Join Us

We work in tropical and temperate regions to understand how plant biodiversity changes across environmental gradients, and how these changes impact ecosystem functioning.

Prospective graduate students

We are looking for highly motivated team members interested in plant and ecosystem ecology, natural resources, and with a keen interest in using geospatial technologies for resource management. We value enthusiastic and creative students, hard-working, productive and great team members. Research topics for prospective master and Ph.D students are open in the field of functional ecology, ecosystem ecology, and remote sensing. We promote diversity and inclusion in our lab, and welcome all interested students to join us regardless of race, gender, origin, and cultural background. Candidates from underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.

Our graduate program at the Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship (FRS) offers three options for pursuing academic or applied careers. Our research lab aligns with this philosophy by promoting basic and applied research in our three research themes: i) remote sensing of ecology, which provides a platform for students to enhance their quantitative skills and learn about cutting-edge geospatial techniques, ii) trait-based ecology, which takes advantage of large datasets and field-based approaches to answer fundamental questions on global change ecology, and iii) ecosystem function, which uses experimental and natural settings to understand how ecosystem exchange (e.g., carbon cycling) will respond to climate changes. Thus, as student in our lab you will have the opportunity to conduct cross-disciplinary research and pursue academic or applied careers depending on your research and career goals.

Funding support for graduate students is typically through Graduate Research and Teaching Assistantships from the FRS Department and other scholarships through Colorado State University. Other funding includes:

– For US Citizens or permanent residents: the NSF GRFP, the GEM fellowship program (GEM targets underrepresented groups in STEM)

– International students: the Fulbright Scholar Program and the American Association of University Women are good options.

Prospective postdocs

We will advertise postdoc positions when funding is available. In the meantime, if you are looking for a postdoc and your research interests are aligned with our themes, send an email to Sandra.Duran@colostate.edu and let’s explore options for developing an application for a postdoctoral fellowship. Funding options include:

-For US Citizens the NSF PRFB and the USDA Fellowship Program.

–For International scholars: the AXA Fellowships (only for open calls), the Marie Curie Fellowships (for Europeans), Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships (Canadian citizens or permanent residents), the HSCP Fellowships (several countries eligible).

-Other fellowships unrestricted of citizenship are those from NOAA Climate and Global Change, the the AAUW, the Life Sciences Research Foundation, and the Smith Conservation Fellowship.