PhD in Agro-ecological intensification of mixed crop-livestock systems in southern Mali

Description

This PhD project is part of a project led by Wageningen University, in collaboration with CIRAD (Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement), ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), IER (Institut d’économie rurale) and AMEDD (Association Malienne d’Eveil au Développement Durable.

Agroecological intensification (AEI) is described as a promising way to increase agricultural productivity and nutritious food production, while maintaining healthy ecosystems and equitably improving livelihoods. AEI options can target the various components of the farming systems (crops, trees, soils, livestock, grazing lands, etc.) and are not limited to technologies, but include farm management, institutional arrangements and marketing improvements. Farming systems analysis that is participatory and based on adaptive learning cycles is well positioned to identify AEI options that are tailored to the multi-dimensional and multi-scale context of smallholders.The research relies on a combination of on-farm experiments, modelling and stakeholder engagement to identify AEI solutions. Performance indicators such as agricultural productivity, income and food self-sufficiency will be complemented with information on nutrition, labour requirements, resilience and risk as well as indicators for environmental health, including soil fertility, land use/cover and biodiversity. Approaches for analysing the trade-offs between various AEI domains will be refined and applied in stakeholder consultations.

To understand and alleviate bottlenecks to AEI, constraints and opportunities will be determined for different farm types and other actors along the value chain. The project then plays a facilitating role in connecting farmers with upstream and downstream value chain actors, and feeding information into the discussions between them. A tool will be developed to aid farmers with farm planning and budgeting. AEI pathways will be conceived together with various stakeholders during village and higher-level workshops based on an understanding of biophysical, demographic and socio-economic drivers and trends, and the information on AEI options. Visualizing the multi-criteria outcomes at farm, community and regional level will allow gathering feedback from stakeholders and refining pathways in an iterative process.

For more detail and application visit the original source

For similar posts, visit Scholarships-opportunities.blogspot.com

PhD in Global change and Animal movements

Description

Global change encompasses environmental, social, economic and demographic changes on planet earth. Animals are an important component of the natural world due to their crucial ecological, social, and economic role in ecosystems. Global changes driven by resource extraction, energy and infrastructure development, climate change and urbanization are dramatically affecting animal populations and their movements resulting in challenges for management, driving human wildlife conflicts as well as hindering the sustainable development and use of natural resources. In such transformed landscapes, the vital questions are, ‘how’, ‘where’, ‘when’ and ‘why’ do animals move and how do these altered movements transform the landscapes as well as human societies (ecologically, socially and economically) that depend upon these animals? Moreover, how can we better predict animal movements under ‘multiuse-landscape’ and ‘climate change’ scenarios? Using case studies of two large mammal species (reindeer and moose) that are ecologically, socially and economically important in the northern/arctic ecosystem, the project aims to answer these questions. The goal is to develop a socio-ecological movement modelling approach that goes beyond correlative or species distribution models and provides a predictive tool that can be used in developing diverse future land use scenarios, developed with and for community users and geared toward adaptation strategies in a changing world.

The PhD position will be part of the Research Centre of Excellence Resources, Extractive Industries and Sustainable Arctic Communities (REXSAC), financed by NORDFORSK (the Nordic research board).

Qualifications

We seek a candidate with a strong quantitative and modelling background in ecology, advanced skills in statistics and data analyses are almost essential as vast amount of data is already collected. A master degree in quantitative ecology or biology is desirable, or otherwise, those with a master in general ecology or biology may also apply and demonstrate their quantitative abilities. The candidate should be able to work in a multicultural and multidisciplinary environment, and have a good level of autonomy and creativity. A good knowledge of spoken English and writing skills are essential. Knowledge of Swedish and/or Sami is a plus. The expected start of the position is 1st October 2016. The place of work will be the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, with occasional trips to the field site in northern Sweden.

For more detail and application visit the original source

For similar posts, visit Scholarships-opportunities.blogspot.com

PhD student in Environmental assessment: Sweden

Description

The department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, SLU Uppsala is recruiting a PhD student in the subject area of water chemistry in cooperation with Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg. The PhD student will participate in a research project that aims at optimizing drinking water treatment processes based on the use of optical and other sensors. Increased production of drinking water and larger climate driven variations in raw water quality impose high demands on process control in the near future. The use of sensors may be one of the necessary measures to counteract risks of degraded raw water quality, in particular rising concentrations of organic matter. The aim of the project is to optimize process variables that drive the removal of organic carbon during drinking water production and to supply tools for an improved control of treatment performance of membranes, slow sand filter and granulated active carbon filter (GAC) based on quality checked sensor data. During the course of the project raw data will be characterized, then methods and algorithms will be developed for optimizing identification of erroneous data, quality control and practical use of temporarily highly resolved sensor data. The project is financed by a number of large drinking water producers around Sweden. Developments will thus be made in close cooperation with local control engineers. This project is a unique possibility to achieve a good synthesis of todays drinking water treatment techniques in Nordic countries and to personally contribute to developing them for the future. Research on the use of, optimization and application of different sensors during drinking water treatment. Development of mathematical tools for quality control of raw data and successful coupling of sensor data to process variables allowing an automatized process control.

Qualifications

Practical lab experience with analytical chemistry, theoretical or practical knowledge about drinking water treatment and mathematical skills of data treatment of large data sets (Matlab, R. SAS or alike). Documented knowledge about water chemistry, analytical chemistry, water treatment and time series analysis is required. Experience with drinking water treatment and characterization of organic matter is considered a merit. University degree within a relevant subject area such as environmental and water engineering, chemistry, environmental science or comparable.

For more detail and application visit the original source

For similar posts, visit Scholarships-opportunities.blogspot.com

Two PhD students in Biology: specalization in Biotechnology: Sweden

Project 1: Explore and harness lignin depolymerization by fungi

Project 2: Lipid production from lignocellulosic biomass by oleaginous yeasts

Description

Microbial conversion of lignocellulose: Elucidating molecular mechanisms of fungal ligning depolymerisation, and conversion of lignocellulose and glycerol to fatty acids for fuel, feed and food production. The current global economy largely converts fossil resources to fuels, chemicals and food, and finally to waste. This linear process results in the loss of non-renewable resources, insecurity of supply and environmental problems. Replacing fossil resources by plant biomass is generally seen as a crucial step towards a more sustainable society. The major biomass on earth is lignocellulose, i.e. the non-edible, structure biomass of plants. Lignocellulose consists of three major components: two types of polysaccharides, cellulose and hemicellulose, which are embedded in a complex aromatic polymer matrix called lignin. Cellulose is used by the pulp- and paper industry and can, after thermochemical pre-treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis, be converted to ethanol. In spite of a variety of efforts to produce biofuels out of hemicellulose, no commercially viable process could be developed yet, and lignin is a completely underutilised component of plant biomass. In our projects we work towards valorisation of lignocellulose in different ways.

Project 1 aims to explore the genomes and secretomes of potent wood and humus degrading fungi towards a consolidated roadmap to the chemistry and molecular biology of lignin depolymerisation, and to identify compounds for novel biotechnical solutions to lignocellulose biorefinery. The lignin matrix is a major barrier to degradation, in industry as well as in nature, and separation of cellulose and hemicellulose from lignin is a major bottleneck to efficient lignocellulose utilisation. Higher fungi have evolved chemistries to depolymerise lignin and overcome the barrier. They are the major wood decomposers in nature and thus play a key role in the global carbon cycle. Despite this, the mechanisms are not well understood and the function of many of their genes is unknown. This project will include genomics and proteomics studies, advanced NMR and mass spectrometry techniques for biomass and lignin analyses, molecular cloning and heterologous expression of enzyme-encoding genes in yeast and/or filamentous fungi, gene silencing in fungi, and protein structure studies by X-ray crystallography.

Project 2 investigates the conversion of all components of lignocellulose (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) and glycerol, a residue from biodiesel production, into lipids, using oleaginous yeasts that can accumulate 70% and more of their biomass as lipids. Lipids are advantageous to carbohydrates and ethanol, because they are more energy dense, and because they can more readily replace fossil oil in existing petrochemical industry processes for production of fuels and chemicals. The fatty acid profiles vary between different yeasts. Some produce lipids suitable for conversion to biodiesel, wheareas others may be rich in e.g. omega-3 and poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and useful for fish feed and food production. This project will involve advanced fermentation techniques, biomass analyses, biochemical and molecular methods, and geneomics technologies.

The research group is highly international with extensive research collaboration locally and internationally. Our laboratories are well equipped for general chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology work, and also in terms of advanced heavy instrumentation, such as fermentors and bioreactors; NMR; mass spectrometry; X-ray crystallography; confocal, electron and atomic force microscopy. The research environment will provide insights into a broad spectrum of aspects ranging from biology, genomics, bioinformatics, to biochemistry, chemistry, analyses and process engineering, and will provide extended contact networks both within academia and with industry, in benefit of education, training and career opportunities for the young researchers.

Qualifications

An eligible candidate should have an MSc degree in subjects relevant for the position, such as one within Microbiology, Biochemistry, or Molecular Biology. Well-documented knowledge about filamentous fungi and yeasts, preferably non-conventional yeasts, experience in molecular manipulation of filamentous fungi and yeasts, training in microbial cultivation using fermenters are highly valued merits. Previous experience with laboratory work relevant to the project is desirable; in particular experience in molecular cloning, heterologous gene expression, genomics technologies, lipid extraction from microorganisms and various types of biochemical characterization of lipids (both mainly for the second project) are highly valued merits. Experience in project-related topics such as biofuels and/ or food science would be desirable. The working language in the research group is English; excellent communication skills in English orally and in writing are therefore required. We are looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate interested in academic research on the international bioenergy research arena, and we put great emphasis on personal characteristics of the successful applicant.

For more detail and application visit the original source

For similar posts, visit Scholarships-opportunities.blogspot.com

PhD student in Plant-Soil Ecology and Environmental Change: Sweden

Title

Linking plant functional traits and plant-soil feedbacks to environmental change

Description

This project will bring together the historically disparate fields of trait-based ecology and plant-soil feedbacks. Specifically, it will focus on how environmental change affects plant-soil feedbacks in terms of above- and belowground plant trait responses and in terms of plant community assembly. The work will largely consist of controlled growth chamber and greenhouse experiments and corresponding laboratory work, but a field component is possible. The focal ecosystem of this project is the subarctic tundra of northern Sweden. The scope of the project work is deliberately broad, and is adaptable to suit the specific interests of the student that is appointed. This project would be ideal for anyone intending to specialize in community or ecosystem ecology with a focus on plant-soil organism interactions.

The position is fully financed (including salary and benefits) for a period of four years. The start date for the position is November 1 2016, although there is some flexibility around this date (but no later than January 1 2017).

The supervisors of this studentship are Dr. Paul Kardol (main supervisor), Dr. Michael Gundale, Dr. Maja Sundqvist (Umeå University & University of Copenhagen) and Professor David Wardle.

Qualifications
We are seeking a highly motivated candidate with excellent communication skills in English, both orally and written. Good numerical and statistical skills and previous experience with molecular and/or other laboratory techniques are preferred. A driving license is required for travelling to field sites. Academic requirements include a M.Sc. (or comparable degree) in Ecology or a closely related discipline, with an emphasis on plants and/or soils. Having a degree (minimum 180 ECTS) with similar emphasis is also acceptable. Applications from both Sweden and elsewhere in the world are welcome. Please send applications, together with a 1-2 page letter motivating your interest, your CV (max. 2 pages), and the contact information for at least two references whom we can approach.

For more detail and application visit the original source

For similar posts, visit Scholarships-opportunities.blogspot.com

NFP Scholarship for PhD Studies in the Netherlands

Description

The Netherlands Fellowship Programmes (NFP) grants fellowships for PhD studies to a particular target group of professionals of 51 countries. Applications to NFP have to be submitted by one of the participating universities in the Netherlands.

Wageningen University (WU) has more interested candidates than it is allowed to submit. Therefore it organises a pre-selection procedure for NFP via the Graduate Schools. If you are interested in applying to this fellowship programme, please read the instructions carefully.

Visit the web pages of NFP for all the rules and regulations. It is essential to first determine your eligibility for this programme. Please take this serious! Working for an international NGO makes that you are not-eligible. Same is valid for not being able to produce an employers statement that meets the requirements.

The WU selection procedure for NFP applications uses a two-step approach:

1.       Candidates who consider themselves eligible for NFP express their interest to participate in the next NFP call. Such an expression of interest should be addressed directly to the contact person of the graduate school that covers your subject. Applications to more than one graduate school are not allowed, and will not be taken into account. In order to participate in the preselection, the interested candidate needs approval of a WU chair group/supervisor willing to supervise the candidate. The graduate schools can assist candidates in finding potential supervisors.

2.       The graduate schools  select the most suitable candidates (NFP applies several criteria, see their webpages). Only the selected candidates will be allowed to upload their application to NFP.

Expressions of interest to one of the graduate school should consist of:

o    A cover letter

o    A preliminary research proposal

o    Curriculum vitae

o    A scan of BSc and MSc diplomas, and a list of grades for both degrees

o    Certificate of proficiency in English (if applicable):

o    Copy of your passport

o    Employers statement

o    Government statement (if applicable)

See the instructions (given below) for details.

The deadline for the next NFP call is 1 November 2016 (this is the deadline for Wageningen University to nominate candidates). The deadlines for the WU pre-selection are:

o    Submission of your expression of interest to PE&RC: between 1 July and 4 September 2016;

o    Notification of the outcome of the pre-selection: 23 September 2016

o    Selected candidates send updates all required documentation to the graduate school: not later than 16 October 2016!! The graduate schools will check all documents once again and then inform you how to upload the documents.

Questions about the WU preselection for NFP can be addressed to the contact persons of the graduate schools.

For general information visit

www.studyinholland.nl/scholarships/scholarships-administered-by-nuffic/netherlands-fellowship-programmes

www.nuffic.nl/en/programme-administration/nfp-netherlands-fellowship-programmes/information-for-dutch-institutions

For similar posts, visit Scholarships-opportunities.blogspot.com

PhD student in Decision Support Systems using Big Data.

Job description

Maastricht University has a vacancy for a PhD student at the faculty of Health Medicine and Life Sciences in the department of Radiation Oncology (MAASTRO). MAASTRO’s strategic goal is to tailor cancer treatments to the clinical, biological and genetic characteristics of an individual patient so that the best outcome can be achieved. An important part of MAASTRO’s strategy is the research line Radiomics where "machine learning" techniques are applied for knowledge discovery from large imaging datasets (http://www.radiomics.org).

Together with partners Tata Memorial Centre, C-DAC and Philips in India and ptTheragnostic in The Netherlands, MAASTRO has received NWO IndoDutch funding for a 4 year research project called BIONIC (Big Imaging data approach for Oncology in a Netherlands India Collaboration).

The general aim of this NWO IndoDutch BIONIC is to unite academic, industrial and clinical leaders to improve cancer care using a Big Data approach for medical imaging. Vast amounts of patient image data from top cancer centers in the Netherlands and India will be used, in a privacy preserving manner, to develop Decision support systems. We will prove that use of these decision support systems will lead to better treatment decisions.



In this project, you will be member of an international team of physicians, physicist, computer scientists and software engineers who jointly develop Big Data technology to open up petabytes of medical imaging data stored in hospitals worldwide and use it to learn of decision support systems for cancer treatments.

Specifically, you will develop and deploy the technology to learn and validate predictive models for lung, cervical, head&neck and rectal cancer patients. You will build on existing models developed by the group and extend these with Radiomics features to improve their performance accuracy in the prediction of survival, tumor control and toxicities. You will do this work in a privacy preserving manner where no data needs to leave the individual hospital so that privacy maximally preserved. Challenges regarding data quality and interoperability between centres in The Netherlands and India as well as the mathematical challenges of learning models without “seeing” the data will be addressed by you in a team setting.

For more detail and application visit the original source

For similar posts, visit Scholarships-opportunities.blogspot.com

3 positions as PhD Fellow

Job description

The European Research Centre for Economic and Financial Governance (EURO-CEFG) is an interdisciplinary research centre of Leiden University, Delft University of Technology and Erasmus University Rotterdam. EURO-CEFG has a vacancy for:

3 positions as PhD Fellow (38 hours a week)

The PhD Fellow will carry out doctoral research on the basis of an individual research proposal falling within one of the areas of expertise of EURO-CEFG and will conduct contractual research for EURO-CEFG within the scope of the research proposal. EURO-CEFG is aiming at employing one PhD Fellow each for each of the following research clusters: ‘Financial Regulation and Supervision’, ‘Politics, Decision-making and Innovation in European Economic and Financial governance’, ‘Constitutional Dimension of European Economic and Monetary Integration’. For more information on EURO-CEFG’s research, consult the homepage of the centre: http://www.euro-cefg.eu/research.

The research will be carried out under the supervision of two professors from the three Universities affiliated to EURO-CEFG as Research Fellows. In line with the interdisciplinary spirit of the centre, applicants are encouraged to submit interdisciplinary research proposals.

Tasks 

- Conduct PhD research;

- Participate in and organise scientific activities within the framework of the research project (conferences, seminars);

- Support the centre’s activities in the fields related to the PhD research; 

- Publish one of more articles in the course of the research in (international) journals;

- Carry out research funded externally and for external clients.

For more detail and application visit the original source

For similar posts, visit Scholarships-opportunities.blogspot.com

PhD student in Gender and Nutrition

About the Project

Feed the Future Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab (SIIL) – ILRI sub-award on Sustainable intensification through better integration of crop and livestock production systems for improved food security and environmental benefits in Sahelian zone of Burkina Faso.

General

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI, www.ilri.org) works at the crossroads of livestock and poverty, bringing high-quality livestock science, communications and capacity building to bear on poverty reduction and sustainable development. ILRI is one of 15 Centers of the CGIAR Consortium, a global agricultural research partnership for a food-secure future (www.cgiar.org). The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sustainable Intensification (SIIL; https://www.k-state.edu/siil/index.html), led by Kansas State University, supports the US Government Feed the Future goals of reducing global hunger, poverty and undernutrition.

One of the key components of the SIIL Burkina Faso project on sustainable intensification of mixed crop-livestock systems for improved food security and environmental benefits is to better understand how intensification interventions affect gender equity and household nutrition. The main outcome of gender and nutrition components of the project is to strengthen women’s decision-making capacity on improved intensification options and to increase household consumption of commonly-available nutritious foods to supplement the current grain-dominated diets within the study areas. To achieve this outcome, project interventions to improve household nutrition include increasing household consumption of milk, cowpea grain (often referred to as “poor man’s meat in the Sahel) and Moringa leaves. The guiding principle of these interventions to intensify production to improve nutrition is that they are sensitive to gender divisions of labor demands and gender equity with respect to nutritional benefits.

For more detail and application visit the original source

For similar posts, visit Scholarships-opportunities.blogspot.com

PhD scholarships at the Faculty of Law, Denmark

Description

The Faculty of Law at the University of Copenhagen hereby announces a number of fully funded PhD positions to commence in December 2016Founded in 1479 as one of the four original faculties of the University of Copenhagen, the Faculty of Law, situated in the heart of Copenhagen, boasts a long-standing reputation for excellence in teaching and research. The Faculty offers a wide range of undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate degree programmes in law. Through research-based education the Faculty ensures that law graduates acquire the necessary skills to succeed in their legal careers in the private or public sector both at home and abroad. With 5000 undergraduate and graduate students, over 50 PhD fellows, and an academic staff of more than 80 professors, the Faculty of Law at the University of Copenhagen is a vibrant, diverse and intellectually stimulating academic environment.

The Faculty offers the following fully funded PhD positions 

Regular PhD positions offered by the Faculty - see further information about PhD topics/areas of particular interest to individual research centres. Please note that some suggested topics/research areas are in Danish only.

PhD positions offered by the Faculty within the framework of the integrated Master’s and PhD (3+5) programme 

The PhD Program

The goal of the PhD Program is threefold: to prepare candidates for a continuing career in teaching and research; to educate a new generation of scholars to produce high-quality independent research; and to equip them with the analytical and problem-solving skills required for a successful career in both the public and private sectors. 

For more detail and application visit the original source

For similar posts, visit Scholarships-opportunities.blogspot.com

ZEF inter-disciplinary PhD-Germany

Description

ZEF is an international research institute, working for, with and in so-called "developing" countries. ZEF conducting its development research in an interdisciplinary and sometimes trans-disciplinary way, which implies bridging gaps between science, practice and policy. Thus, ZEF offers a broad and integrated perspective on development.

ZEF's doctoral studies program aims at attracting young scientists from all over the world with an outstanding master’s or equivalent degree in economics, social sciences, sociology, political science, economics, development economics, agricultural and resource economics, agronomy, biology, ecology, forestry, mathematics or earth sciences. Candidates preferably have work experience in national or international research institutions, governments, or the private sector. Interest in interdisciplinary research is a prerequisite.

For more details visit the original source

For similar posts, visit Scholarships-opportunities.blogspot.com

Action 1 - Erasmus Mundus Masters Courses

Description

Below are listed all the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees (EMJMDs) that will be offering EU-funded scholarships for courses taking place in the academic year 2016-2017. Most consortia will require applications to be submitted between October and January, for courses starting the following academic year.

Students at Master level can apply to a maximum of three different programs. Both, students and potential scholars/guest lecturers should contact the relevant institution for more information on courses and application procedures.

For details of each course Visit the main EACEA page

PhD candidate Anticipating drainage systems in salt affected lowlands

Description

Both in humid and in semi-arid regions, fresh water may be available, yet in too little quantities and/or off season. To ensure optimal use, water storage in soil may be part of a solution. In this project, land drainage is adapted to enable flexible control of the groundwater level to store fresh water in the soil, to maintain a fresh water lens on top of saline groundwater, if present, and to minimize irrigation water demand. A field site is instrumented with climate adaptive drainage (CAD) and the site is physically characterized with in situ and laboratory measurements. The response time of water level changes and water availability in the root zone is measured and monitored, as a function of various irrigation/drainage scenarios. Upon agreement between measurements and modeling, the model is used to characterize the dynamics of soil and groundwater as a function of management for a range of soil, crop, and climate parameters. This characterization should enable better intermediate (months) water management subject to erratic weather, as related with uncertainty on when exactly rainfall will occur. Strategies to reduce root zone salinity will be investigated as well. The project includes both experimental (field and lab) work and modeling with available 2D simulation models.

Function Requirements

We are looking for an enthusiast candidate with a physics-oriented background (applied physics, hydrology, environmental physics, soil physics, or irrigation/drainage specialism) at MSc level, with proven modelling skills. Affinity with field work, including practical technical skills is essential. Prior education and command of English must comply with requirements of Wageningen UR. Experience with solute transport is considered an asset. Because of international conferences, excellent communicative skills are desirable, and experience in speech and write may be tested in the context of an interview.

For more details visit the original source

Postdoctoral Research Associate Position - Michigan State University

Description

Responsibilities for this position include overseeing an expansion of the USAID-funded, IITA project ‘Africa RISING’ in Malawi, coordinated by Dr. Regis Chikowo Assistant Professor, Michigan State University. We have a unique opportunity in Malawi to link our farming systems research project - which was initiated in 2012 with support from the USAID Food Security Bureau - to USAID Malawi Mission flagship programs, Integrated Nutrition Value Chain (INVC) and Strengthening Agriculture and Nutrition Extension (SANE). Our research focuses on elucidating drivers of sustainable intensification among smallholder farming communities, including testing rotation and mixtures of cereal grains with diverse grain legumes, to diversity crop production, buffer against climate variability and improve soil health. Working closely with Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, CGIAR scientists and extension workers we are supporting innovation and capacity to improve soils, and providing nutritious options for market and family use through sustainable intensification technologies.

We have built a learning lab in Central Malawi for action research and applied agroecology, including multidisciplinary approaches with agricultural economists, gender-aware science and geographers. Learn more about findings to date, the research team and partners at http://globalchangescience.org/eastafricanode  

This postdoc position will be based in Malawi, with travel to MSU and across Africa as Africa RISING involves activities in six priority countries of Feed the Future. There will be opportunities for independent research, and publication expectations in addition to management of a team of four staff and expanded action research and education activities in central and southern Malawi. Supervision of graduate students is expected and opportunities to interact with modelers and economists to explore interface of farmer practice, plant and water interactions for risk mitigation in a changing environment. Areas of inquiry will depend on the interests of the successful candidate, but could include soil science and agronomic aspects of ecological intensification pathways, understanding drivers of adoption and adaptation, and multiple scale exploration of sustainable intensification indicators associated with production, economics, environment and social science domains and sustainable production methods. At MSU postdoc positions are offered on a year to year basis, with renewal based on satisfactory performance and project duration, which in this case is three years.

Duty Location: Malawi

Department: Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences

Supervisor: Dr. Sieglinde Snapp, Professor of Soils and Cropping Systems Ecology

For further information contact Sieglinde Snapp snapp@msu.edu or Regis Chikowo chikowor@msu.edu .

Postdoc Data Science or Psychometrics (1,0 fte - 3 years contract)

Description

• The postdoc Data Science will be expected to:
• Develop, refine, and disseminate state-of-the-art data science and/or psychometric methods
• Teach methods and statistics courses within Bachelor and (Research)Master studies at the Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Support and guide Bachelor and Master theses students in research projects
• Cooperate in an international network of researchers
• Visit international conferences.
• Write grant proposals.

Requirements

• Interest in novel data science methods and psychometrics.
• A PhD-degree in data science, econometrics, operations research, psychometrics, sociometrics, (bio)informatics, or statistics applied to the social and behavioral sciences.
• A promising track record as a data scientist or psychometrician as evidenced by (inter)national peer review publications.
• Social skills to engage in an (inter)national network of collaborators are highly recommended.

For details and application visit original source

Post-doc Technical design of innovative agricultural production systems

Description

The Farm Technology Group has, together with partners within Wageningen UR, a strong history and background in design of innovative production systems for various agricultural products, from the regular animal and plant related products to mushrooms, insects and algae. Design or redesign of agricultural production systems and chains is needed to deal with trade-offs between sustainability goals, e.g. economic versus environmental goals. Besides, structured design methods, their interactive and interdisciplinary implementation are crucial for the invention, conceptualization and adoption in practice of break-through innovative system designs. The development and application of the Reflexive Interactive Design (RIO) method resulted in novel design concepts like Rondeel, Lankerenhof, Kwatrijn, and Windstreek, that were all built in practice by partners involved.

As a post-doc, you will further adapt and develop the RIO design method in strong interaction with the application of the method to new cases. The scientific methodological challenge is to deal with soft requirements of stakeholders, limited reproducibility of some design steps, to include the abilities and behaviour of animals in the design process, and design of novel complex cropping systems.

Your focus will be on the technical and engineering aspects of the design method and the application to production systems, and the integration of knowledge from social, biological and environmental disciplines. Design challenges for the coming years are expected to be in the field of intercropping, minimum-tillage and permaculture systems for plants, greenhouses, and production systems for animals, insects and algae. These design challenges result from the need and ambition to achieve environmental, resource, biodiversity, social and economic goals at the same time.

You will realize these objectives by providing input to various current research projects at the Farm Technology group. Bachelor and Master students Biosystems Engineering as well as PhD's will be supervised by you during their thesis project. You will support and ideally lead the acquisition of new (PhD) projects in collaboration with other university groups, industry and colleagues of the contract research institutes within Wageningen UR. Project results will be disseminated through papers in peer reviewed journals and conference proceedings. Finally, you will contribute to the yearly BSc course Engineering Design and MSc course Biosystems Design. Within the Farm Technology group and within Wageningen UR you will closely cooperate with other colleagues working in the field of animal husbandry and precision livestock farming, plant production systems and precision agriculture, sensors and agricultural robotics, innovation science and environmental sciences.

For details, visit the original source

PhD Fellowships - Interdisciplinary Climate Research

DESCRIPTION

The International Max Planck Research School on Earth System Modelling (IMPRS-ESM), located in Hamburg, Germany, offers fellowships to outstanding students interested in interdisciplinary climate research. Our doctoral candidates contribute to the understanding of the Earth system through the application, evaluation and development of a spectrum of Earth system models at different levels of complexity and at various spatial and temporal scales. Emphasizing the physical system, the School encompasses the broader field of Earth sciences, including economics and social sciences. The IMPRS-ESM strives to attract a diversity of talented women and men from all nationalities to research in the Earth system sciences.

DESIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

The PhD program is open to applicants holding a Master’s degree (with written thesis) in physics, geophysical sciences (incl. meteorology and oceanography), chemistry, ecology, mathematics, computer science, engineering, economics, or political science. Also students currently still working on their MSc thesis are encouraged to apply.

Please apply online, by clicking on the "Apply through website" button, until September 15, 2016. The selection procedure includes an interview (probably in November 2016). Doctoral candidates receive financial support of about 1,500 Euros/month for a period of three years. There are no tuition fees but a semester fee is charged by the university. Funding will be available starting March 2017.

For questions, please contact: office.imprs@mpimet.mpg.de

For application and details, visit original post.

PhD Statistical mechanical models for emotion dynamics

Description

In this project we want to achieve a thorough understanding of emotion dynamics through stochastic nonlinear dynamical systems models. The models we use are based on underlying Ising-type networks and can thus help to relate basic neurophysiological principles on the one hand with complex behavior on the other hand. In particular, we want to model the nonlinear response of a person’s emotions regulatory network to the most important affective features of a stimulus (e.g., pleasantness and unpleasantness). The PhD research will consist of studying the mathematical properties of the model, developing a methodology for statistical inference (because the parameters of the model are different for every individual and need to be determined based on behavioral data) and programming a user-friendly software so that other researchers can easily fit the model to their data. The model will be tested on a number of prototypical data sets. The data are collected both in the lab and in daily life, from both normal persons and individuals with an emotional disorder.

For details and application visit original source

International PhD Program in Molecular Medicine, Germany

Introduction

The Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) in Berlin, Germany, jointly with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin, offers 20 fully funded PhD positions to candidates wishing to pursue research doctorate training in the fields of
Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Genetics, Genomics, Cardiovascular Research, Cancer Research, Tumor Immunology, Developmental Biology, Systems Biology, Structural Biology, Neurobiology, Biophysics, Bioinformatics and others.

This is a unique opportunity to develop your research career at the cutting edge of fundamental molecular biology and translational medicine in one of our 60 basic or clinical research groups. Join our 360-member strong international PhD students’ community and enjoy living and studying in the heart of Europe, Berlin, one of the most vibrant (and affordable) European capitals!

The Graduate School organizes structured PhD training in a supportive and international environment. The curriculum offers advanced research training, annual PhD retreats, and travel grants for external courses, summer schools, and conferences, besides a framework program for personal and career development.

For details and application visit original source

12 Prestigious PhD Student Positions in 5G mm-wave Antenna Systems, Netherlands

Background

The European Innovative Training Network ‘SILIKA’ on Massive MIMO mm-wave antenna systems for new telecommunication services

offers 12 prestigious PhD student positions in the area of antennas, electronics and signal processing, starting in the autumn of 2016.

SILIKA consists of 8 leading European R&D laboratories from universities, industries, and technology institutes in the domain of wireless infrastructure that are located in The Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium.

SILIKA will provide the PhD students with a comprehensive set of theoretical and practical skills relevant for innovation and long-term employability in a rapidly growing sector. This highly innovative training will cover several inter-disciplinary areas, such as fast computational electromagnetics methods, mm-wave array antenna design and optimization, hybrid analog and digital signal-processing, mm-wave electronics design and integration and packaging of mm-wave antennas with electronics. Each PhD student will be enrolled in a doctoral programme and is jointly supervised by supervisors from the academic and industry sector, where they spend 50% of their time.

SILIKA aims to develop new technologies and design methods that are required to meet the continuously growing need for higher data-rates in wireless communications. The focus will be on innovative antenna system concepts utilizing silicon semiconductor electronics that can generate or receive at millimeter-wave frequencies in order to truly expand wireless communications into the outer limits of radio technology. More information about the 12 individual PhD projects is provided in the appendix.

For details and application visit original source