We are seeking grad students, a postdoc, and undergrad students who are excited about tackling questions relating to how the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets flow.
Undergrads
There are always smaller project ideas available for undergraduate work (for pay or for credit). Ideally, students will have taken EAS 314, Data Analysis, but other motivated undergrads are welcome to get in touch. Projects will likely revolve around remote sensing and GIS, though modeling is possible as well for the motivated student.
Postdocs
Candidates interested in postdoctoral work in our group should contact David Lilien via email with a proposed research project. There are multiple funding avenues possible, and the best avenue will depend on the project and the candidate. A competitive postdoc candidate will have experience with ice-flow modeling, ice-penetrating radar, or ice-crystal fabric, and a clear vision for how they might benefit from working in the group at IU.
Grad students
We are seeking graduate (MS or PhD) students for multiple ice-flow related projects. Start date will be August, 2025. Ideal candidates will have strong quantitative backgrounds, though students with broader earth or environmental science backgrounds and a willingness to learn the math and physics are encouraged to get in touch as well. Projects will focus on ice-crystal fabric, including how we can infer it from radar, and on ice-flow modeling, though there is a bit of flexibility within these topics.
Interested students will need to apply through Indiana University’s Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. The department offers guaranteed support for 2-5 years depending on degree. Applications are generally due around December. Before going any further, please read the following guides on grad school applications. After looking through these, potential candidates are encouraged to get in touch to discuss fit.
Things I wish I knew before applying to grad school
- There is significant luck in terms of timing, which means that rejections are not personal. Sometimes professors simply don’t have the money to pay you, or have too many students already.
- Admission in many (or most) programs involves the potential research supervisor, department, and university/school. Generally, the research adviser and department both need to say yes to an application, then ultimate authority to offer admission comes from higher up. So while a professor can encourage you to apply, and can have space for you, the decision ultimately is outside their control.
- Fully funded has different meanings different places. Make sure to understand how summer funding works, and how often you will be expected to be a teaching assistant.
How to: submit a good grad school application (modified from EAS Atmospheric Sciences)
We want to help you put together the best application possible. Here is some advice!
What are we looking for?
Our primary questions are:
- Will this student succeed in our program, i.e., will they:
- Do well in our graduate classes?
- Be productive in research, including writing peer-reviewed papers?
- Complete a good thesis in the normal amount of time (2 years for a masters, 5 for a PhD)?
- Does this student’s research interests align with the PI’s interests?
- Do we have funding to support the student for their entire time here?
How do we evaluate applicants?
We look at the entire graduate application to see if there are clear answers to the above questions. This includes rating applicants on specific questions:
- Does the applicant have excellent academic preparation (e.g., relevant coursework, grades, GPA, etc.)?
- Does the applicant have research experience and/or interest, and if so, how does it relate to research that we do?
- Does the personal statement give a clear sense of what motivates the applicant to apply to our program specifically?
- Does the student have clear goals that our program will help them accomplish?
- Does the student student show that they have put careful thought and effort into considering what they might work on?
- Does the applicant have good letters of recommendation from sources who give us specific information about how and why they think the applicant would be successful in grad school?
- Does the applicant’s research interest align with research directions for which we have funding?
- Is there anything in the application that gives us reservations about the applicant (e.g., are there bad grades in the transcripts that the applicant does not address in the personal statement)?
Other qualities that help applicants stand out are:
- Excellent communication skills
- Evidence of strong self-motivation
- Strong technical skills, especially with data analysis or computing
Do and Don’t
Here are some tips for what to do - and what not to do - to make sure you give us the best application possible.
| do | don’t |
|---|---|
| Do include a research proposal (in your personal statement); see herehttps://eduabroadhub.com/2022/07/02/how-to-write-a-research-proposal-for-graduate-school-application/ for good advice | Don’t give a vague statement of interests; we want to see that you’ve done research on what you want to research |
| Do submit a complete application, with all required materials | Don’t submit an incomplete or late application; we can’t consider late or incomplete applications |
| Do e-mail specific faculty members to get feedback on a research proposal before submitting your application | Don’t submit an application without definitely knowing who would be your potential advisor and what topic(s) you would work on with them |
| Do consider applying, even if you have an undergraduate degree in another field | Don’t submit an application without a statement that tells us why you want to get a graduate degree in Earth Science specifically; we need to be convinced that your research interests and preparation will allow you to succeed |
| Do research us, our department, our graduate program, and Indiana University and make it clear in your application that you’ve done so | Don’t submit a generic application that you’ve copy-pasted to multiple graduate programs; it gives us more confidence in your likelihood to succeed here if it is clear you have put a lot of thought into what your life would be like as a graduate student here |