Student Project Assistant - Plant and Soil Sciences

Job Title
Student Project Assistant - Plant and Soil Sciences

Requisition Number
DU12421

Department Name
81060:PLANT AND SOIL SCIENCES

Work Location
Lexington, KY

Salary Range
$15.00-$19.00/hour

Type of Position
Student

Position Time Status
Part-Time

Required Education

Student pursuing a degree at UK

Required Related Experience

Prior experience in conducting/assisting in data collection.

Required License/Registration/Certification

Driver’s license

Physical Requirements

Sitting for long periods of time; ability to travel to several locations on/off campus to collect and transport soil samples; repetitive motion at the data collection, coding for machine/deep learning models, or geospatial modeling

Shift

Approximately 5~40 hours per week, most days and times flexible.

Job Summary

A faculty member in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences is seeking to hire an hourly assistant to provide support for assistance with data collection from field and laboratory maintenance. It is expected that this position will be at least 5/hours week. There will be some on-site data collection activities in Kentucky that will require a physical presence and occur at specific times.
The projects include but not limited to
(1) Drone-based application for seeding cover crops
(2) Machine Learning Based Spectroscopy Prediction for Soil Carbon
(3) How long do no-tillage systems benefit Kentucky corn growers in sequestering carbon in soil
(4) Geospatial modeling for assessing the impact of land use cover changes on soil health

To apply, please complete this application and submit a resume/CV and a cover letter detailing how you meet the preferred skills/knowledge/abilities outlined below.
Please contact nader.ekramirad@uky.edu with any questions.

Skills / Knowledge / Abilities

Attention to detail; ability to work independently; excellent communication skills. Experience in coding and/or GIS if possible.

Does this position have supervisory responsibilities?
No

Preferred Education/Experience

Deadline to Apply
04/03/2026

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Any candidate offered a position may be required to pass pre-employment screenings as mandated by University of Kentucky Human Resources. These screenings may include a national background check and/or drug screen.