Graduate Student Opportunities

University of Illinois Extension is seeking applicants for five Local Food Systems and Small Farms educator positions. These are full-time, 12 month academic professional positions. Extension Educators are expected to deliver research-based educational programs and to work within team settings that may consist of other Extension Educators, community college professionals, and faculty within and outside of the College of ACES.

These positions focus on the development of educational resources for small farm producers, outreach to communities on issues related to local food systems, and team-based outreach efforts. Development and delivery of high impact and relevant educational programs and materials in several of the following areas will be important: 1) small farm production and planning, 2) marketing of local food initiatives, 3) food safety and Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), 4) small farm fruit, vegetable, and livestock production (may include organic), 5) integrated pest management, 6) harvest/post-harvest handling and storage of produce, and 7) general agronomic/livestock production principles.

Each of the following units has a full-time opening for an Extension Educator, Local Food Systems and Small Farms:

· Unit 1: JoDaviess/Stephenson/Winnebago counties

· Unit 3: Lake/McHenry counties

· Unit 4: Carroll/Lee/Whiteside counties

· Unit 17: DeWitt/Macon/Piatt counties

· Unit 26: Franklin/Jackson/Perry/Randolph/Williamson counties

Extension Educators are administratively responsible to the County (Unit) Director and are programmatically responsible to the Program Leader for Agriculture and Natural Resources for the delivery of programs that mesh with identified national and state priorities.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT
Looking for one 4 month student at the DuPont London Research Farm
QUALIFICATIONS: Suitable for 1st to 3rd year B.Sc. students. 
DUTIES:Assist with all aspects of the 2013 summer Research and Development program including:
   - establishment and layout of field trials, - planting and staking,- application of test treatments,  - evaluations of treatment effects,

Attention potential candidates  a postdoctoral position available in my lab to study the fungal microbiome in Brassicaceae species:

 Applications are invited for an initially 2 year postdoctoral position starting as soon as possible, to work with Dr. Marcel Bucher, Cologne Biocenter, University of Cologne on a microbiome project to understand the structure and function of endophytic fungal communities in Brassicaceae species. The project involves a consortium of three laboratories from within the Excellence Cluster on Plant Sciences located at the University of Cologne, the Heinrich Heine University of Dusseldorf, the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research and the Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany. The successful applicant for this project would be an experimental scientist with a background in Plant Biology / Microbiology / Molecular Biology or a closely related field with experience in bioinformatics/statistics . Expertise in microbiome research or in nutrient transport in plant-microbe interactions would be a strong plus.

 Informal enquiries can be made by contacting martin.willmann@uni-koeln.de

 The closing date for applications is the 20 th of December.

 More details can be found in the attached job announcement.

 For more details of the Bucher lab see: http://www.bucherlab.uni-koeln.de

With kind regards,Prof. Dr. Marcel Bucher University of Cologne Cologne BiocenterInstitute of Botany

Zülpicherstrasse 47bD-50674 Cologne voice +49 (0)221 4702481fax +49 (0)221 4705900

skype marcel.bucher63www.bucherlab.uni-koeln.de

Please find below a link to FAO Professional Vacancy Announcement:  'Forestry Officer (Policy)' P4.

English URL: http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/VA/pdf/IRC2207e.pdf

Please find below a link to FAO Professional Vacancy Announcement 'Agri-Food Systems Officer' P4.

English URL: http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/VA/pdf/IRC2209e.pdf

Please find below a link to FAO Professional Vacancy Announcement 'Technical Officer (Soil and Water)' P4.

English URL: http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/VA/pdf/IRC2208e%20.pdf

Please find below a link to FAO Professional Vacancy Announcement 'Food Security Officer' P4.

English URL: http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/VA/pdf/IRC2204e.pdf

Thank you for your interest in FAO Vacancies.

Position title Forestry and Horticulture Survey Student (insect pests and diseases)
Length of tenure Approximately four months (May 1 to August 30)
Location St. Catharines or Hamilton, Ontario
Language Must be fluent in English.
Area of selection
Open to post-secondary students who live within 50 kilometres of St. Catharines, Ontario
or within 50 kilometres of Hamilton, Ontario
Education/eligibility
Must be:
• registered as a full-time post-secondary student at an accredited educational institution, and
• returning to full-time studies at the end of the placement.
Preference may be given to students with course work specialization in botany,entomology, horticulture, agriculture, or environmental biology.
Preference may be given to students with experience in doing field work in the horticulture or forestry industries.
Preference may be given to students currently enrolled in their second year.
Knowledge
General knowledge of:
• the mission and regulatory powers of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
• the objectives of the CFIA’s Plant Protection Program
• the purpose of the Plant Pest Surveillance Program at the CFIA
Preference may be given to applicants who have:
• knowledge of invasive pests present within Ontario
• knowledge of the flora present in southern Ontario
• plant and/or insect identification skills
Abilities/skills
• self-motivation
• initiative
• teamwork
• thoroughness
• flexibility
• able to communicate effectively orally and in writing
• organizational skills
Conditions of employment
To be employed in this position, you must:
• pass a security clearance (reliability status) given by the CFIA

Established in honour of the late Earle J.D. Webster, the Webster Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Environmental Sciences was created to fun ground-breaking environmental science research toward making a better planet. Webster attended OAC in 1927, and later went on to distinguish himself as an elementary school educator and author. He showed lifelong interest in both geology and forestry.

This award provides funds of $50,000 to cover the cost of salary and benefits for a Post Doctoral Fellow for one year.

Post-graduate researchers supported by an existing faculty member in the School of Environmental Sciences doing research in environmental sciences are eligible to apply.

Applicants will be considered on the basis of demonstrated research excellence in subject areas related to environmental sciences, with special preference for ground-breaking work towards making a better planet. Preference will be giving to research in natural resource management (including forestry and geology).

The award may only be held once by a Fellow for a period of one year. The funds shall not be used to support research in the area of genetically-modified food, commercial fertilizers, pesticides or nano-particles.

The applicant should apply to the OAC Awards Committee and the Associate Dean Research by April 15. Included in the application should be an academic CV, a letter of support from the sponsoring faculty member and a research proposal for the project(s) to be undertaken during the Fellowship year.