Opportunities

All students will be based at the UWA Oceans Institute at the University of Western Australia (Crawley Campus, Perth), where they will work as part of a diverse team of researchers, post-graduate and under-graduate students. Most projects are likely to involve a combination of laboratory and/or field work. Some time spent away on field trips and research visits must be anticipated for most projects.

Available Research Projects

Deep-water coral archives of Southern Ocean climate change

We seek a PhD student with an excellent academic record and relevant qualifications to undertake research on deep-water coral geochemistry. A suite of geochemical proxy applications would be pursued to reconstruct environmental changes occurring over different timescales in intermediate and deep waters within the SE Indian Ocean and Southern Ocean.

UWA has unrivalled analytical capabilities with the combined infrastructure of the Advanced Geochemical Facility for Indian Ocean Research (Clean Room, Q-ICPMS,  HR-ICPMS, x2 MC-ICPMS and laser systems) together with the Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis (e.g. SIMS, NanoSIMS, tomography, microRaman), which are central to characterising the chemical and microstructural compositions of biological archives.

Potential students will be required to apply for relevant scholarships so will need to meet UWA’s academic requirements for eligibility (see below).

Interested candidates should contact Dr Julie Trotter (julie.trotteruwa.edu.au) and send their complete CV including publications as well as their academic records of BSc, Honours and/or MSc degrees. Statements regarding specific research interests are also encouraged. Those with experience in geochemistry and mass spectrometry are especially sought and will be considered most favourably.

Australian and New Zealand candidates

In the first instance, prospective candidates should send a CV and cover letter, briefly outlining their motivations for pursuing PhD research and their interests, to the appropriate Professor. Candidates then need to apply for and secure funding for their position. There are a number of schemes including:

• Australian Postgraduate Award (APA/UPA)
• Forrest Foundation Research Scholarships
• Dean’s Excellence in Science Scholarship from the Faculty of Science

Please visit the UWA Scholarships web page for more information.

International Candidates

In the first instance, prospective candidates should send a CV and cover letter, briefly outlining their motivations for pursuing PhD research and their interests, to the appropriate Professor. Candidates need to full-fill the requirements for admission into the UWA PhD Program and apply for and secure funding for their position. There are a number of schemes including:

• International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS)
• Endeavour Award
• Forrest Foundation Research Scholarships
• Dean’s Excellence in Science Scholarship from the Faculty of Science.

Please visit the UWA Scholarships web page for more information.