Openings

Undergraduate openings

Every summer I hire two undergraduate research assistants to work in my lab from May 1-Aug. 31. My graduate students also hire undergraduate summer research assistants. If you are interested, please contact me in early January. Qualified students should apply for PURE and NSERC USRA awards; deadlines are late Jan. or early Feb. (hence the need to contact me in early Jan.). Note that positions for this year (2011) have been filled.

I am always very happy to supervise independent study and honors projects. Microcosm experiments are great for this because you can collect dozens of generations of data in a couple of months. If you're interested, please contact me, ideally early in the term before you want to start.

Graduate openings

I am always open to enquiries from well-qualified prospective graduate students. I prefer to supervise PhD students but will also accept strong MSc students. I expect PhD students to develop their own projects, with my guidance. The precise area is open; indeed, my current students all work in systems different than mine. MSc students would have a choice of projects; see Research.

For information on how to apply to our graduate program, information on admissions standards, funding, and deadlines, etc., go here.

Graduate students are funded through a combination of TAships, scholarships, and fellowships during the academic year, and by my research grant during the summer. Mathematically-inclined students can pursue funding from PIMS.

Here is a letter I ask all prospective grad students to read. It talks about my approach to science and mentoring, and includes some questions I ask of all prospective students. If you are interested in joining my lab, please have a look at it.

Here is Steve Stearns' well-known article, "Some modest advice to graduate students", and Ray Huey's reply, from the 1987 ESA Bulletin. Some of Steve's advice applies only to PhD students thinking of going on to academia, but most of the advice is about how to get the most out of grad school and applies to everyone. If you're thinking of going to grad school, this article is a must-read.

Here is the advice that John Thompson (UC-Santa Cruz) gives to his incoming grad students. It is very detailed and honest. I agree with most of what John has to say, so if you're thinking of going to graduate school it's definitely worth a look.

Spencer Hall (Indiana) has compiled a great page of advice for prospective and current grad students (click on "Grad resources page"). It has advice from Spencer and others on everything from grant writing to job hunting to how to lose weight without dieting (ok, maybe not that last one).

Postdoctoral openings

If you are less than 2 years post-PhD, you can apply to do a postdoc with me via the Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship program. This is a competitive 2-year award, with health benefits and a relocation/research allowance, given out once/year by the University of Calgary. The application deadline is Dec. 15. Alternatively, if you have your own funding, I'm more than happy to hear from you.