[Taxacom] graduate opportunities in insect biodiversity (NCSU)

[Andy Deans]

North Carolina State University
Department of Entomology
Insect Museum

Two graduate assistantships are available (PhD-level preferred) for  
exceptional students broadly interested in biodiversity,  
phyloinformatics, evolution, and systematics. Selected candidates will  
work with a large team of engaging, approachable, and highly motivated  
researchers that have diverse interests and skill sets. Assistantships  
pay for tuition and fees and provide $19,000 stipend per annum.

•	Project 1 will address biodiversity questions involving ensign wasps  
(Hymenoptera: Evaniidae) in Costa Rica. The student will focus on  
digital approaches to species revision/description, including  
opportunities to explore novel methods for integrating systematics  
with the Web (e.g., Tree of Life and/or Encyclopedia of Life),  
phylogenetics (estimating relationships), and species hypothesis  
testing using molecular (DNA barcoding) and morphological data.

•	Project 2 broadly addresses questions of Hymenoptera evolution and/ 
or functional morphology, with a student directly involving him or  
herself in the development of informatics resources (anatomical  
ontology development/testing, Web programming, database design), while  
pursuing a related project of his or her own conception. This student  
will have the opportunity to describe species, address biodiversity  
questions, work with molecular data, and learn phylogenetic methods.

Desirable qualities for applicants: excellent oral and written  
communication skills, a willingness to engage both the public and  
research communities, a penchant for foreign travel, familiarity with  
insect taxonomy and natural history.

Students will have the opportunity to learn and develop fundamental  
biodiversity tools as part of their graduate training, including Web  
application development, databases in evolutionary biology, data  
mining, ontology design/implementation, PCR, primer design,  
phylogenetic methods, advanced microscopy. Prior exposure is  
beneficial but not required, and we will consider applicants with  
degrees in computer science, anatomy, bioinformatics, information  
visualization, or other related fields.

How to apply: North Carolina State University hosts a top-rated  
Entomology program, and as a vertex of North Carolina’s Research  
Triangle, we benefit from close proximity to a large community of  
evolutionary biologists and our affiliation with the National  
Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent; http://www.nescent.org/).  
Interested students should send a CV, names of two references, and a  
one-page statement of purpose to Dr. Andrew Deans via email: andy_deans at ncsu.edu 
.

Review of applications commences March 25, 2009 continues until  
candidates have been selected. Interested students should also apply  
to the NCSU Department of Entomology:
	http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/entomology/students/how-do-i-apply

More details and contact information available here:
	http://deanslab.org/
	http://insectmuseum.org/

/AA/EOE. ADA Accommodations: Dr. Andrew R. Deans andy_deans at ncsu.edu  
919-515-2833.//  NC State welcomes all persons without regard to  
sexual orientation./

Andrew R. Deans
Department of Entomology
North Carolina State University
Campus Box 7613
2301 Gardner Hall
Raleigh, NC USA 27695-7613

phone: +1 (919) 515-2833
fax: +1 (919) 515-7746
skype: ardeans
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~ardeans/