Hourly Student Research Assistant

Position Title: Hourly Student Research Assistant

Position Summary: Student will assist with various assignments related to characterization of plant functional traits of tundra species, synthesis of plant functional trait data, developing pipelines for the calculation of leaf traits such as leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf fuel moisture content

Department Name: Forest and Rangeland Stewardship

Responsibilities:
The student will provide support in the field and in the lab conducting tasks related to assessing live fuel moisture content (LFMC) on coniferous trees. These tasks include traveling to the field site to collect leaves during May through September, with one week per month. In the field the student is required to support collection of leaves to measure leaf water potential, photosynthesis and plant traits including LFMC, processing the leaves requires weighing the fresh and dry mass of leaves, scanning the leaves to calculate leaf area, and support data collection from sensors located in the field measuring water transport in tree stems. Back in Fort Collins the student will help with drying and weighing leaves, and data entry of all the collected data.

Required Qualifications:
Undergraduate student in the Warner College conducting research using spreadsheets, R platform for data management, field work experience measuring plant characteristics. Previous experience using the R platform, and the Image J software are essential.

Preferred Qualifications: 
Experience working with plants is an asset, working with plant functional traits, processing plant material fresh and experience calculating leaf area are ideal but not required.

Number of weekly working hours and duration: 10-15 for 2-3 months

Number of Openings: 1

Hourly Pay Rate: $16/hour

Application Instructions: Applications will not be accepted in Handshake. To apply, email your resume to Sandra.Duran@colostate.edu

Employee Benefits: Employee Benefit information can be found on HR’s Website at https://hr.colostate.edu/current-employees/benefits/  

Colorado State University (CSU) provides equal employment opportunities to all applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Colorado State University strives to provide a safe study, work, and living environment for its faculty, staff, volunteers and students. To support this environment and comply with applicable laws and regulations, CSU conducts background checks for the finalist before a final offer. The type of background check conducted varies by position and can include, but is not limited to, criminal history, sex offender registry, motor vehicle history, financial history, and/or education verification. Background checks will also be conducted when required by law or contract and when, in the discretion of the University, it is reasonable and prudent to do so.