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:
- PhD – Nanoscale structure and properties of mineral grain boundaries (see advert below)
- MSc – Crustal evolution of Buffalo Head terrane (see details 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.
Funding: The student will receive a minimum base funding package of $30,000/yr for 4-years.
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.
Fully funded 2-year MSc position in analytical geochemistry and crustal evolution
Summary: The lithospheric architecture of Archean and Paleoproterozoic terranes governs the occurrence, distribution, and continuity of mineral deposits. A key area of the Canadian Shield in which there is a paucity of information is northern Alberta, where the basement crust is largely overlain by the Western Canada Sedimentary basin. This region is highly prospective and holds significant potential for a range of mineral resources (diamond, Au, Ni, Cu, He, Li, Pb, REE, U, Zn, REE). This MSc-level project will help elucidate the broad-scale lithospheric architecture and crustal evolution of the basement beneath northern Alberta using a combination of in-situ microanalytical geochronology and geochemistry techniques.
Training offered: The MSc student will receive hands-on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and laser-ablation QQQ-ICPMS training at the Fipke Laboratory for Trace Element Research at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan as well as on the sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) and laser-ablation MC-ICPMS at GSC Ottawa.
Funding: The student will receive a minimum base funding package of $26,000/yr for 2-years with option to take on teaching assistantship and research assistantship positions.
Accessibility: Samples for this project will be sourced from existing core material and as such there are no fieldwork requirements.
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.
Funding: The student will receive a minimum base funding package of $30,000/yr for 4-years.
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.
Fully funded 2-year MSc position in analytical geochemistry and crustal evolution
Summary: The lithospheric architecture of Archean and Paleoproterozoic terranes governs the occurrence, distribution, and continuity of mineral deposits. A key area of the Canadian Shield in which there is a paucity of information is northern Alberta, where the basement crust is largely overlain by the Western Canada Sedimentary basin. This region is highly prospective and holds significant potential for a range of mineral resources (diamond, Au, Ni, Cu, He, Li, Pb, REE, U, Zn, REE). This MSc-level project will help elucidate the broad-scale lithospheric architecture and crustal evolution of the basement beneath northern Alberta using a combination of in-situ microanalytical geochronology and geochemistry techniques.
Training offered: The MSc student will receive hands-on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and laser-ablation QQQ-ICPMS training at the Fipke Laboratory for Trace Element Research at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan as well as on the sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) and laser-ablation MC-ICPMS at GSC Ottawa.
Funding: The student will receive a minimum base funding package of $26,000/yr for 2-years with option to take on teaching assistantship and research assistantship positions.
Accessibility: Samples for this project will be sourced from existing core material and as such there are no fieldwork requirements.
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