Dr. Felicity McCormack Research Projects
PhD positions are available to work with Dr Felicity McCormack at Monash University’s School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment (SEAE), in Melbourne, Australia. Dr McCormack is looking for motivated, talented and enthusiastic PhD students with an interest in ice sheet modelling and Antarctica. The projects are cutting-edge in the field, with a strong base of research funding and excellent resources.
Project details
The stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is affected by internal processes and properties – ice rheology, deformation, chemistry, interactions between the ice sheet and solid Earth/subglacial hydrology system – as well as by external climate drivers, including ocean-driven basal melting and atmospheric processes. Understanding the processes underlying internal and external drivers of change, how they influence the ice sheet flow regime, and the timescales of impact, is crucial in determining the overall stability of Antarctica under a changing climate. These projects will use ice sheet models of varying complexity to understand controls on the stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. There will be the option to use climate data (e.g. observations of ocean-driven ice shelf melt, climate model output), as well as process and analyse geophysical measurements to estimate past climate data (e.g. inferring past surface mass balance from radar internal layers). Students will be given the flexibility needed, and actively encouraged, to follow their own interests within this broad remit. Students will have access to supercomputers to run ice sheet model simulations.
Scholarship details
- The 3.5 year PhD scholarship includes all course fees and a ~$33,000 AUD per year tax-free living stipend.
- Applicants for whom English is not the first language will need to meet the English Language Requirements of the University.
Monash and the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment
Monash University is ranked in the top 50 universities in the world, and is a member of the Group of Eight, a coalition of top Australian universities recognised for their excellence in teaching and research. The School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment is a friendly and dynamic school with a recognised strength in Antarctic science through the Monash Ice Sheet Initiative and the Australian Research Council’s Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future. Monash University is located in Melbourne, one of the most liveable cities in the world and a cultural and recreational hub.
Application process
Interested candidates should send their CV, academic transcripts and a brief outline of research interests and motivation to Felicity McCormack. Successful applicants will have completed a 4-year undergraduate degree with a high grade in a significant research project (thesis equivalent to an Australian first-class honours), or a MSc degree (with a thesis component) in a relevant field (i.e., maths, physics, fluid dynamics, glaciology, Earth and climate systems, modelling). Candidates with no background in a related discipline will not be considered. Monash PhD scholarships are highly competitive and successful applicants often have relevant additional research experience and/or research publications in international journals. Review of applications will begin immediately and short-listed candidates will be contacted for more information and invited to interview.