PhD Opportunities in: environmental nanotechnology; groundwater dissolved organic matter; surface water - groundwater interactions

Posted 5 January 2016

The Connected Water Initiative Research Centre, UNSW Australia, is seeking high quality International and Domestic applicants to apply for PhD positions to start in July 2016. Fully funded and fees-only UNSW scholarships are now available.

Applicants must have an honours (or equivalent) degree at 1st class, a higher degree (MSc or MRes) and evidence of research experience. International applicants must also meet English language qualifications. Applications must be made at: https://research.unsw.edu.au/postgraduate-research-scholarships. International Applicants must apply before the 19th February 2016, and Domestic Applicants must apply before the 20th May 2016.

We specifically welcome applicants interested in the following research areas:

  1. Application of nanometals for contaminated land remediation. The goal of this research is to develop nanometals to degrade or remediate a wide range of priority pollutants at contaminated lands.  This project will have laboratory, field and numerical model components.  Contact: Denis M. O’Carroll at d.ocarroll@unsw.edu.au
  2. Assessment of nanoparticle transport in the environment. Nanotechnology is an emerging industry throughout the world.  This new area is met with both excitement and skepticism.  The risks of nanoparticles in subsurface environments are as yet unknown, limited by a lack of basic scientific understanding of nanoparticle transport in water bearing soils.  This work is linked to an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship and will investigate nanoparticle transport in subsurface systems, with an emphasis on partially saturated porous media transport, through a combined experimental and modelling approach. Contact: Denis M. O’Carroll at d.ocarroll@unsw.edu.au
  3. Geochemical and physical processes of surface water groundwater interactions in rivers and streams as well as the subsurface sea-/freshwater interface (including seawater intrusion and submarine groundwater discharge). The focus will be on reactive transport modelling of field data. Contact: Martin S. Andersen at m.andersen@unsw.edu.au
  4. Groundwater organic matter: global carbon source or sink?  Linked to an Australian Research Council Discovery Project, the aim of this project is to determine the relative importance of the processes controlling groundwater organic matter and the conditions where it is a carbon source or sink.  Several PhD places are available for applicants interested in the field and laboratory investigation of the biodegradation of organic matter degradation,  mineral sorption and colloid characterization techniques. Contact:  a.baker@unsw.edu.au

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