Opportunities

Undergraduates

We welcome undergraduate students of all research experience levels who seek employment or would like to earn IB 390 credit to gain research experience in laboratory or field work. Students who would like to perform independent research (e.g, for IB 490 credit or for Integrative Biology Distinction Projects) will typically have assisted with research in our lab for at least one semester or summer already. During the academic year we require that students are available to work at least 3 hour blocks between 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays and at least 6 hours per week. We also welcome students through summer research internships and hire experienced students to assist with research over the summer. If you are interested in joining the lab, please contact Dr. Yang at yangw at illinois.edu.

Graduate Students

We are currently not accepting new graduate students. Prospective students can apply through the Department of Plant Biology, Department of Geology, or the Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology. If you are interested in applying, please email Dr. Yang (yangw at illinois.edu) with your resume and a brief statement of your research interests.

Postdoctoral Researchers

We are seeking a postdoctoral researcher to conduct laboratory and field experiments in Illinois to investigate mechanisms controlling agricultural soil nitrous oxide emissions. The postdoctoral researcher will use advanced stable isotope techniques (e.g., 15N gas flux and nitrous oxide isotopomers) to quantify dinitrogen emissions and partition nitrous oxide sources as well as advanced molecular techniques (e.g., long-read amplicon sequencing and transcriptomics) to investigate microbial drivers of soil nitrous oxide production and reduction. The target start date is in March 2026. If you are interested in applying, please email Dr. Yang (yangw at illinois.edu) with your resume and a brief statement of your qualifications and research interests.