Erin Siebert, MSES student, and Steve Goldsmith, Associate Professor of Environmental Science, discuss their research in Puerto Rico. Read more here.
News & Events
Announcements
GEV is Hiring a Teaching Postdoctoral Fellow for Fall 2020
The Department of Geography and the Environment at Villanova University invites applications for a three-year appointment as a Teaching Postdoctoral Fellow to begin in Fall 2020. We seek an individual with exceptional potential as a scholar and teacher who can contribute to our undergraduate and graduate programs, while assisting with a new co-sponsored faculty research project. The position entails a 50% teaching and 50% research workload. We are especially interested in candidates whose teaching and research will contribute to the Department’s commitment to diversity and academic excellence.
The ideal candidate will have a strong background in the environmental impacts of plastics in terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems and able to complement existing Departmental strengths in marine biogeochemistry, coral reef ecosystems, environmental geochemistry and/or watershed biogeochemistry. We seek a candidate able to teach courses in introductory environmental science and an upper-level undergraduate course in their discipline. A Ph.D. (or near completion in a field related to environmental science, earth sciences, biogeochemistry, oceanography, or other closely related disciplines is required. Teaching responsibilities will include lecture plus laboratory courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Teaching obligation is twelve credit hours per year divided into a 2/2 teaching load.
The successful candidate will have the opportunity to assist with a new research project evaluating historical and modern-day plastic accumulation on beach and nearshore ecosystems in southwest Puerto Rico. Preference will be given to candidates with relevant past research experiences with the potential for publication in prominent outlets, experience supervising undergraduate student research, and interest in writing grant proposals. Nominal research funds are available to support this project. The candidate will join a collaborative and active research team of faculty primary investigators, research technician, graduate and undergraduate students.
Villanova is a Catholic university sponsored by the Augustinian order. Diversity and inclusion have been and will continue to be an integral component of Villanova University’s mission. The University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and seeks candidates who understand, respect, and can contribute to the University’s mission and values. Villanova is located in the ethnically, racially, and culturally diverse Philadelphia metro region. The Department values dynamic and diverse faculty members who are committed to teaching, scholarship, and service. For a more detailed description of the Department of Geography and the Environment, contact Dr. Lisa Rodrigues (lisa.rodrigues@villanova.edu) and/or Dr. Steven Goldsmith (steven.goldsmith@villanova.edu), who will serve as mentors for this position.
To apply, please submit a Cover Letter, Curriculum Vitae, Statement of Teaching Philosophy, Statement of Research Interests, Summary of Teaching Evaluations, and Transcripts to https://jobs.villanova.edu/postings/17886. The position number is 2016329F. Review of applications will begin on Monday, December 2, 2019 with online and on-campus interviews scheduled for January 2020.
Jen grew up exploring the woods of northern New Jersey and attended Hamilton College, where she earned her BA in Environmental Studies. After completing her Master of Forestry (MF) and Master of Environmental Management (MEM) degrees from Duke University, she worked for several years as a forestry and GIS consultant in the southeast. Before beginning her PhD at the University of Vermont, Jen taught two GIS courses at Lake Superior State University, which solidified her love of teaching. In her free time, Jen spends as much time as she can outdoors hiking, kayaking, and gardening.
Currently, Jen is in the final stages of her PhD studies in UVM’s Applied Forest Ecology lab. Her research combines field work and spatial modeling, and broadly focuses on modeling the long-term outcomes of adaptive forest management in northeastern forests. Her other research interests center around the interaction between humans and forests, and include modeling species habitat, mapping invasive forests pests, and examining the adaptive capacity of urban forests.
Jen is excited to share her passion for maps, trees, and GIS with Villanova students. This fall, she is teaching two GIS courses in the department of Geography and the Environment and is looking forward to exploring additional topics connecting GIS and environmental science with her students. With the start of the semester right around the corner, Jen is thrilled to be joining the GEV department and the Villanova community.
Shakya, K.M., Rupakheti, M., Shahi, A., Maskey, R., Pradhan, B., Panday, A., Puppala, S.P., Lawrence, M., Peltier, R.E. (2017). Near-road sampling of PM2.5, BC, and fine-particle chemical components in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 17: 6503-6516.
Shakya, K.M., Peltier, R.E., Shrestha, H., Byanju, R.M. (2017). Measurements of TSP, PM10, PM2.5, BC, and PM chemical composition from an urban residential location in Nepal. Atmospheric Pollution Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2017.05.002.
Haase, D., Kabisch, S., Haase, A., Andersson, E., Banzhaf, E., Baró, F., Brenck, M., Kremer P., Wolff, M. (2017). Greening cities – To be socially inclusive? About the alleged paradox of society and ecology in cities. Habitat International, 64, 3, 41-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2017.04.005
Gittleman, M., Farmer, C. J. Q., Kremer, P., & McPhearson, T. (2016). Estimating stormwater runoff for community gardens in New York City. Urban Ecosystems, 5. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-016-0575-8
Hamstead Z., Kremer P., Larondelle N., McPhearson T., Hasse D. (2016). Classification of the heterogeneous structure of urban landscapes (STURLA) as an indicator of landscape function applied to surface temperature in New York City. Ecological Indicators. 70:574-585. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.10.014
Grant Award: The National Science Foundation funded the Plum Island Ecosystem Long Term Ecological Research (PIE-LTER) project, with Dr. Nat Weston as a principal investigator. This is a large ($6.7 million) project with multiple investigators that work to understand impacts of land-use change and climate change on the Plum Island, MA ecosystem. Dr. Weston’s work is focused on understanding salt-marsh response to sea-level rise, which is driven largely by carbon cycling and sediment dynamics in the marsh-estuarine system.
Grant Award: Dr. Lisa Rodrigues has received $540,092.00 from the National Science Foundation, Division of Integrative Organismal Systems to assess the physiological and molecular implications of coral bleaching on coral reproduction. This study is a collaborative award with Jacqueline Padilla-Gamino and Brook Nunn from the University of Washington ($1,055,010.00). The three-year funded study will use isotopic tracers to assess carbon and nitrogen pathways in corals to better understand how changing climatic conditions affects coral physiology, ultimately coral reproduction.
Grant Award: Drs. Peleg Kremer and Kabin Shakya were awarded a summer grant from the Associate Vice Provost for Research to support their project titled, Spatial Variability of Air Pollution In Philadelphia during summer 2017. The study aims to investigate the spatial distribution of particulate air pollution (PM2.5) and noise pollution in Philadelphia by using mobile monitoring.
Visit GEV at our official Facebook page. You can see what's new and exciting around the department.
Academic Program Offerings
Undergraduate
- B.S. in Environmental Science
- B.A. in Environmental Studies
- B.A. in Geography
- Geography Minor
- Sustainability Studies Minor
Graduate
