Interested in Working in the Food Systems PRISM Lab?
​Are you motivated, innately curious, and highly disciplined? Are you keen to hone your research skills and knowledge? Do you have a strong interest in food system sustainability issues? Are you willing and able to critically examine your own assumptions, and to challenge and be challenged in an environment of respect, collaboration, and exploration? Does the prospect of living, working and playing in the beautiful Okanagan Valley in western Canada match your lifestyle aspirations? If so, the Food Systems PRISM Lab at the University of British Columbia might be a good match for you...

The decision to apply for graduate studies opportunities should not be taken lightly. Graduate school is a lot of work. It can also be very rewarding, provided that you are genuinely interested in the research you are undertaking, and committed to success. In my experience, the following attributes are reliable predictors of success as a graduate student. 

Cleverness - as evidenced by a strong academic track record

Curiousity - a genuine interest in research and exploration

Creativity - the ability to identify interesting/important research questions, formulate innovative and rigorous research methods, and synthesize and build upon theory, methods, concepts, and information from across relevant disciplinary and interdisciplinary domains

Criticality - the capacity to apply logic and rigour in discriminating among sources of information, arguments, methods, etc.

Communication skills - the ability to communicate clearly and succinctly (in particular, in written form)

Commitment - a combination of personal attributes and soft skills including ambition, self-motivation, discipline, and professionalism

Research Opportunities
I'm keen to work with high-caliber undergraduate, Masters, PhD and Post-doctoral researchers who have a strong interest in research and publication in the field of food system sustainability. Students may apply to work in the context of my funded research projects (see below for descriptions of specific funded research projects for which I am currently recruiting students). Students who secure independent funding (for example, through scholarships or awards) may propose research projects that fall within my area of research interest. 

Interested students should e-mail me the following documents:

  • a description of research interests (referring, in particular, to how your interests and experience relate to the specific project you wish to work on, and why the PRISM Lab is a good fit for you)
  •  a CV (including two academic and/or professional references)
  •  copies of unofficial transcripts (please self-assess your transcripts against the published requirements for admission to the UBC College of Graduate Studies - only students achieving first class standing will be considered)
  • a writing sample
  • your IELTS or TOEFL test scores (strong English language skills are essential, with a minimum of 8.0 IELTS score in each category)
  • indication of your interest in a degree program (MSc or PhD) in Biology or through the Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies Program Sustainability theme. 

​INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.  

Prospective students satisfying all of the above stated criteria may be contacted to schedule an interview. Only those students who receive an invitation to apply following an interview should consider submitting a formal application (visit the UBC Okanagan College of Graduate Studies website for more information about graduate studies at UBC Okanagan, including information on how to apply).

Application deadline to the UBCO College of Graduate Studies is June 2 for January admission, October 1 for May admission and January 15 for September admission. Prospective students are advised to correspond with Dr. Pelletier well in advance of this date in order to discuss their candidacy. 


Current Recruitment Calls

I am currently recruiting MSc and PhD students as well as Post-doctoral Fellows for the following funded projects

*Please note that direct entry into a PhD program without having first completed a Master's degree will not be considered. However, exceptional students may be considered for early transfer into a PhD program after completion of their first year of Master's studies. 

MSc POSITIONS​ :

MSc Project: Techno-economic and prospective life cycle assessment of geothermal heating and cooling solutions for poultry houses (2 years @ $25,000 annually)
Inputs to poultry housing, including both infrastructure and operating energy, may account for as much as 50% of the total non-renewable energy (non-RE) use and up to 20%–35% of some of the life cycle impacts of poultry production. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems comprise the largest share of direct energy inputs to intensive, confined egg production systems. Identifying and implementing optimal HVAC solutions for confined poultry production (taking into account both the characteristics of confined production and the physiological requirements of poultry) hence represents an important sustainability intervention point for the industry

Heating and cooling of poultry housing is currently predominantly based on non-renewable thermal energy sources and electricity (which may be generated from both renewable and non-RE sources). A variety of passive (i.e. earth tubes) and active (i.e ground sourced heat pumps) geothermal HVAC system components have been developed for commercial and residential applications, but their feasibility and efficacy in the context of confined egg production remain largely unexplored. This MSc research project will:
(a) undertake a systematic review of peer reviewed literature and industry technical data and reports in order to identify a  priority subset of potential geothermal HVAC solutions to be considered for confined poultry production based on criteria addressing technological maturity, affordability, ease of implementation and potential efficacy; (b) develop and evaluate detailed prospective technoeconomic and life cycle inventory and assessment models using technical data and energy simulation software to estimate the potential sustainability costs and benefits of these solutions; and (c) advance recommendations for pilot trials of key candidate technologies, including identification of one or more egg farm collaborators in Canada with whom to co-author a funding support application to the AAFC Agricultural Clean Technology program.

PHD POSITIONS: 

PhD Project: Alternative Biomass Resources for Sustainable Livestock Production (4 years @ $30,000 annually)
Cultivating and processing animal feed contributes a disproportionate share of the resource and environmental impacts of livestock production. Social license for the livestock sector will also likely be increasingly predicated on its ability to reduce direct competition for arable land and human-edible feed resources. This four year, funded PhD project will answer this challenge by (a) identifying and mapping the availability of alternative feed resources for the poultry industry in Canada, including (for example), single cell proteins from forest industry residues, insects meals, and food waste-to-feed products; (b) undertaking detailed environmental life cycle assessment and techno-economic assessments of each feed resource pathway, and (c) assessing their potential for contributing to sustainable poultry production based on a combination of environmental, economic, and nutritional objectives and constraints.
 Project outputs will include a PhD dissertation, presentation of results at poultry industry association professional meetings, conference presentations, and submission of study results for publication in peer-reviewed venues.

This project will begin in September 2022.

PhD Project: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Egg Production (4 years @ $30,000 annually)
The livestock sector faces increasing pressure to identify and adopt strategies to reduce resource use and environmental impacts so as to maintain social license within the context of sustainable production and consumption. While relatively efficient in terms of environmental outcomes per unit of product compared to other livestock species, the scale and projected increase in production in the global egg sector necessitates concerted efforts towards achieving this goal. Predictive analytics using artificial intelligence (AI) techniques provide novel and potentially powerful meanings of integrating and parsing diverse data streams from the poultry sector. In particular,  AI techniques can be used to exploring past trends and patterns,forecast future expectations and identify key sustainability improvement opportunities. These AI outcomes can be incorporated with Multiple-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA)  to reveal sustainable solutions (i.e. strategies/technologies) that taken into account multiple, potentially competing objectives.
This four year, funded PhD project will answer this challenge by (a) preprocessing Canadian egg industry data through tasks such as outlier identification and prediction of missing data, which makes data streams suitable for AI techniques; (b) identifying or developing, validating and implementing the best selected AI techniques; and utilizing life cycle-based, multi-criteria assessment methods in order to improve sustainability decision support in the Canadian egg industry. Project outputs will include a PhD dissertation, presentation of results at poultry industry association professional meetings, conference presentations, and submission of study results for publication in peer-reviewed venues.

This project will begin in September 2022.

PhD Project: Life cycle assessment and techno-economic assessment of heat stress monitoring/mitigation strategies for the livestock sector (4 years @ $30,000 annually)
Livestock and poultry together account for over 50% of farm cash receipts in the ~$15 billion agriculture sector in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Industry-disclosed data suggests mortality rates as high as 5-10% in the BC egg and broiler industries during the June 2021 heat dome event as well as an undetermined number among dairy and beef herds. Longer term effects on productivity due to heat stress are also likely, with a combination of negative resource, environmental (including increased GHG emissions), economic, and animal welfare implications. The viability of livestock production is similarly influenced by feed crop availability and prices, both of which have been significantly impacted by heat and drought across the Canadian prairies this year. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada estimates a 27% decrease in Canadian field crop production in 2021 due to drought conditions. A variety of potential technological and managerial strategies (spanning a spectrum from low-tech ventilation and active cooling to advanced sensors and AI applications, to gene editing solutions) are available to monitor and mitigate heat stress risk in livestock. However, outside of basic ventilation systems, few have been implemented in the BC livestock sector to date. Moreover, their comparative feasibility (including affordability, technological maturity, and ease of implementation), relative efficacy (taking into account animal performance, resource/environmental and animal welfare considerations), and stakeholder acceptability are unknown. This four year, funded PhD project will answer this challenge by (a) identifying available heat stress monitoring/mitigation technologies; (b) mapping the heat risk for BC livestock populations under regionalized climate change projections; and (c) utilizing environmental life cycle assessment and techno-economic assessments to determine and compare and sustainability benefits and trade-offs associated with a subset of priority heat stress monitoring/mitigation solutions. Project outputs will include a PhD dissertation, presentation of results at poultry industry association professional meetings, conference presentations, and submission of study results for publication in peer-reviewed venues.
​
This project will begin in September 2022.

​PhD Project: Artificial intelligence to support climate change adaptation measures in the livestock sector (4 years @ $30,000 annually)
Artificial intelligence (AI) can be harnessed to develop predictive models of potential climate change impacts and mitigation/adaption measures in a variety of application contexts. In this four year, funded PhD project, predictive analytic models will be developed to estimate the probable range of morbidity, mortality, productivity, resource/environmental, economic, and animal welfare impacts associated with extreme heat events for each livestock species in British Columbia, Canada, under current climate change projections, and to assess the potential benefits/trade-offs associated with scenarios for heat stress risk monitoring and mitigation technology implementation. This information will then be used in combination with the stakeholder values data to rank the technologies and scenarios using a multi-criteria decision making (MCDA) framework. Project outputs will include a PhD dissertation, presentation of results at poultry industry association professional meetings, conference presentations, and submission of study results for publication in peer-reviewed venues
​
This project will begin in September 2022.


POST-DOCTORAL POSITIONS:

LCA of Sustainable Agri-food Technology and Management Alternatives (Funding: $70,000 annually, renewable for a second year)

The Food Systems PRISM Lab is seeking a highly qualified and highly motivated post-doctoral fellow to contribute to research and research management in the field of agri-food life cycle assessment. In light of the current COVID situation, a remote appointment may be considered.

The successful candidate for this position MUST possess one more of the following:
  • a mature foundation in life cycle assessment theory and practice, including data quality and uncertainty assessment 
  • a strong publication record and interest in further research in the field of agri-food life cycle sustainability modelling, in       particular with respect to the current PRISM Lab areas of research 
  • a strong publication record and interest in further research in the fields of predictive analytics and optimization research, with demonstrable transferability to agri-food sustainability modelling contexts​
The candidate must also have:
  • a keen interest in contributing to mentoring and co-publishing with a large cohort of research assistants and graduate students (MSc and PhD) while developing extensive lab management, research supervision, grant writing, and industry engagement credentials
Interested candidates should send ALL of the following materials to Dr. Nathan Pelletier (nathan.pelletier@ubc.ca). Incomplete applications will not be considered.

  • a cover letter summarizing the applicants qualifications with respect to the above specified requirements 
  • a complete scholarly curriculum vitae, including contact information for at least two references 
  • up to three relevant peer-reviewed publications

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview and letters of reference. The position is available immediately until filled.

External Funding
Regardless of availability of dedicated project funding in the Food Systems PRISM Lab, all prospective students are strongly encouraged to explore and apply for relevant external funding as well as teaching assistantships. Students who are awarded a funded project position in the Food Systems PRISM Lab and who also successfully procure additional funding for the project through scholarships, teaching assistantships, and other awards will be "topped up" (i.e. external + project funding) to a maximum of $30,000 annually (over two years) for MSc projects, $35,000 annually (over four years) for PhD projects, and $60,000 annually (over two years) for post-doctoral projects. 

Canadian Students and Post-doctoral Fellows
International Students and Post-doctoral Fellows
UBC Okanagan Awards and Financial Aid ​