Departmental Unit № 1
Department of Biology & Center for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability (CEES) / Department of Engineering
PhD in Biology (Ecology & Environmental Sciences)
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (5 Years)
Funding Package: 100% full tuition scholarship + competitive 9-month living stipend (~$30,000–$33,000/yr + summer support) + health insurance covered via teaching/research assistantships.
Fall Priority Deadline: January 15 (Fall Priority)
GRE Policy: Not required / Waived
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT 79–80 or IELTS 6.5
MS in Biology (Environmental Track - Thesis)
100% Full Funding Available for Thesis MS (Tuition Waiver + Stipend)
Funding Reality: Wake Forest Biology provides full tuition scholarships and living stipends to all admitted MS thesis students.
Application Deadline: January 15
Admissions Advisory: If full funding is required and MS is self-funded, students are strongly advised to apply directly to the PhD track.
Vetted Matched Scholars (2 Profiles)
Prof. Miles R. Silman
Andrew Sabin Family Foundation Presidential Chair in Conservation Biology
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
He leads scientific expeditions into the Amazon rainforest, flying laser-scanning drones over illegal gold mines to measure how toxic liquid mercury spills poison river soils and how native trees can heal the land.
Core Research Topics: Tropical forest ecology, drone/UAS remote sensing, LiDAR canopy modeling, Amazonian climate change response, artisanal gold mining mercury pollution.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Directing the Center for Amazonian Scientific Innovation (CINCIA) in Peru, using multi-rotor and fixed-wing LiDAR drones to map illegal gold mining deforestation, toxic mercury accumulation in river soils, and wetland forest recovery (USAID / WWF 2024–2026).
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: Drone LiDAR, multispectral sensors, atomic absorption mercury analyzers, GIS spatial analysis, high-resolution satellite imagery (PlanetScope).
Recruiting Context: Presidential Chair and Director of CINCIA; extraordinary international drone remote sensing field operations.
Candidate Match:
Remote SensingGISEnvironmental PollutionEnvironmental Remediation
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Discussing your interest in UAS drone LiDAR remote sensing, mercury environmental pollution mapping, and tropical ecosystem restoration in the Silman Lab."
Prof. Courtney Di Vittorio
Assistant Professor of Engineering
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
Rising Assistant Professor who uses NASA radar satellites to measure water levels inside giant dams and lakes from outer space, helping engineers prevent downstream flash floods and droughts.
Core Research Topics: Satellite remote sensing hydrology, reservoir water management, SWOT satellite altimetry, streamflow modeling, water resources optimization.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Using satellite radar altimetry (including NASA's SWOT mission) and optical imagery to estimate reservoir water storage variations and optimize downstream environmental release schedules in data-sparse international river basins (NASA Applied Sciences 2024–2026).
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: NASA SWOT satellite data, radar altimetry (Jason-3, Sentinel-3), hydrologic reservoir simulation models, Python, GIS.
Recruiting Context: Early-career faculty actively seeking motivated graduate students in satellite hydrology and water resources.
Candidate Match:
Remote SensingHydrologyFlood StudiesGIS
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Discussing your interest in satellite radar altimetry for reservoir water management, SWOT remote sensing, and hydrologic modeling in your group."