Stuart Grandy’s Soil Fertility and Biogeochemistry Lab (www.unh.edu/grandylab), in collaboration with Serita Frey’s Soil Ecology Lab (www.unh.edu/freylab) and industry partners, has an open graduate student position in agricultural nitrogen use efficiency. The position is available for a full-time graduate student (Master’s or preferably Ph.D.) in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of New Hampshire for a start date by January 2022. This graduate researcher will work on a project to trace isotopically-labeled nitrogen from inorganic fertilizers into agricultural soil pools including soil organic matter, soil microbes, and mineral-associated pools, ultimately tracking the fertilizer into crop biomass. Project goals include determining: the rate and path of fertilizer nitrogen transfer through soil during the growing season; how fertilizer application treatments alter nitrogen use efficiency of crops and soils; how crop rhizodeposition of carbon alters cycling of fertilizer nitrogen; and how the soil microbial community mediates these processes. This project is part of a broader research program with other graduate students and investigators to understand relationships between plant nitrogen dynamics, soil organic matter, and microbial processes.
The position also includes a waiver of tuition and a monthly stipend. The candidate must be enrolled full-time in a graduate program at UNH. Successful candidates should have an interest in learning stable isotope tracing techniques, should be comfortable working in teams, and excited about conducting collaborative science. The student will be expected to conduct field, greenhouse, and or laboratory studies leading to peer-reviewed research publications. The student will be encouraged to attend (at least one per year) professional meetings, workshops, and any other relevant meetings to present their research. The selected candidate will have the opportunity to develop their own research ideas and student grant proposals within the project goals.
Interested students should submit a single PDF file including a cover letter and CV to stuart.grandy@unh.edu (questions also welcome). The cover letter should discuss research interests, prior research experience, professional goals, and how these fit into our research group.