GLIER/Earth and
Environmental Science:
Environmental Biogeochemistry
Asst. Prof. C. Weisener's Research Interests Include:
Contaminant stress on ecosystems in changing global environments; Environmental tracers; applied biogeochemistry. My research addresses a central theme which links multidisciplinary research involving metal and nutrient cycling and microbial influences on contaminant dynamics and biomineralization in terrestrial and aquatic systems. http://www.uwindsor.ca/glier/chris-weisener
PhD/MSc. Projects: Oil Sands Biogeochemistry
Students interested in interdisciplinary environmental research. This research program involves several graduate projects (2 PhD positions and 1 MSc) focused on rehabilitation efforts within the Alberta Oil sands. Several research themes will investigate the biological and physico-chemical controls and modeling of the elemental cycling(C, N Fe and S) occurring in end pit lakes and wetlands. Elemental cycling and there evolution in to sustainable ecosystems has been linked to several redox dominated reactions catalyzed by microorganism. This research addresses fundamental and novel processes occurring during the evolution of these rehabilitated systems. Other research themes will characterize novel chemical treatment methods and investigate their toxicological impact on biodegradation and sequestration of pollutants in oil sand treated wastes. In addition there are several fundamental toxicological studies depending on the student's individual interest with in the Great lakes basin and international locations. Preference will be given to enthusiastic applicants with a strong interest and/or strengths in analytical chemistry, environmental chemistry, molecular microbiology, toxicology, geochemistry (stable isotopes/aqueous), superior academic credentials and strong communication skills. Experience in, GCMS, IC, electrochemistry, molecular microbial identification (using novel T-rflp analysis and qPCR, FISH); laboratory microbiology and/or novel stable isotopes is advantageous. Students will be exposed to advanced geochemical analytical methods development, the
use
of
sophisticated
microscopy
techniques
(confocal
laser
scanning
microscopy,
CARD-FISH,
MAR-FISH
and
high-resolution
TEM)
and
state
of
the
art
laboratories
at
the
institutes.
Please Contact: Dr. Christopher G. Weisener, weisener@uwindsor.ca; University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Ave. Windsor ON. N9B 3P4. Interested applicants can contact me to discuss potential options enrolling in either the GLIER or Earth and Environmental Science graduate programs in Winter
and
Spring
2013.
Deadline
for
winter
enrollment
applications
is
September
1st,
2012.
The Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER) of the University of Windsor supports a multi-disciplinary research team focused on studying the impact of multiple stressors on aquatic ecosystems. It is dedicated to the management of the earth's resources to protect and maintain human and environmental health. GLIER is located in world-class facilities on the Detroit River at the University of Windsor. These facilities consist of fully equipped state of the art analytical laboratories for both trace organics and metals, an applied molecular genetics analysis facility, a toxicology laboratory specializing with in vitro assays, an ecology laboratory with a full-service aqua-research center and an environmental modeling facility.
