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  Graduate Research Opportunities

The Andrews Forest LTER program provides a rich training ground for graduate students. Through the program, students are given an opportunity to connect into multiple networks, work across disciplines with other Andrews Forest students and scientists, gain experience in scientific leadership, learn about the application of ecosystem science to natural resource policy through our research-management partnership, gain access to resources such as funding, equipment, long-term data sets and expertise, and see their science within to broader context afforded by an LTER site and the LTER network. Through the Information Management team, graduate students are given training on metadata and data management. Data from Andrews Forest graduate students is put into the Andrews Forest Databank when the student graduates. On average, about ten students associated with the Andrews program complete an MS or PhD degree each year. Prospective students at OSU or other universities interested in working on projects related to our LTER are encouraged to contact individual professors via email (see personnel directory). In addition to applying to a specific Department, one usually has to find funding for support while completing a degree program. Unfortunately this arrives at irregular intervals when grants are awarded. Therefore some long-term planning may be involved in seeking financial support. If you would like to submit a resume and indicate your research interests then please contact the Andrews LTER Lead PI. The Andrews LTER graduate students maintain a web page that will be of interest to you. Andrews LTER Graduate Student Research Awards The Andrews Forest Graduate Research Grant Program provides mini-grants ($5K each) to support graduate students whose research is either 1) conducted at the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest, or 2) relevant to current Andrews Forest LTER goals, or 3) uses Andrews Forest data. Proposals from students are reviewed by the Andrews LTER Executive Committee. The 2010 awards went to Scott Allen, for his work in interpreting the isotopic signature of water vapor in a complex forested terrain, and Ricardo Gonzalez for his work in scaling metabolic processes in stream ecosystems. Andrews LTER Graduate Student GRA Support Awards The Andrews LTER Graduate Student GRA Support Awards provide full graduate-student support (stipend and tuition for MS or PhD) for one full year at OSU for each student and are awarded on a competitive basis. The students' work must be closely associated with the Andrews Forest program (conducted at the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest and/or making use of Andrews Forest data). The purpose of the award is to encourage new student research and to provide an incentive to bring new PIs into the Andrews LTER program. Proposals are submitted by a student's major professor and are reviewed by the Andrews Forest LTER Executive Committee. The 2010 GRA awards went to Warren Cohen for support of his student, Kevin Briggs, and his research titled, "Remote Sensing of Vegetation Phenology to Monitor Post-disturbance Succession and Study Interactions of Topography & Climate Change Effects," and to Ron Metoyer for support of his student, Tuan Pham, and his research titled, "Interactive Visualization of Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Diversity and Abundance in Ecological Data." EcoInformatics IGERT The Andrews has been the "home base" of an Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program in Ecosystem informatics, funded by NSF from 2003-2011. The leaders are Julia Jones, PI, Tom Dietterich (Computer Science), Enrique Thomann (Mathematics), Ed Waymire (Mathematics), and Mark Harmon, co-PIs, 2003-2011). The IGERT has funded 30 PhD students from 12 graduate programs at OSU. Projects must involve collaboration and paper-writing with a minor professor from a different discipline (e.g., mathematics for an ecology major). More than 20 of these students have successfully defended and have obtained employment as post-docs, in industry, or work in state and federal agencies Environmental Leadership Program The Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) is a collaborative, interdisciplinary service-learning program housed in the University of Oregon's Environmental Studies Program. Among their many projects is a long-standing partnership with the Andrews for yearly Canopy Connections experience for middle school students. A new group of ELP students plans and delivers the educational part of the experience. Ruth Spaniol Writing Retreats for Graduate Students The lead PI of the Andrews LTER, Barbara Bond, holds an endowed chair position through the OSU College of Forestry that comes with a small allocation of funds that is to be used primarily for educational purposes. Bond uses these funds, in part, to support 1-week writing retreats for students at the Andrews Forest. Students must submit a proposal that explains the nature of the writing project as well as a final report afterwards. The fund pays for lodging and travel. During LTER6 three students have received awards for these writing retreats.