Tong Qiu

PhD opportunity in Ecology / Environmental Remote Sensing at Duke University The Qiu Lab at Duke University is recruiting one fully funded PhD student to begin in Fall 2027 . The project sits at the intersection of ecology, environmental science, remote sensing, biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, statistics, and AI for Ecology . Research directions include: • Ecological remote sensing for forest and savanna ecosystems using imaging spectroscopy, LiDAR, and satellite time series. • Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, including plant-wildlife interactions, fire, grazing, and large herbivore reintroduction. • AI for Ecology, including deep learning and foundation models for Earth observation and ecological monitoring data. Preferred applicants have a background in ecology, environmental science, remote sensing, geography, statistics, computer science, or related fields . Helpful experience includes LiDAR, hyperspectral data, statistical ecology, machine/deep learning, R and/or Python, and quantitative analysis . The lab also looks for research initiative, curiosity, willingness to learn, and a collaborative mindset. Funding details: the position is fully funded and the salary starts at $45,000/year . The lab mentions access to remote sensing equipment, individual workstations, HPC clusters, and GPU resources. How to apply: submit a formal application to Duke’s PhD in Environment or University Program in Ecology (UPE) , depending on your interests. For Fall 2027, the Ecology deadline is December 1, 2026 and the Environment deadline is December 3, 2026 . Then email Tong Qiu with your CV, transcripts, a one-page research statement, a writing sample if available, and three references.