FAQ Prospective

This page contains Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for prospective members of the Jimenez Group at Colorado.

1. What should I do if I am interested in joining the Jimenez Group?

You can email Jose and attach your CV and a list of publications. Graduate students need to apply for admission through a CU Department (see FAQ 4 below).

2. Do you have open postdoc / research scientist positions right now?

This changes frequently as we write proposals, hear whether proposals will be funded or not, as people currently in the group get fellowships etc. We keep a listing of open positions in this Wiki page. But even if a position is not listed there, one could develop within your timescale or we could apply for fellowships together, so please email Jose if you are interested.

3. How do I learn more about the research of the Jimenez Group?

We have a lot of information on the web that should provide a good overview of the types of topics and techniques we work on. In particular see:

• List of Scientific Publications by the group. The following papers are representative for different lines of work within the group:
  • MS instrument development: DeCarlo et al., 2006; Canagaratna et al., 2007
  • Ground-based AMS field studies: Zhang et al., 2004; Zhang et al., 2005; Salcedo et al., 2006; Docherty et al., 2008; Aiken et al., 2009
  • Aircraft-based AMS field studies: DeCarlo et al., 2008; Dunlea et al., 2009
  • Syntheses of many field studies: Zhang et al., 2007
  • Hyphenated technique development: Huffman et al., 2005; Huffman et al., 2008
  • Analysis of hyphenated technique data: Huffman et al., 2009a; Huffman et al., 2009b
  • Development of data analysis and interpretation techniques: DeCarlo et al., 2004; Zhang et al., 2005; [Dzepina et al., 2007 http://cires.colorado.edu/jimenez/Papers/Dzepina_PAH_AMS_Complete_Published.pdf]; Aiken et al., 2008; Ulbrich et al., 2009
  • Modeling and comparison to field data: Volkamer et al., 2006; Dzepina et al., 2009
  • Synthesis and review papers: Jimenez et al., 2009; de Gouw and Jimenez, 2009

• List of Field Studies in which our group has taken part
• List of Current Group Members (which lists their backgrounds)
• List of Past Group Members and where they went after the group
• Group News & Press Page that describes some key topics and results of our research in broader terms
• Scientific Reference Information for our group: Part 1 and Part 2
• Jose's 2004 Tutorial on Aerosol Mass Spectrometry

4. How do I apply to graduate school?

Note that in the US prospective graduate students need to apply for admission to an academic department. Individual professors cannot make admission decisions on their own. (This is often not clear to international applicants).

To work in our group, the most natural departments are:

• Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, see the following pages:
  • How to Apply to the Chemistry PhD Program
  • General Information for Current and Future Chemistry Graduate Students
  • Or contact the Chemistry Graduate Secretary, Cora Fagan-Edminster <Cora.Fagan-Edminster@Colorado.EDU>

• Dept. of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
  • Information for ATOC Prospective Graduate Students
  • Information on the ATOC Graduate Program

It is also possible in principle to apply to an Engineering Dept. (Mechanical, Civil and Environmental, Chemical), but this is more complex.

5. Should I apply for a fellowship before I join the group?

YES. Fellowships always help the group do more with the available funding, and are often a deciding factor on whether a position in the group is possible.

6. Will I be expected to apply for fellowships while I am a group member?

YES, especially for graduate students for which one can apply for fellowships after one has started. I will expect you to take these applications very seriously.

7. Which fellowships are available?

Some available fellowships include:

For graduate students:

• EPA STAR Fellowship
• NSF Fellowship
• NASA Earth Science Fellowship
• Hertz Foundation Fellowships
• DOE GCEP Program Fellowship (Deadline in 2009 was Feb 2)
• CIRES Graduate Fellowships
• CIRES-ESRL Fellowships
• DHS Fellowships
• NDSEG Fellowships

For graduate students and postdocs:

• Ford Foundation (US Minorities)

For postdocs:

• NOAA Climate and Global Change Fellowships
• CIRES Visiting Fellowships
• NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship

8. What is typical graduate student funding?

• Graduate students are paid a monthly stipend and do not have to pay tuition.
• The sources of funding are: (a) research grants; (b) fellowships; (c) teaching assistantships

9. Will I be expected to work as a Teaching Assistant (TA) while I am a graduate student?

• Almost all students who join the group TA both semesters of their first year.
• Students may be asked to TA additional semesters depending on group finances and their own productivity. This has been relatively infrequent in the past. Students with fellowships are typically exempted from TAing.
• Students may also be asked to TA smaller parts of Jose's courses.

10. What kinds of things do people do after finishing at the Jimenez group?

Our group alumni have an excellent track record in faculty positions, postdoctoral positions at top European institutions, positions with the funding agencies, and also positions in industry. See the J-Group Alumni page for more details.