2014 PhD Student Peer Group
Deadline: Friday, March 14, 2014
Purpose:
The Alaska Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and the UAF Graduate School are forming a new peer group of PhD students whose focus is social-ecological systems (SES).
The group will provide an academic “home” for support of interdisciplinary students and a focus for the exchange of ideas through research process classes, SES seminars, and other activities. EPSCoR will support the group by organizing guest speakers, holding workshops, and providing travel funding for group events. Students will gain experience with working in a research team, which is a key skill for most SES research projects.
Eligibility:
Peer group membership will be awarded on a competitive basis, with applications due to the graduate school on Friday, March 14th. First-year PhD students (both interdisciplinary and discipline-based) applying in spring 2014 are eligible to apply.
Commitment:
Members of the peer group commit to:
- Attend an annual face-to-face meeting of all peer group participants statewide, concurrent with the Alaska EPSCoR Annual Meeting
- Enroll in research process classes and/or EPSCoR seminars throughout the academic year (see attached schedule for more details)
- Attend other activities as determined by the peer group
Terms of support:
EPSCoR will provide support for the peer group from January 2014 to June 2017. EPSCoR funding will not be used for individual student tuition and fees, nor will membership in the peer group confer preference for EPSCoR grants or dissertation completion fellowships from the graduate school.Preference will be given to those attending both the 2-credit research process classes and the 1-credit seminar.
Submission:
Please send your peer group application to Laura Bender in the Graduate School office .
Alaska EPSCoR Research Focus
Alaska EPSCoR conducts biological, physical and social research into the adaptive capacity of Alaskan communities: the mechanisms that enable communities to effectively respond to environmental and social changes. Research includes new sensors to monitor biophysical changes coupled with social science approaches to measure community responses.
Alaska EPSCoR research is organized around three regional test cases. The Southeast case focuses on changes to ecosystem services brought on by glacial recession in the Juneau area. The Southcentral test case examines the effects of land cover and precipitation changes on fisheries and tourism in the Kenai River watershed. The Northern case studies how permafrost thaw and land cover change affect subsistence resources around Arctic and Interior villages.
Results from the test cases are used by a statewide Coordination, Integration and Synthesis Working Group to answer larger scientific questions about adaptation and to create decision-support tools for land and resource managers.
For more detailed information about the Alaska EPSCoR program please visit the website at
1. Map of Alaska EPSCoR test case sites