Positions available

We invite applications for one PhD position to participate in a collaborative research project on mitigation of methane emission hot-spots from municipal landfills. The main goal of the project is to improve methane emission monitoring at landfills by combining state-of-the-art soil measurements. The team will develop methods to reduce emissions using methane-consuming microbes from landfill cover soils and develop a toolkit for mitigating hot-spot emissions and maximizing methane oxidation rates at landfills.

PhD studentwill conduct methane-amended enrichment culture experiments to quantify methane oxidation capacity for landfill cover soils by applying seasonal simulations to assess the resilience of methane oxidation activity under differing temperatures representative of Canadian climate extremes. PhDstudentwill also develop the reactive transport model of hot-spot methane emission dynamics from active and closed municipal landfills that will include gas transport dynamics, microbial community response, and seasonal effects. The model will also include variably saturated soil conditions, subsurface heat, and gas transport, as well as thermodynamically-based models that predict reaction trajectories of multi-functional soil microbial communities under variable physical-chemical conditions.

Applicants must have (or expect to soon complete) a degree in biogeochemistry, hydrology, soil science or a related field. Preference will be given to candidates with strong quantitative skills and demonstrated experience in one or more of the following areas: terrestrial biogeochemistry, environmental engineering, reactive transport modeling, and environmental climate change impact analysis. MSc student position can be created in lieu of PhD position for candidates who prefer to undertake a Master’s degree.

If you have any questions regarding the application process and, eligibility, or a request for accommodation during the selection process, please contact Dr. Fereidoun Rezanezhad (frezanez@uwaterloo.ca). Please submit your application package electronically as a single pdf file to Dr. Fereidoun Rezanezhad (frezanez@uwaterloo.ca). In your application email, please include “Landfills-PhD#_yourname” in the subject line and attach a single PDF file that contains:

• Your motivation for applying to the position and your research interests
• Curriculum vitae
• Copy of transcript(s) (unofficial transcripts will be accepted at the application stage)
• Contact information for up to 3 references

Closing date: Applications will be reviewed as they are received. The positions will remain open until filled. We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those individuals selected for an interview will be contacted.

The University is committed to implementing the Calls to Action framed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We acknowledge that we live and work on the traditional territory of ‎ the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes ten kilometers on each side of the Grand River.

The University of Waterloo regards equity and diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to accessibility for all employees. As such, we encourage applications from women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Metis and Inuit), Black and members of racialized groups, individuals in the LGBTQ2+ communities, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.

We invite applications for a PhD position in the Ecohydrology Research Group at University of Waterloo, Canada, to work on biogeochemical reactive transport modeling to simulate the fate and fluxes of gases, nutrients and contaminants at key interfaces within the landscapes (e.g., agricultural, landfills, peatlands). The focus will be on the coupling of biogeochemical reactions to transport processes in near-surface environments (e.g., soils, sediments). PhD student will develop the reactive transport model of greenhouse gas emission dynamics in physically and chemically heterogeneous porous media at a variety of scales, from pore to column to field. The model will include gas transport dynamics, microbial community response, and seasonal effects, as well as thermodynamically-based modules that predict reaction trajectories of multi-functional soil microbial communities under variable physical-chemical conditions. PhD student will have the opportunity to perform laboratory-scale experiments aimed to analyze the reactive transport processes in porous media and determine rates, mechanisms and products of biogeochemical transformations of nutrients and contaminants and provide experimental datasets for model calibration/validation.

Applicants with degrees in any field of science or engineering are welcome to apply but preference will be given to candidates with demonstrated skills and experience in (environmental) chemistry, biogeochemistry, hydro(geo)logy, numerical and reactive transport modeling, and environmental engineering.

If you have any questions regarding the application process and, eligibility, or a request for accommodation during the selection process, please contact Dr. Fereidoun Rezanezhad (frezanez@uwaterloo.ca) or Dr. Philippe Van Cappellen (pvc@uwaterloo.ca). Please submit your application package electronically as a single pdf file to Dr. Fereidoun Rezanezhad (frezanez@uwaterloo.ca). In your application email, please include “PhD-RTM#_yourname” in the subject line and attach a single PDF file that contains:

• Your motivation for applying to the position and your research interests
• Curriculum vitae
• Copy of transcript(s) (unofficial transcripts will be accepted at the application stage)
• Contact information for up to 3 references

Closing date: Applications will be reviewed as they are received. The positions will remain open until filled. We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those individuals selected for an interview will be contacted.

The University is committed to implementing the Calls to Action framed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We acknowledge that we live and work on the traditional territory of ‎ the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes ten kilometers on each side of the Grand River.

The University of Waterloo regards equity and diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to accessibility for all employees. As such, we encourage applications from women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Metis and Inuit), Black and members of racialized groups, individuals in the LGBTQ2+ communities, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.

We invite applications for a postdoctoral Fellow (PDF) position to participate in a collaborative research project called “Can-Peat: Canada’s peatlands as nature-based solutions to climate change”. The main goal of the Can-Peat project is to quantify the potential of peatland management in Canada to contribute to climate change mitigation as a nature-based solution. The Can-Peat project objectives are to create a Canadian peatland research network to advance models of peatland carbon cycling from site to national-scale and develop a decision-support framework for peatland management.

PDFwill develop the reactive transport sub-models that evaluate the biogeochemical transformations of carbon and nutrients in peatlands under examples of anthropogenic disturbances and climatic scenarios to estimate the changes in carbon stocks and budgets for the future peatland ecosystems carbon balances. The outputs of these sub-models will be incorporated into the Canadian Model for Peatlands, to improve regional to national estimates of Net ecosystem exchange and carbon emissions into the Canadian Model for Peatlands frameworks for application at multiple scales and for spatially-referenced and spatially-explicit modelling approaches. The PDF will have the opportunity to work with a team of researchers from the University of Waterloo and collaborators from partners in governments, industries, and conservation organizations. 

Applicants must have (or expect to soon complete) a PhD in a relevant natural science or engineering field, and have a track record of research productivity, including peer-reviewed publications. Preference will be given to candidates with demonstrated skills and experience in one or more of the following areas: terrestrial biogeochemistry, environmental engineering, reactive transport modeling, and environmental climate change impact analysis. The PDF will work within a multidisciplinary team with significant strengths in ecohydrology, environmental-(bio)geochemistry, hydrogeology, soil science, and high-performance computing. Funding for the positions is available for up to two years.

If you have any questions regarding the application process and, eligibility, or a request for accommodation during the selection process, please contact Dr. Fereidoun Rezanezhad (frezanez@uwaterloo.ca) and Dr. Philippe Van Cappellen (pvc@uwaterloo.ca). Please submit your application package electronically as a single pdf file to Dr. Fereidoun Rezanezhad (frezanez@uwaterloo.ca). In your application email, please include “Can-Peat-PDF_yourname” in the subject line and attach a single PDF file that contains:

• Your motivation for applying to the position and your research interests
• Curriculum vitae
• Copy of transcript(s) (unofficial transcripts will be accepted at the application stage)
• Contact information for up to 3 references

Closing date: Applications will be reviewed as they are received. The positions will remain open until filled. We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those individuals selected for an interview will be contacted.

The University is committed to implementing the Calls to Action framed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We acknowledge that we live and work on the traditional territory of ‎ the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes ten kilometers on each side of the Grand River.

The University of Waterloo regards equity and diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to accessibility for all employees. As such, we encourage applications from women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Metis and Inuit), Black and members of racialized groups, individuals in the LGBTQ2+ communities, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.