Graduate Student Projects Available

Below is a list of some of the faculty who are considering recruiting students for admission in 2025. You can contact them directly if you would like further information on the projects they describe. If you do not see a project here that matches your interests, please check our faculty page and review the faculty's research interests and websites. You can contact other faculty in the department even if you do not see a project with them listed below, as new opportunities are frequently coming available.


Heidi Dierssen <heidi.dierssen@uconn.edu>

I have a newly funded NASA project providing funding for a PhD/MS student to work on new methods for remote sensing of marine plastics and debris. Must have a quantitative background. For more information on my lab, check out my lab website and for more information about the opportunity, email me.


Julie Granger <julie.granger@uconn.edu>

I have a proposal pending for a PhD/MS student to investigate iron nutrition in dinoflagellates, a type of marine phytoplankton. For more information on my lab, check out my lab website and for more information about the opportunity, email me.


Senjie Lin <senjie.lin@uconn.edu>

I am recruiting a PhD student to work on dinoflagellate genomics related to harmful algal blooms and coral symbiosis. For more information on my lab, check out my lab website and for more information about the opportunity, email me.


David Lund <david.lund@uconn.edu>

The PhD student would participate in a research cruise to the western equatorial Pacific to retrieve sediment cores for reconstructing the circulation of the deep ocean during the last ice age. For more information on my lab, check out my lab website and for more information about the opportunity, email me.


Shuwen Tan <shuwen.tan@uconn.edu>

I am recruiting 1-2 fully funded PhD/MS students to work on research projects exploring flow dynamics in deep ocean passages or internal wave dynamics over continental shelves, investigating their impact on Earth's climate. For more information on my lab, check out my lab website and for more information about the opportunity please, email me.


Evan Ward <evan.ward@uconn.edu>

I am recruiting a MS student to work on research related to one of the following: 1. microplastics in near-shore waters - environmental concentrations and uptake by suspension feeding benthic organisms; or 2) functional role of the gut microbiome of bivalves - detoxification of anthropogenic materials. For more information on my lab, check out my lab website and for more information about the opportunity please, email me.


Elizabeth Weidner <e.weidner@uconn.edu>

I am recruiting PhD/MS students for two projects: (1) exploring ice-ocean dynamics related to glacial retreat and (2) the impact of low-oxygen conditions on predator-prey interactions. For more information on my lab, check out my lab website and for more information about the opportunity please, email me.


Michael Whitney <michael.whitney@uconn.edu>

I am recruiting a PhD/MS student to work on research projects related to coastal-ocean and estuarine dynamics with applications to water quality and ecosystem health. For more information on my lab, check out my lab website and for more information about the opportunity please, email me.