Aurora

Positions Available

Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Geobiology, Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, McGill University

The Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at McGill University invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track position in Geobiology. We seek a candidate who uses quantitative field, laboratory, and/or modeling methods to study interactions between life and geologic, geochemical, or hydrological processes. 

Review of applications will begin November 1, 2016, and continue until the position is filled. For more information, see here.

Background Postdoctoral Research Pilot Program

The Postdoctoral Research Pilot Program (PRP) was developed to replace NSERC’s Visiting Fellowship in Government Laboratories Program (VFP). The PRP was developed to provide scientists with the opportunity to work with research groups or leaders in Canadian government laboratories and research institutions. In turn, the Government of Canada benefits from new and emerging talent.

Natural Resources Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada, Defence Research and Development Canada, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are participating in this new pilot program. Positions are available in various work locations across Canada. The PRP inventory is advertised on jobs.gc.ca with an expiry date of 2020. The poster can be viewed here.

Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) Alice Wilson Fellowship

In celebration of the upcoming 175th anniversary of the GSC, the Survey has launched the Alice Wilson Fellowship, named after the first GSC female geologist and first woman to be elected to the Royal Society of Canada. Wilson was a paleontologist who broke through many stereotypes, and in honour of her pioneering spirit the GSC has established a new fellowship targeted at talented women scientists who are interested in pursuing a post-doctoral research position in the field of earth sciences.

The fellowship position will be funded for a two year term and two positions are currently available; one position within the program areas of environmental geoscience, groundwater, geo-hazards, climate change or energy, and a second position in the Targeted Geoscience Initiative (TGI) Program. Candidates must be currently enrolled in the PRP Program and will be selected through a transparent process, on the basis of excellence and impact of research area upon the program. 

Targeted Geoscience Initiative (TGI) Alice Wilson Fellowship

The TGI program is a five year (2015 – 2020) collaborative federal geoscience program that provides industry with the next generation of geoscience knowledge and innovative techniques, which will result in new ways to more effectively target buried mineral deposits. TGI uses an ore-system approach to guarantee that the best-suited regions and deposits are used to support the development of next generation knowledge and methods for exploration-related geoscience. Key collaborators with TGI are provincial and territorial geological surveys, academia and the exploration industry.

TGI is seeking to hire a candidate under the Alice Wilson Fellowship within one of the following thematic ore systems: nickel-copper-PGE-chrome systems porphyry and intrusion-related systems volcano-sedimentary ore systems sedimentary exhalative ore systems (SEDEX) uranium systems specialty metal systems.

Interested candidates are encouraged to apply to the Postdoctoral Research Pilot Program on the jobs.gc.ca website here.  

Bulletin Board

Call for Abstracts for Exploration Insights at the PDAC 2017 Convention

Exploration Insights is an excellent opportunity for students and faculty to present their research and network with industry colleagues. The selection committee is particularly interested in academic, policy and technical abstracts with the following themes:

• New concepts and technical developments in exploration
• New uses and technical advancements for individual commodities
• Creative ideas for the retention of knowledgeable technical staff in the face of exploration and mining staff reductions due to cyclic industry downturns
• Exploration properties of merit (their recent exploration and development history)
• Mineral deposit case histories describing mineralization, alteration and discussions on how and where deposits are formed
• Examples of innovation applied to exploration problems
• Case histories dealing with land use issues inside and outside of Canada
• Case histories dealing with exploration health and safety  

The deadline for submissions is Monday October 31, 2016 at 5:00 pm EST. Space is limited and there is no fee to participate. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance in December 2016.   To view the Call for Abstracts and apply online please see here.

Programs and Funding Opportunities

Mitacs Applications for Competitive International Research Opportunities

1) Globalink Research Award

Mitacs is now accepting applications for competitive international research opportunities, including student travel to and from Canada. The deadline to apply is November 9, 2016 at 5:00 PM PST.

Projects last 12-24 weeks and are open to graduate students in all disciplines. Select destinations are also open to senior undergraduates. Funding varies by destination.

Students in Canada can do research in:

• Brazil
• Mainland China
• France (at French universities or Inria Research Centres)
• India
• Mexico
• Tunisia

2) Mitacs-JSPS Internship

Graduate students can also apply for this internship, which supports travel to Japan for a 10-week research project in Summer 2017.

Graduate students in France based at the following institutions can do research in Canada:

• French universities
• Inria Research Centres

Seminars

BCGS 2016 Fall Symposium: Geophysics & Geological Case Studies - October 14, 2016 at BCIT Downtown Campus

Geophysics plays an ever increasing roll in geological investigations of the earth for resource exploration, extraction and other engineering applications (e.g. geological hazards).  In this year’s Fall Symposium series from the BC Geophysical Society, we have brought together a wide range of different geophysical methods applied to an even wider array of geological investigations.  

For more information about the symposium, see here.

Simon Fraser University: Earth Sciences Seminar

Speaker: Rob Stevens, Canadian International Resources and Development Institute

Seminar: CIRDI and Sustainable Development of Natural Resources in Developing Countries

Date: Friday, September 30, 2016 at 10:30am

Location: SSB 7172

Refreshments will be served (bring your own coffee mug!)

Cordilleran Geoscience Discussion Group

The Cordilleran Geoscience Discussion Groups will be held every Wednesday at 3pm at the GSC Vancouver office (14th floor).

These meetings have been set up to provide an informal setting for anyone to discuss geoscience-related topics that they find interesting. Group attendees take turns leading the discussion each week. The focus of the discussion could include but is not limited to:

• Presentation of work / ideas
• Paper discussion
• Presentation of manuscript drafts
• Practice conference talks / posters

For a list of upcoming meetings, see here.