Openings

Opening for Ph.D. student 2023-2024

We have an opening for you! 

We are looking for motivated PhD student to work on a NASA-funded research project on satellite based remote sensing of dust aerosols in the atmosphere.

Background:

Mineral dust is an integral component of the Earth system that influences weather and climate via a suite of complex interactions with the energy, water, and carbon cycles. This project, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), is to infer the properties of dust aerosols such as dust loading, dust size and their radiative effects using advanced physically and machine-learning based methods from satellite images.

Funding:

A full scholarship will be covered by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Requirements:

  • A Bachelor’s degree in exact sciences (preferably, Atmospheric Sciences, Meteorology, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, chemistry or Earth Sciences) or engineering
  • Computer programming skills (e.g., Python, Fortran, etc.)
  • Data analysis (statistics, numerical analysis, time series analysis, etc.) skills
  • Good writing and oral English skills
  • Ability and desire to acquire new skills and learn new theoretical knowledge

To apply:

  • Submit the application package to the graduate school of UMBC https://gradschool.umbc.edu/admissions/apply/
  • To maximize the chance for admission, please send the following to Prof. Zhibo Zhang (zzbatmos@umbc.edu)
    • Résumé/CV, including a list of publications
    • A general description of past and future research interests (up to half page)
    • Contact information of at least two references
    • Copy of the certificates/grades 1st and 2nd degree and the transcript

General Info for Openings and Opportunities

I am always looking for excellent postdoctoral scholars and students of all levels to join my group. If you are interested, feel free to contact me at Zhibo.Zhang@umbc.edu Please include your CV, (unofficial) transcripts, and a description of your background and research interests. I value a rigorous quantitative background and strong communication skills, and I particularly welcome interest from women and underrepresented minorities.

Information on the Atmospheric Physics Ph.D. program in the Department of Physics at UMBC is available here, and details on the application process are here.

Graduate and postdoctoral fellowships

If you are a prospective graduate student or postdoctoral fellow interested in joining my group, you can also apply for your own funding through a number of fellowships. Graduate students can apply for a number of prestigious fellowships, including:

There also are a number of excellent fellowships for prospective postdoctoral fellows, including:

Provided that your research interests and qualifications are a good match for my group, I would be happy to advise you in preparing your fellowship application. Keep in mind that writing a competitive proposal takes a lot of time, so it’s best to start (and contact me) well ahead of the application deadline.