developer for more than 15 years. Among his contributions are the development of the Avaluator, research on the effectiveness of avalanche airbags, and several studies on decision-making in avalanche terrain. He currently holds the NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Avalanche Risk Management and leads a research group of about 10 graduate students pursuing a wide range of avalanche safety topics. Click here for more information on Pascal’s research.
Please see here to find out more.
Graduate Student Opportunities in Paleoclimatology and Conservation Paleobiology, UNC-Chapel Hill
Graduate student opportunities (MSc or PhD) are available for qualified, motivated, and independent students to pursue thesis-based graduate studies in Late Holocene paleoclimatology and Plio-Pleistocene paleoclimatology/conservation paleobiology. Undergraduate and graduate students, who are interested in employing isotopic and paleobiologic techniques to investigate environmental records preserved in shells, are invited to apply.
Funding opportunities, made possible by the Preston Jones and Mary Elizabeth Frances Dean Martin Fellowship Fund, include summer support, fellowships, research grants, travel grants, and a laptop computer for all MS and PhD students. Research and teaching assistantships, and Graduate School Fellowships, are also available.
Deadline for receipt of all application materials for admission is 10 December 2019.
For more information, contact Prof. Donna Surge by email at donna64@unc.edu. Students with a GPA of 3.2 or higher on a 4-point scale may be eligible for waiver of the application fee.
Employment Opportunities
Postdoctoral Position in High-Latitude Climate Dynamics, University of Victoria
We are seeking an engaged, enthusiastic individual for a postdoctoral research position investigating the dynamics of high-latitude climates. The researcher will explore the workings of Arctic and Antarctic climate broadly, and may consider any (or all, time permitting) of the following scientific directions in high-latitude climate change: (1) the impact of dynamic atmospheric processes during the shoulder seasons (fall and spring) on the onset of sea ice growth and melt; (2) the role of atmosphere-ocean coupled dynamic processes in amplifying polar climate change in winter; and (3) the impact of atmospheric moisture transport, and cloud feedback processes, in polar climate change through the seasons. Other research directions on the dynamics of polar climate change are also possible.
The researcher will use output from state-of-the-art global climate models, reanalyses, and satellite/ground observations in her/his work, and may also run global climate model experiments. The researcher will publish manuscripts in high-quality peer-reviewed journals, and present findings at national and international scientific conferences. The position is supported jointly as a collaboration between the Climate Lab in the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of Victoria, and the HiLAT project, funded by the US Department of Energy Office of Science.
The researcher will sit at the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of Victoria on beautiful Vancouver Island in British Columbia, and will have the opportunity to collaborate locally with scientists at the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis (CCCma), and remotely with scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Atmospheric Sciences and Global Change Division. Funding is available for two years, with a possibility of extension to a third year. A competitive salary and benefits package will be offered.
Minimum Qualifications:
-- PhD in Atmospheric Sciences, Physical Oceanography, Applied Mathematics, or a related field.
-- Experience in analyzing large climate datasets, using Python, R, NCL, or another data analysis language of choice.
-- Understanding of coupled atmosphere-ocean dynamics in the extratropics, and demonstrated interest in polar climates.
Preferred Qualifications:
-- Experience running global climate models on parallel architectures.
-- Familiarity with the physics of sea ice.
-- Some working knowledge of Fortran.
Please contact Hansi Singh (hansingh@uvic.ca) and Philip Rasch (philip.rasch@pnnl.gov) with questions.
Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, one-page statement of research interests, up-to-date CV, and contact information for three professional references to Hansi Singh (hansingh@uvic.ca) by **October 31, 2019.**
Engineering Geologist/Geological Engineer Position, BC Hydro
Role description and qualifications:
Engineering geologist/geologist or geological engineer with a good foundation in geology and a passion for science and engineering to support projects that include reservoir shoreline erosion and protection, soil and rock foundation characterisations, rock and soil slope investigations and mitigation, Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment (PSHA) hard rock corrections, geological model development, and geohazard assessments.
The following are the key qualifications, skills and attributes;
- BSC in geology (or geological engineering)
- MSc or PhD in engineering geology (or geological engineering) – preferred
- 3-10 years of experience in the geoscience/geotechnical engineering sectors
- Demonstrated education, training, familiarity and experience in as many of the following key subject areas:
- Quaternary geology
- Geomorphology and geomorphological processes
- Bedrock geology, including structural geology
- Rock mechanics including rock mass quality assessment and characterisation
- Soil mechanics and soil characterisation
- Recognition of importance and development of geological and geomorphological models
- Geophysics - principles and engineering applications (particularly seismic methods)
- Tectonic evolution and seismotectonics of the Pacific NW
- Understanding of shallow and deep earth crustal structure
- Investigation and evaluation of geological hazards (landslides, rockfalls, avalanches, coastal/lake erosion, flooding, tsunamis, liquefaction, etc.)
- Earthquakes and earthquake geology (seismic site characterisation, seismic source zone modelling, palesosiesmicity)
- An open-mind to take on a wide range of assignments and interact with multidisciplinary project teams, to support different business units within BC Hydro, and a passion for understanding geoscience and its integration with engineering solutions.
The candidate would not be hired as a BC Hydro employee, but by an external service provider to work full-time in our BC Hydro Edmonds office as part of our Civil Engineering team. Any interested applicants should send in a resume as soon as possible; resumes can be sent to megan.sheffer@bchydro.com
Assistant Professor, Igneous Petrology or High-Temperature Geochemistry
The Department of Earth Sciences, in the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto invites applications for a full-time tenure stream position in the area of igneous petrology or high-temperature geochemistry, particularly (but not exclusively) related to mineral deposits research. The appointment will be at the rank of Assistant Professor, and will commence on July 1, 2020, or shortly thereafter.
Applicants must have earned a PhD degree in geology or a related area by the time of the appointment, or shortly thereafter, with a demonstrated record of excellence in research and teaching. The University of Toronto has an outstanding international reputation for research in the Earth Sciences. We seek candidates in any dynamic and evolving sub discipline of igneous petrology or high-temperature geochemistry, and specifically application of the research to the study of economic geology or ore deposits will be an asset. The successful candidate’s research program will further complement and develop the Department’s strengths in understanding Earth materials through novel empirical, experimental, analytical and/or theoretical approaches. The successful candidate will be expected to pursue innovative and independent research at the highest international level and to establish an outstanding, competitive and externally funded research program. The Department houses a collection of modern experimental and analytical facilities which the successful candidate would have an opportunity to take advantage of and further develop.
The candidate must also show a strong commitment to excellence in undergraduate and graduate level teaching. Evidence of excellence in teaching will be demonstrated by teaching accomplishments, the teaching dossier, the teaching statement, sample course materials, and teaching evaluations, or other evidence of superior performance in teaching-related activities submitted as part of the application, as well as strong endorsements by referee. Other teaching-related activities include performance as a teaching assistant or course instructors, experience leading successful workshops or seminars, student mentorship, or excellent conference presentations or posters. Primary teaching responsibilities may include any sub-disciplines within petrology, mineralogy, and high-temperature-geochemistry as well as introductory-level courses within the broader field of Earth sciences. In addition, field-based courses will be integral parts of the teaching assignments.
All qualified candidates are invited to apply online by clicking the link below. Applicants must submit a cover letter, a current curriculum vitae, a research statement outlining current and future research interests, up to three sample papers, and teaching dossier to include a statement of teaching philosophy and experience (3-5 pages for each statement), sample course materials, teaching evaluations, or evidence of superior performance in other teaching-related activities as listed above.
Applicants must also arrange to have three letters of reference sent directly by the referee by email (on letterhead and signed) to
. The application materials and letters of reference must be received by December 16, 2019.
Graduate Research Project Opportunities
Two students (MSc or PhD) will be hired for one or two of the following topics:
• Gas-driven mineral weathering: probing links between availability of reactive gases (CO2 and O2) and the carbon cycle
• Water-limited weathering: How does availability of water influence mineral dissolution-precipitation reactions?
• Capturing carbon: enhancing natural reactions to offset greenhouse gas emissions
• Non-traditional stable isotopes in weathering and carbonate systems: Fractionation factors, implications, and proxies
Projects on mineral-fluid-gas interactions, contaminant cycling, and related topics can also be developed depending on the interests of the applicant.
Please apply to Dr. Anna Harrison by email (
) by November 15, 2019 for full consideration. Use the subject line: Graduate opportunities 2020. Include a CV, statement of interest describing your research interests, your reasons for pursuing a graduate degree, and your qualifications, a transcript of previous degrees, and contact information for three referees. The position will start between January and Sept 2020. I am committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive research group and welcome applications from students from historically underrepresented groups.
