Prospective graduate students:
Students interested in a Fall 2025 start are encourage to get in touch to discuss projects.
Propose your own topic or choose from the following list:
- Nanoscale structure and properties of mineral grain boundaries (see advert below)
- Mineral-molecular interactions: extending rules of epitaxy to new frontiers
- Investigate how wet vs. dry planetary accretion influences lithosphere composition and evolution.
- Assess the fluid dynamics behaviour of high-silica intrusions using high-precision zircon geochronology and mineral microstructures.
Fully-funded 4-year PhD position looking at the nanoscale structure and properties of mineral grain boundaries
Summary: The movement of atoms along mineral grain and interphase boundaries can determine many of the macroscopic properties of rocks. This is because, despite their relatively small effective volume fraction, boundaries typically promote rapid transport relative to the bulk. This project will investigate 1) how different metamorphic conditions and reaction types can affect the structure of interphase boundaries and, 2) the role of boundary structure on controlling mineral microstructure. The work will use SEM-based EBSD analysis, LA-ICP-MS-based trace element mapping and high-resolution TEM analysis.
Training offered: The PhD student will receive immersive instrumentation training at the Fipke Laboratory for Trace Element Research at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan and at the Materials Characterization Facility at the University of Manitoba.
Desired skills/background: Students with a background in petrology, mineralogy, crystallography or materials sciences are all encouraged to apply. Prior experience with TEM, XRD crystallography and/or EBSD will be considered an asset.
Summary: The movement of atoms along mineral grain and interphase boundaries can determine many of the macroscopic properties of rocks. This is because, despite their relatively small effective volume fraction, boundaries typically promote rapid transport relative to the bulk. This project will investigate 1) how different metamorphic conditions and reaction types can affect the structure of interphase boundaries and, 2) the role of boundary structure on controlling mineral microstructure. The work will use SEM-based EBSD analysis, LA-ICP-MS-based trace element mapping and high-resolution TEM analysis.
Training offered: The PhD student will receive immersive instrumentation training at the Fipke Laboratory for Trace Element Research at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan and at the Materials Characterization Facility at the University of Manitoba.
Desired skills/background: Students with a background in petrology, mineralogy, crystallography or materials sciences are all encouraged to apply. Prior experience with TEM, XRD crystallography and/or EBSD will be considered an asset.