Lead researchers: Sally Reynolds and Matthew Bennett
School/Faculty: Faculty of Science and Technology
Cluster, centre, institute: Centre for Conservation Ecology and Environmental Change
URA position title: Human Evolution and GIS
Relevant disciplines:
Applied Geography
Archaeology
Anthropology
Forensic Science
Environmental Science
Applied Biology
Description of the position: To support research across a wide range of activities with respect to human (hominin) evolution and the influence of landscape processes in driving that evolution. The data to be collected and processed is important as proof of concept for a number of current research funding applications and future research agenda. The post holder will initially mine data on the distribution and location of hominin fossils in Africa from a range of databases in order to extract information with which to explore biogeographical and temporal patterns. Subsequently, the postholder will help create digital elevation models for part of the African Rift Valley performing basic topographic analysis. The post-holder will develop knowledge of hominin fossils at many of the key sites across Africa and be responsible for generating GIS output for publications.
Explain how this position will enhance and enrich the student's undergraduate experience and
how it relates to the relevant courses/disciplines and/or future career of the student: The post is relevant to a wide range of geographical, archaeological and anthropological disciplines providing experience in fossil databases and geographical information systems (GIS). The post-holder will work on some of the most high profile research being undertaken at BU currently and will have opportunity to contribute to this research and associated publications. The post-holder will work with Matthew Bennett and Sally Reynolds both of which are leading researchers within BU with an international reputation for work in human evolution. The potential to develop undergraduate research projects on the back of this post or to frame future Masters or Doctoral projects is clear.
How will the position be supervised and mentored: The post-holder will report to both Sally
Reynolds and Matthew Bennett on a weekly basis giving to points of contact at all time. They will receive continual mentoring and guidance throughout the project and have priority access to both researchers. Both Bennett and Reynolds are experienced student mentors and research supervisors.
List of duties and responsibilities of the position: Duties include: (1) mining fossil data bases using key words to extract specimen data for both hominin and key animal groups in Africa including locational data; (2) preparation of that spatial data in Excel for use as source files within Arc Map; (3) creation of Arc Map files to display data spatially across Africa for different time periods and fossil groups; (4) create digital elevation models for parts of the African Rift using SRT imagery within Arc
Map and perform simple topographic analysis; and (6) compiling/presenting short research reports/notes on the data collected.

List the position qualifications including any special requirements: There are no prior qualifications required for this post. Training will be provided in all aspects of the required duties, although knowledge of Arc Map and GIS in general may be a slight advantage.