PhD Opportunity: Coupled Tipping Dynamics of Ocean Circulation and Ice Sheets at UC Irvine
This is a paid five-year position as a PhD student in the Earth System Science program at the University of California Irvine, beginning Fall 2027 – see https://www.ess.uci.edu/phd-program.
Project.
The research project aims to advance understanding of tipping points in the ocean’s meridional overturning circulation and the polar ice sheets, with a focus on the role of coupled ice-ocean feedbacks along the Antarctic margins. The successful candidate will run and analyze simulations of the state-of-the-art Community Earth System Model version 3 (CESM3) with synchronous coupling to the Community Ice Sheet Model (CISM3)’s representations of Antarctica and Greenland. In addition to writing and defending their PhD dissertation, the candidate will present their work at both local and national conferences and publish several scientific articles in top research journals.
About us.
You will join several other PhD students, postdocs, and undergraduates in the UCI Ocean and Climate Dynamics research group led by Henri Drake (https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/drakelab/). The Earth System Science Department at UC Irvine is highly interdisciplinary. It includes 25-30 faculty with broad expertise, all devoted to the study of the Earth as a coupled system. UC Irvine is located in Orange County, California, about halfway between the diverse metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and San Diego. It is a sunny and pleasant place to live, surrounded by beaches, parks, and mountains.
Interdisciplinary collaboration and mentorship opportunities.
The PhD student will work closely with advisor Prof. Henri Drake, a postdoc in the group, and collaborators at NSF NCAR – including CISM developer Bill Lipscomb. In years 3-5 of the PhD, the PhD student will gain mentoring experience by co-advising an interdisciplinary team of undergraduate students at UCI.
Pay and benefits.
This position is funded by a National Science Foundation grant, meaning the candidate’s stipend will primarily be paid via employment as a Graduate Student Researcher. The candidate will additionally be expected to work as a Teaching Assistant for two quarters, which is the minimum amount required by the ESS PhD degree program. This position covers tuition fees, provides health care, and guarantees on-campus student housing at affordable rates (which somewhat compensate for the high cost of living in the area – see https://grad.uci.edu/admissions/housing/ for more).
Qualifications.
Applicants must, by September 2027, have a Bachelor’s degree in applied math, physics, mechanical engineering, computer science, Earth System Science, or a related quantitative field. Applicants are expected to have strong foundations in Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Ordinary Differential Equations. Competitive candidates will have substantial research experience in one of the above fields and be able to effectively communicate the results of this work in an interview. Experience with any of the following is desirable, but not strictly necessary: computer programming, high performance computing, ocean or ice sheet modeling, nonlinear dynamics, machine learning emulators.
Application and selection process.
Interested applicants are encouraged to email hfdrake@uci.edu with a brief statement of their research interests, a CV, and unofficial transcripts. Admissions decisions are ultimately made via the formal application process. Prof. Drake will consider any applications to the UCI ESS PhD Program (https://apply.grad.uci.edu/apply/) submitted by December 1, 2026 that (1) meet the required qualifications above and (2) mention him somewhere in the application materials.