GIA Looking for Research Fellows in Carlsbad, New York

Carlsbad, Calif.--The Gemological Institute of America announced it is looking for candidates to apply for its Richard T. Liddicoat Postdoctoral Research Fellowships at its Carlsbad and New York City campuses.

The fellowships allow postdoctoral scientists who are at the early stages of their careers to pursue fully funded and full-time academic research for one to two years in fields related to gemology, including fundamental scientific problems in gemstone geology, and defect physics and diamond synthesis.

The GIA also offers a one- to two-month paid research internship program for students completing bachelor’s or master’s degrees in gemology-related fields. The internships are to be focused on an agreed-upon topic with the GIA specific to gemology.

While start dates for the fellowships and internships are flexible, candidates interested in applying should plan to begin their programs by Jan. 31, 2019, and fellowship candidates should have completed their Ph.D. programs by that time, preferably within three years of that date.

The GIA said the fellowship positions include competitive annual stipends, full health insurance benefits including medical, dental and vision, and research funding and travel subsidies.

There are six past and present research fellows in the Richard T. Liddicoat program. Former fellow Evan Smith is one of the authors of the cover story of the December issue of Science magazine, which is about the origin of large diamonds and what they say about the earth’s mantle.

Fellowship applications are due April 30, 2018, and intern applications are due May 31, 2018.

“GIA’s fellowship and internship programs provide unique opportunities for researchers to fully perform specialized research in their areas of interest and expertise,” said Dr. Wuyi Wang, vice president of research and development for GIA.

“Researchers are given full access to in-house research instruments and information including FTIR, UV-Vis-NIR absorption, Raman, photoluminescence and EPR spectrometers; an SEM microscope equipped with EDS and CL spectroscopy and imaging; laser ablation ICP-MS and a CVD diamond growth lab with laser cutting and polishing facilities.”

More information is available on the GIA website.