PhD Student: Data Centers and Energy Development Southeast

PhD Student Position on Data Centers and Energy Development in the Southeast

The Geography Department at the University of Tennessee is recruiting a PhD student to work as a graduate research assistant (GRA) on the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation-funded project, u201CData Centers and the Southern Energy Buildout:
Implications for Electricity Cost, Energy Transition, and Energy Justice.u201D The student will work primarily in Central Appalachia and across the Tennessee Valley Authority’s service territory, supporting co-PI Gabe Schwartzman and Nikki Luke at the University of Tennessee, and collaborating with PI Kristin Phillips and co-PI Jola Ajibade at Emory University, and co-PI Cathy Kunkle, at Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

This project seeks to understand the spatial, political, legal, ecological, and demographic dimensions of the data center and energy infrastructure buildout in the South and Appalachia; how data center expansion will affect energy costs and decarbonization; the precise relationship between data center developments and emerging fossil energy buildouts; and the implications for energy, environmental, and worker justice.

The GRA will be responsible for conducting interviews in 2027 and 2028, under the supervision of the UTK research team, procuring, processing and analyzing data, and developing maps of data center siting and energy load growth.

The GRA will independently travel to research sites, including areas where data centers are being developed and where novel energy infrastructure is proposed/under construction, build relationship with local stakeholders, and conduct interviews and ethnographic research.

This PhD student will be offered 4 years of guaranteed funding contingent on their continued progress in the program. Starting in Fall 2027, they will be offered a graduate research assistantship (GRA) at minimum of $34,000 for 4 semesters, with the potential (and faculty support) to apply for additional summer research funding. Beginning in Spring 2029, the student will have four semesters of a graduate teaching assistantship (GTA) position at minimum of $26,500 over 9 months, with the possibility of applying for a 5th year of funding as a GTA.

The student will have travel funding for 3 years.

Throughout, a PhD advisor at UTK will support the student in applying for additional funding for their own independent research, including the NSF DDRI, summer travel funds, and various fellowships internal and external to the university.

We are interested in a student motivated to conduct independent research on energy justice with an interest in traveling throughout Tennessee and Central Appalachia.

Desired qualifications:

• A Master’s degree in Geography or associated fields
• A background in social science research methodologies
• A familiarity with energy geographies and/or energy-related research
• Having completed an independent research project
• An interest in energy and environmental policy and translating research to influence policymakers
• An interest in building community-engaged research relationships
• Willingness to travel independently across Central Appalachia and the Southeast.