Graduate Research
Opportunities

Graduate students in the Department of Geography work closely with faculty members. Financial support from faculty is a defining characteristic of our graduate program. The Department of Geography guarantees full-time graduate students funding. Faculty members would be pleased to discuss research opportunities with you.

Lorne Bennett	The biophysical environment MSc students are sought to conduct research focussing on geomorphological processes and their influence on wildlife dynamics along the Niagara Escarpment, Ontario. Ongoing studies centre on linkages bird populations and mass wasting.
Aaron Berg	Remote Sensing and Hydrology I am seeking students with interests broadly focused on hydrology and remote sensing. Positions are available for students at the PhD or MSc level. Several funded positions are available to students interested in applied use of GIS and remote sensing for observation of soil moisture (both passive and active sensors), agricultural land management, and urban hydrology. All projects provide excellent opportunities for combining field work, laboratory and computer analysis.  Students with backgrounds in Physical Geography or Geomatics, Physical Sciences, Engineering or Computer Sciences are encouraged to contact me to discuss available projects and funding opportunities.
Ben Bradshaw	Environmental economic geography, resource management I am always looking for outstanding graduate students with interests and expertise in issues of the environment and natural resources most generally. More narrowly, my current research funding would support MA and PhD students focused on (Aboriginal) Community Engagement strategies in the mining sector, and especially the use of Impact and Benefit Agreements (IBAs).
Jaclyn Cockburn	Geomorphology, sedimentary processes, climate change The world is full of change, and understanding the impacts of these changes is critical to adaptation and/or mitigation. Students interested in undertaking research projects related to climate and environmental change in cold regions and its impact on surface processes are encouraged to contact me. I am actively looking for students to undertake research related to sediment budgets in watersheds impacted by changes to permafrost cover. Field work will be in northern BC and YT. As well I am interested in developing models to understanding sediment deposition dynamics in freshwater systems as it relates to sedimentary records. This work would primarily take place in the lab. Students with backgrounds in Physical Geography, Earth Sciences and/or Fluid Mechanics are encouraged to contact me about projects and funding opportunities.
Evan Fraser	Food security, land use change, integrated socio-economic/crop/climate modelling I am seeking students who are interested in investigating food security by combining socio-economic and biophysical elements. In particular, this may be based on assessing coping strategies and livelihoods of small farmers in the developing world, integrating crop and socio-economic models at a range of spatial scales, or by exploring the efficacy of local food movements in Canada. [more]
Ze'ev Gedalof	Biogeography and paleoecology I am looking for graduate students to conduct research on a range of problems related to forest ecosystem dynamics. My ongoing projects address questions related to how forests and forest processes (disturbance, competition, and regeneration) have responded to climatic variability in the past, and how they might change in the future.  However I am happy to discuss alternative projects with potential students.  I encourage applications from students with backgrounds not only in biogeography, but also ecology, botany, climatology, forestry, statistics, or other related disciplines. A love for fieldwork is essential.  Interested students should contact me directly to discuss research opportunities.
Noella Gray	Political ecology, marine conservation and resource management I am actively seeking students interested in my research areas. In particular, I welcome inquiries from potential MA students who would like to work on (1) the politics of negotiations for the Convention on Biological Diversity, with a focus on marine issues, or (2) marine protected areas in Central America/the Caribbean. Previous experience with these or related topics is an asset. Please contact me to discuss opportunities.
Roberta Hawkins	Ethical consumption, international development, feminist perspectives I am actively seeking MA students who are interested in exploring how ethical consumption and online (social media) campaigns are used to fund and structure international development projects (for example: Product RED and Cover Girl’s Clean Makeup, Clean Water initiative). Graduate research opportunities may include (i) investigating the decision-making process behind individual consumption choices, (ii) analyzing online social media community participation and (iii) site visits and analysis of development projects ‘on-the-ground’ that are funded through these means (e.g. water provision projects). Students with an interest in the intersection between consumption and development, in human-environment relations and in feminist and critical theories are encouraged to contact me for more information.
Alice Hovorka	Critical animal studies, gender and environment, urban geography, Southern Africa I am actively seeking students interested in my specific research areas.  I am particularly looking for students to engage in critical theoretical perspectives on animal studies, gender and environment, urban geography, Southern Africa .  Please contact me directly regarding these potential graduate research opportunities.
John Lindsay	GIS, remote sensing, spatial analysis, hydro-geomorphology I am actively seeking Masters and Ph.D. students interested in applications of GIS, remote sensing, and spatial analysis to study the physical environment, particularly catchment hydrology, river environments, and environmental contamination.
Jan Mersey	GIS and environmental analysis MSc or MA students are sought to undertake research projects related to the understanding and management of the natural environment, using GIS and/or remote sensing technologies. Recent initiatives which may provide further opportunities for graduate work have focused on environmental and resource issues in Biosphere Reserves in Mexico, China and Ontario.
Kate Parizeau	Waste management and its social context; social inequalities and environmental justice I am seeking MA students who are interested in investigating the social context of waste management issues (including themes of environmental justice, contentious land uses, gender, and the socioeconomic aspects of waste work and waste production). The regional focus of this research could be either Canada (Vancouver, Toronto, or elsewhere in Southwestern Ontario) or Latin America. Please feel free to contact me for more information.
Jen Silver	Ocean governance and seafood production/consumption I welcome general inquiries from any potential graduate student interested in human-environment relations in the context of oceans governance, seafood production and consumption, and the diverse livelihood strategies of coastal communities. I hope to accept 1-2 new students for Fall 2013 to work on specific ongoing projects. Please contact me for further information and discussion if you have a background in human geography, political ecology and/or coastal management and would be interested in undertaking a research project about either: (a) First Nations use, management and access to coastal resources on the central coast of mainland British Columbia; or, (b) the blue economy and fisheries and aquaculture governance.
Barry Smit	Climate change adaptation The Global Environmental Change Group, is completing research on human-environment interactions, with an emphasis on vulnerability and adaptation to climate variations and change. I am taking on no additional graduate students, as retirement is imminent.
John Smithers	Rural change and sustainability I am fortunate to be working currently with several graduate students on projects investigating a variety of issues and opportunities relating to the production, exchange, and systematic organizing of local food systems and short supply chains.  Work to date has focused on farm-community linkages, on the increasing structural diversification of organics, on the phenomenon of direct marketing at the farmers' market, on rural transformations attributable to wine and related amenity production and on the prospects for "mainstreaming" local food through stronger engagement with the conventional food retail sector -- the grocery store. At present there are growing interests in pursuing one or more projects that cast a view to the producer side of the local food scene.  The demand is well documented and growing, and the (real and alleged) benefits of greater commitment to local food are similarly well argued.  What is missing on the research side is some greater appreciation of who will become the providers (growers) of local food and under what conditions current or entering farmers might see for themselves opportunities for a business model that has local production and exchange as its central feature.  There are also interests in projects that explore the informal construction of local food networks and the operational principles that underpin informal local food economies.
Wanhong Yang	GIS and watershed management I am seeking one Ph.D. and two MSc or MA students to join my research program on examining the cost effectiveness of agricultural conservation at the watershed scale. I welcome students from all related disciplines such as geography, hydrology, ecology, economics, and forestry. Training in GIS and remote sensing, and a willingness to use these tools in research, are required. My research program offers a state-of-the-art GIS modelling laboratory on agricultural conservation management.