Fellowships for Graduate and Post-Doctoral Research on the Sudbury Structure Mineral Exploration Research Centre   Laurentian University

The Sudbury Structure is one of the largest and best-exposed meteorite impact sites on Earth. The Sudbury Igneous Complex and footwall rocks host significant Ni-Cu-PGE mineralization, for which no terrestrial analogue exists. 

The Mineral Exploration Research Centre (MERC) and the Department of Earth Sciences (DES) at Laurentian University in Sudbury have initiated a long-term research program to take a new, modern look at the Sudbury Structure. The program will involve geological, geophysical, and structural mapping of igneous, volcanic, and metamorphic host rocks, country rocks, and ores, including a wide variety of spectacular impact breccias, with subsequent petrographic, mineralogical, geochemical, petrological, and isotopic studies. 

We invite applications from outstanding students and recent PhDs with a keen interest in any of the above fields to apply for several MSc, PhD, and post-doctoral fellowships in the program. Successful candidates will work in a multidisciplinary research team that will include MERC/DES researchers, local industry geoscientists, provincial/federal geologists, as well as researchers from other universities in Canada and abroad.  

The research program will be funded partly by the mining industry and the Ontario government, under the auspices of the newly-created Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI), and partly by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The fellowships will provide a stipend to cover living expenses and tuition, and will cover all research costs. More information about DES, MERC, and CEMI may be found at earthsciences.laurentian.ca, merc.laurentian.ca, and miningexcellence.ca.  

Preliminary applications, including Curriculum Vitae, Academic Transcripts, a Statement of Research Background and Interests, and names of 3 academic references should be sent to merc@laurentian.ca. Applications will be reviewed beginning in January 2008, but the positions will remain open until suitable candidates are found.