The Desert Research Institute (DRI; www.dri.edu) in Reno, Nevada, in partnership with the Graduate Program at the University of Nevada Reno (UNR), are actively recruiting a highly motivated PhD. student to work on a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research project in the areas of light scattering, aerosol optical property characterization, and advanced instrumentation development. The selected candidate will join a dynamic interdisciplinary team based at the Desert Research Institute (DRI) in Reno, Nevada, and will be formally enrolled in the Department of Physics, an Engineering Department, or any other Department at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). The project will involve experimental (mostly) and theoretical and computational work with a focus on aerosol optical characterization using advanced angularly resolved light scattering measurements using static, dynamic, and holography-based systems, development and enhancement of aerosol optical instrumentation, including multi-wavelength nephelometers, PM monitoring sensors, and lidar-based remote sensing tools, laboratory generation and optical characterization of bioaerosols (e.g., pollen, spores), mineral dust aerosols, and other particles relevant to defense system and atmospheric optics, and data acquisition, signal processing, and integration with real-time particle sizing instruments.