Employment & Opportunities

PhD Opportunity - Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), Quebec City

Location: Centre Eau Terre Environnement, 490 rue de la Couronne, Québec (Qc), G1K 9A9
Starting date: Summer or Fall 2023
Funding: INRS guarantees financial support to all students. A scholarship of $25,000 per year for three years is available for this project.
Supervisor: Renaud Soucy La Roche |

Research project description

The Grenville Province covers an extensive area north of the St. Lawrence River from Lake Ontario to Labrador and is mostly composed of amphibolite to granulite facies metamorphic rocks. It results from long-lived Mesoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic tectonic and magmatic activity along the southeast margin of Laurentia that culminated in a final continent-continent collision comparable or even larger than the Himalaya-Tibet orogen. The Grenville Province contains numerous metasedimentary sequences rich in graphite, including world-class deposits. Graphite is a key industrial mineral for the transition to a green economy. This PhD project will study the influence of two geological factors on graphite quality (flakes size and purity): metamorphic evolution (number of events and timescales of metamorphism) and remobilization of graphite by hydrothermal fluids or anatectic melt. Three graphite deposits will be targeted, in partnership with Nouveau Monde Graphite and Lomiko Metals. The research will involve a combination of field work, detailed petrography, graphite carbon isotopes analysis, thermobarometry and/or phase equilibrium modeling, and various petrochronological approaches (in situ U-Pb on monazite, zircon or xenotime; Lu-Hf on garnet). The project will be carried out in close collaboration with Professor Bertrand Rottier (Laval University) and geologists from the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts, and with the support of Professors Carl Guilmette, Crystal LaFlamme and Georges Beaudoin (Laval University).

Required qualifications

• Master’s degree (MSc) in Earth sciences, geological engineering or equivalent
• Fieldwork experience, ideally with deformed high-metamorphic grade rocks
• Strong interest in metamorphic petrology and geochronology
• Bilingualism (French, English) is an asset

Commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion

Professor Soucy La Roche encourages all qualified individuals to apply, especially women, members of visible and ethnic minorities, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, members of LGBTQ2+ communities or others who identify with socially and/or economically marginalized groups. Special circumstances and non-traditional backgrounds will be considered in the evaluation of applications. Professor Soucy La Roche is committed to supervising the candidate in the language of their choice (English or French) to overcome language barriers and to encourage their inclusion in the research team. If needed, French courses are offered free of charge to facilitate integration into the INRS and Quebec City communities.

Submit an application

Candidates must send their application to Professor Soucy La Roche by email ( ). The application package must include the following documents:

• Cover letter describing your experiences and research interests and if needed, explaining any special circumstances relevant to the evaluation of the application
• CV
• University transcripts (unofficial)
• Names and contact information of three references

Questions

Candidates are invited to contact Professor Soucy La Roche directly by email with any questions about the project or the study environment.

Funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates: PROJECTS WANTED - Biology Undergraduate Diversity in Research

BUDR (Biology Undergraduate Diversity in Research) invites applications for projects that promote Botany and Zoology research at UBC Vancouver campus. Twenty successful projects will be provided with full funding to employ one undergraduate student from the BUDR Mentorship program for 40 hours during Term 2 2022-2023. We are looking for projects that are short term, would require limited training, provide undergraduate students with lab or field experience, and help develop some new skills. Start times and hours per week are flexible and can be decided by the supervisor and student. 

The BUDR “Micro-Experience Program” aims to provide undergraduate students from equity-deserving groups with their first research experience. This will act as a crucial initial step in career building for undergraduate students. The Micro-Experience aims to not only develop technical skills, but also foster critical thinking, encourage networking opportunities, and catalyze future employment. Supervisors will be given the opportunity to make new connections with research-driven students and complete smaller projects from their lab’s to-do list. 

Please fill out an application at here.

Deadline: February 3rd 2023

Meteorologist Occupational Training Program - Environment and Climate Change Canada

If you are graduating/graduated:

• with a degree (bachelor) from a recognized post-secondary institution with acceptable* specialization in meteorology;
• with a degree (bachelor) from a recognized post-secondary institution with acceptable* specialization in Mathematics and a degree or certificate in meteorology; or
• with a degree (bachelor) from a recognized post-secondary institution with acceptable* specialization in sciences and a degree or certificate in meteorology.

Then check this out. Environment and Climate Change Canada is recruiting meteorologists at the following groups and levels:

- MT-01: Meteorologist Intern (APDP) - Approximately 7 to 8 months in classroom and 3 months on-the-job training

- MT-02 Developmental Meteorologist (APDP) - Approximately 1.5 to 2.5 years working operational shifts under direct supervision

- MT-03 Operational Meteorologist OR Research and Development Meteorologist

Current annual salary scales:

1) MT-01: $50,429

2) MT-02: from $58,777 to $79,476

3) MT-03: from $79,285 to $100,741

For details, please click here.

Faculty Position in Economic Geology - Western University

We are pleased to circulate our recently-posted advertisement for the Robert W. Hodder Chair in Economic Geology in the Earth Sciences Department at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada.  The successful candidate will be appointed at the rank of Assistant Professor (Probationary (tenure-track)), Associate Professor (Probationary (tenure-track) or with Tenure), or Full Professor with Tenure depending on qualifications and experience.

Applications will be reviewed starting March 1st, 2023 and will continue to be considered until the position is filled. For more details, please click here.

The preferred starting date is July 1, 2023, but is negotiable.

News & Events

PhD Thesis Defense: Julia Jeworrek

Title: Improving Precipitation Forecasts over Complex Terrain using Numerical Weather Prediction and Analog Ensemble Methods

Date & Time: Friday, February 3, 2023 at 2:30 PM

Location: Zoom

MSc Thesis Defense: Rebecca Beutel

Title: Pacific sources of biologically significant constituents in the Salish Sea using Lagrangian particle tracking

Date & Time: Friday, February 3, 2023 at 2:00 PM

Location: ESB 5106 & Zoom

Workshop: How Ancestral Voyaging Mobilizes Knowledge of Biodiversity and Climate Change - February 2^nd 2023, 5pm-7pm, UBC Liu Institute - Place of Many Trees

In order to address the global challenges of our time, it is essential to work across faculty and across units to bring together inputs from science, social sciences, humanities and arts, and policy together. 

This event marks our renewed effort to rethink what is knowledge. Knowledge cannot be restricted to scientific categories and approaches, although they are an important component. We believe that ancestral indigenous knowledge, practices, and arts have so much to teach us about our planet, our eco-system and the connections between humans and the natural environment. This event is a chance to listen and to celebrate this extraordinary source of knowledge accumulated over thousands of years and ignored during colonial times. Today, we are gathered to learn from the sea-voyaging people of the Pacific, whose ancestors achieved some of the greatest navigation feats in human history.

On Feb 2, we are hosting some highly respected indigenous Pacific knowledge holders from Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia at UBC in a great multi-unit event on knowledge and on the future of ocean, biodiversity, and climate change. This is also a rare engagement with indigenous knowledge keepers from the Pacific to rethink questions around ocean, climate, and biodiversity.

We start with a large multi-unit event from 5-7pm on Feb at the Liu Institute, followed by a reception in the same place from 7-830pm. Official speeches will take place form 7:30pm to 7:45pm.  The President will speak at 7:30pm along with other VIPs.

The academic event link is here (and you can tick the box for the reception as well). 

The list of the Pacific knowledge holders is here:

• Setareki Ledua, Drua Sailing Experience, Pte, Ltd, Suva and Lau Group, Fiji
• Sanakoli John,Pasana Group, Pasana Group, Nuakata Island, Papua New Guinea,
• Luke Vaikawi, Holau Vaka Taumako Association, Holau Vaka Taumako Association, Taumako Island, Duffs Group, Solomon Islands
• Delsie Betty Bosi, Holau Vaka Taumako Association, Holau Vaka Taumako Association, Taumako Island, Duffs Group, Solomon Islands
• Mario Jacob Benito, 500 Sails.  Polowat Atoll, Federated States of Micronesia 
• Marjorie Anne Cruz Daria, Polowat Island and Saipan Island, North Marianas Islands, US Minor Outlying Islands,
• Marianne Kaveia George**,Vaka Taumako Project of Pacific Traditions Society, Anahola, United States,
• Heuionalani Wyeth** , Vaka Taumako Project of Pacific Traditions Society, Anahola, United States 

Because of this extraordinary visit, we also inviting all the Consul Generals of Pacific nations (including Indonesia, Salomons, US, Australia, Japan, France, etc…)

IOF SEMINAR, “Marine Heatwave-Driven Transformation of Coral Reef Ecosystems” - February 3, 2023

Climate change-amplified marine heatwaves now pose an imminent threat to the world’s tropical coral reefs. On almost all coral reefs, however, climate change is superimposed on a suite of local anthropogenic stressors, and available evidence suggests that these impacted reefs can fare better than protected ones during heatwaves, leading to the ‘protection paradox’.

In this talk, we’ll journey an atoll in the central equatorial Pacific that endured heat stress of unprecedented duration during the 2015-2016 El Niño-induced 3^rd global coral bleaching event. Dr. Baum will present ecosystem-scale results of the impacts of prolonged heat stress, and discuss the role that local stressors played in modulated heat stress impacts as well as distinct mechanisms of coral resilience.

Speaker: Dr. Julia Baum, Faculty of Science President’s Chair, Professor of Ocean Ecology and Global Change, Provost’s Engaged Scholar, University of Victoria

Time: Friday, February 3, 2023 - 11:00am  - 11:50 am. Hybrid: In-person at AERL Theatre (2202 Main Mall, UBC) and over ZOOM

UBC members, alumni, and all others, please RSVP at here.

BE-STEMM 2023 - February 1 - 4, 2023

The 2nd virtual BE-STEMM 2023 is happening online this week (Feb 1-4), celebrating Black Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Medicine and Health.

In addition to talks, there will be a career fair, mentoring opportunities, and panels. The conference is open to all, free for all students at any level, CBSN members (Canadian Black Scientists Network) and Black Engineers of Canada members, only $25 for postdocs, and $45-95 otherwise. UBC has also been given a couple of free registrations, available for those very interested who would have to pay.

Essential Outdoor Skills Program - Alex Fraser Research Forest

Essential Outdoor Skills is designed to prepare students for field work by increase their confidence and skills in being in the forest/outdoors. We will be teaching fundamental skills in hiking and moving through the forest, starting and cooking on fires, reading compasses and maps, and more.

This is an all-inclusive program from Feb 21-24 that includes travel from UBC to Williams Lake (and return), accommodation in our rental house, meals, programs, and extra planned events.

Details:

Cost: $700/person (all inclusive)

Spaces available: 15

Date: Feb 21-24

Location: Alex Fraser Research Forest, 795 Campbell Rd. Williams Lake, BC

Website and registration, please click here.