Student Opportunities


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The Hydrology Program within the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at New Mexico Tech has several PhD opportunities available for incoming students. The Hydrology Program at NM Tech is one of the nation’s largest, oldest, and strongest programs in hydrology research and education. Five full-time faculty, two active emeritus faculty, and several adjunct faculty allow us to offer many different hydrology courses and a variety of research opportunities (examples below). The program is tailored to accommodate students from a wide variety of backgrounds in science, engineering, and mathematics. Facilities include a high performance computing environment, assorted laboratories for chemical, microbiological, and physical measurements and experiments, and several field experimental sites. Graduates of our program go on to positions in academia, government, and industry. The graduate student application deadline for the 2018-2019 academic year is Jan. 15, 2018. Below are short descriptions of available positions.

PhD RA in Hydrogeology and Numerical Modeling focusing on the paleohydrologic evolution of the Paradox Basin, Utah. Applicants with a quantitative background and experience in Fortran and Matlab programing will be given preference. The successful applicant will develop finite element models of multi-phase (oil, gas, water, CO2) fluid flow, heat, and solute mass transport within an evolving basin undergoing subsidence, sedimentation, erosion and salt diapir formation. The models are intended to provide insights into the timing of formation of world class copper and uranium deposits. Interested candidates may contact Dr. Mark Person (mark.person@nmt.edu).

Two PhD RAs in Karst Hydrology and Geophysics focusing on geophysical analysis of a karst aquifer. The study will employ fieldwork in the Santa Fe River Sink-Rise system in north-central Florida. Geophysical responses to recharge events will be monitored using seismometers, tiltmeters, and GPS instruments and interpreted alongside hydrologic and meteorological data to facilitate aquifer characterization and regionally integrated flow monitoring. Implications range from the development of karst hazards maps, illustrating areas susceptible to sinkhole formation, to subsurface flow monitoring, aiding water supply management. Interested candidates may contact Dr. Andrew Luhmann (andrew.luhmann@nmt.edu), Dr. Susan Bilek (susan.bilek@nmt.edu), and/or Dr. Ronni Grapenthin (rg@nmt.edu). 

Two PhD RAs in Hydroinformatics with an emphasis on merging hydrologic transport processes, fluvial geomorphology, and nutrient and contaminant dynamics in river systems. The appointment will support a large-scale field and modeling project aimed at improving the characterization of river hydrogeomorphology and its cumulative influence on water quality. The project integrates data mining and synthesis of large physical and biogeochemical datasets with new physics-based models for transport in large river networks. Research goals include the conceptualization and analysis of detailed bedform-scale flow and transport models and assembling and assimilating hydrogeomorphic data into a new river corridor transport model to assess cumulative effects, and forecast outcomes for changing water quality at the scale of the nation. Applicants are expected to work collaboratively with colleagues at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Interested candidates may contact Dr. Jesus Gomez-Velez (jesus.gomezvelez@nmt.edu, https://gomezvelezlab.com).