Opportunities

Undergraduate Students

If you are interested in hands-on research experience, come join our group! We have lots of resources to accommodate undergraduate students in our lab and a diversified profile of projects for you to choose from, including electrochemical wastewater treatment, membrane separation, biological nutrient removal, and resource recovery from wastewater. Auburn undergraduate students are encouraged to contact Dr. Zou regarding your research interest and financial support. Undergraduate researchers will be paired with doctoral students, but are expected to work independently and make novel contributions through their research. 

Resource: Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program (http://our.auburn.edu/undergraduate-research-fellowship/)

Graduate Students

We always welcome self-motivated students to join our group! While research/teaching assistantships may be limited, students are strongly encouraged to seek external funding opportunities to sponsor their Ph.D. study at Auburn University. The selected candidates will join Dr. Shiqiang (Nick) Zou’s lab and expect to work on research projects relevant to energy-efficient wastewater treatment and resource recovery.

The following qualifications are desired:

  1. A bachelor’s or master’s degree in relevant science and engineering fields;
  2. Previous experience in wastewater treatment using environmental bioprocess, membrane reactors, electrochemical process, and/or bioelectrochemical systems is preferred;
  3. Previous experience in wastewater quality analysis (e.g., IC and ICP-MS) and electrochemical analysis (e.g., voltammetry and amperometry) is a plus;
  4. Good communication skills, team spirit, and experience in publishing peer-reviewed papers;

Interested candidates are encouraged to contact Dr. Shiqiang (Nick) Zou at shiqiang@auburn.edu with the subject line “Auburn Civil PhD application.” Please indicate that

  1. If you need graduate research or teaching assistantship (and you will be placed in our candidate pool);
  2. Or if you have secured an external fellowship for your Ph.D. study (including funding sources/programs from NSF, CSC, ORISE, etc.)

Please attach your application package in a single PDF file with your updated CV (max two pages), unofficial transcript(s), GRE/TOEFL/IELTS scores, the contact information of three references, and a publication list (if applicable). Failing to provide these materials may lead to a delayed response.

More information about application and admission can be found at
Civil department: https://www.eng.auburn.edu/civil/academics/graduate/how-to-apply.html
Graduate school: http://bulletin.auburn.edu/thegraduateschool/admissions/

Note: For international students, Duolingo English Test (https://englishtest.duolingo.com) is an acceptable English test. To qualify for admission, applicants must score 110 or above.

Office Location

205 W. Magnolia Ave,

204 Harbert Engineering Center,

Auburn, AL 36849-5337

Mailing/Billing Address

205 W. Magnolia Ave,

238 Harbert Engineering Center,

Auburn, AL 36849-5337

Lab Address

311 W. Magnolia Ave,

206 Gavin Engineering Research Lab,

Auburn, AL 36849-5337

Lab Shipping Address

311 W. Magnolia Ave,

132 Gavin Engineering Research Lab,

Auburn, AL 36849-5337

Resources

National Alliance for Water Innovation   WE3Lab at Stanford

EBBL website      Annual Report of EBBL (2015)  EBBL(2016)  EBBL(2017)  EBBL(2018)  EBBL (2019)