Ph.D. Graduate Research Assistant in Weed Ecology and Soil Health

Ph.D. Graduate Research Assistant in Weed Ecology and Soil Health Description of Duties

The Ph.D. Graduate Research Assistant will conduct research supported by a Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (Western SARE) Research and Education Grant to evaluate annual living mulches as a sustainable weed-management strategy in vegetable production systems. This will be the student’s primary research project. The student will investigate how living mulches suppress weeds through physical competition and potential allelopathic effects, using field and greenhouse experiments, soil-health assessments, and soil metabolomics to understand relationships among living-mulch treatments, weed suppression, soil function, and crop performance.

During the growing season, the student will be based primarily at the CSU Western Colorado Research Center, including Orchard Mesa and/or Rogers Mesa, and will collaborate with three farmer partners on on-farm research activities. Responsibilities will include establishing and managing field and greenhouse experiments, collecting and analyzing research data, conducting soil-health assessments, contributing to soil metabolomics research, and preparing research reports, scientific manuscripts, presentations, and extension materials.

The student will also participate in producer meetings, field days, workshops, professional conferences, lab meetings, collaborative research, undergraduate mentoring, and outreach activities within the CSU Weed Research Lab and Weed Science program.

The student will have opportunities to contribute to the development of research proposals and future projects related to sustainable weed management. They may also have opportunities to conduct collaborative research with agricultural industry partners and other external stakeholders. Depending on program needs, funding, and the student’s interests, the selected candidate may serve as a teaching assistant during selected semesters. These additional opportunities will provide experience in grant writing, project development, industry collaboration, teaching, mentoring, and professional development while the Western SARE project remains the student’s central research focus.

The position will involve seasonal fieldwork, travel among research sites, and collaboration with CSU faculty, research-center personnel, students, extension professionals, farmer partners, and other agricultural stakeholders.

The student will be working with Dr. Lovreet Shergill.

• An earned M.S. degree in weed science, agronomy, horticulture, plant science, soil science, ecology, biology, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience conducting field, greenhouse, or laboratory research.
• Strong written, oral, organizational, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively with faculty, students, research-center personnel, and farmer partners.
• Willingness to conduct seasonal fieldwork and travel to research sites and collaborating farms in western Colorado.
• Experience with experimental design, data collection, statistical analysis, and scientific writing is preferred.
• Familiarity with weed science, living mulches, soil health, allelopathy, metabolomics, or sustainable agriculture is desirable but not required.
• A valid driver’s license is preferred.

The successful candidate should be motivated to pursue interdisciplinary research in sustainable weed management and willing to contribute to field research, greenhouse experiments, soil-health assessments, scientific publications, and producer-oriented outreach.

Competitive Ph.D. graduate research assistantship stipend, commensurate with Colorado State University rates.

The successful candidate will receive benefits associated with a Colorado State University Ph.D. Graduate Research Assistantship, according to current CSU policies.

Fort Collins, CO

12/20/2026

01/01/2027

Colorado State University (CSU) is a leading public land-grant university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The Department of Agricultural Biology advances research and graduate education on plants, microbes, insects, and their roles in agricultural and natural ecosystems, including Weed Science. The successful candidate will join the Weed Research Lab, a group of three principal investigators with complementary and independent research programs.

Research in the lab addresses sustainable weed management through integrated approaches involving weed ecology, cover crops, soil health, crop production, herbicide resistance, and grower-focused outreach.