PhD Position, Chattopadhyay Hydroecology Lab - Texas State University

Freshwater Science; San Marcos (TX); On-site; USD 33,000 - 41,000; Full time

Job summary

Chattopadhyay Hydroecology Lab at Texas State University is recruiting a funded PhD student to study how river flow regimes affect freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem function. The position supports 4.5 years of funding, with a start in Fall 2027 and a salary of $37,000 per year plus benefits.

Apply by November 30, 2026, and join a team conducting SWAT+ modelling and long-term hydrological analyses across Texas Hill Country rivers.

Qualifications

• PhD in environmental hydrology or closely related field.
• Strong background in hydrological modelling and field observations.
• Ability to work independently and in a team.

Education

PhD in Environmental Hydrology

Job description

How rivers flow, dry and recover, and what that means for the life in them.

We are a hydroecology lab at Texas State University. We combine watershed and ecological models with field and lab observations to understand how changing flow regimes shape freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem function.

What we work on

Connected questions about how water moves through river networks, the life it supports and the work rivers do.

Flow regimes and environmental flows

How altered flows affect fish and macroinvertebrates, and how much water rivers need to keep functioning.

Intermittent rivers

When and where streams stop flowing, and how river networks and their communities respond to drying and rewetting.

Biodiversity and stream function

How freshwater biodiversity and stream ecosystem functions respond as flow regimes change.

Watersheds under change

SWAT+ modelling and long‑term records to assess climate and land‑use effects on floods, droughts and low flows.

Read about our research

Lab news

What the lab has been up to lately.

• October 2026 We are recruiting a funded PhD student to start in Fall 2027.
• October 2026 Bassam Abubaker joins the lab as a postdoctoral researcher. Welcome, Bassam!
• 2026 The lab begins its first field season in Texas Hill Country rivers.

We are recruiting a PhD student for Fall 2027

A funded position in environmental hydrology: $37,000 per year plus benefits, with 4.5 years of support. Apply by November 30, 2026.

People

Somsubhra Chattopadhyay Principal investigator BA Bassam Abubaker Postdoctoral researcher