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Research School for Socio-Economic and
Natural Sciences of the Environment |
| SENSE e-News |
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Newsletter October
01 October 2015 |
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Graduation Gerrit Hansen: "Assessing the observed impact of anthropogenic climate change" ›› |
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Overview of PhD graduations upcoming period ›› |
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ENP Summer School "Tackling Transparency: the Challenges of Operationalising Research on Disclosing Sustainability", 21-25 June 2016 ›› |
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Overview of PhD / postdoc courses October-November ›› |
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Overview of recently announced PhD / postdoc courses ›› |
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Ecology Theory & Application Discussion Group meeting, 7 October ›› |
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Research seminar Earth System Governance, 8 October ›› |
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MilieuChemTox symposium: Pharmaceuticals in the environment - prescription to science and policy, 6 November ›› |
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BioGeoCivil Summit 2015, 18-19 November ›› |
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Overview of upcoming events ›› |
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Subsidie-aanvraag KNAW-fonds Ecologie, deadline 15 December ›› |
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Subsidie-aanvraag KNAW China Exchange Programme (CEP) - individuele bezoeken ›› |
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Tenure-track position Assistant Professor in Environmental Economics, VU Amsterdam, deadline 14 October ›› |
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Assistant Professor Organising Land Information, ITC, Twente University, Enschede, deadline 14 October ›› |
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Post-doc in health risk analysis and assessment in closing wastewater and waste cycles, Wageningen University, deadline 25 October ›› |
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Full Professor Water Systems and Global Change (M / F), Wageningen University, deadline 31 October ›› |
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Postdoctoral Scientist – Biogeochemistry of Catchment/Lake Systems, Biology Centre CAS, Czech Republic, deadline 15 November ›› |
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Experienced researcher (ERA Chair Holder), Department of Bioeconomy and System Analysis, State Research Institute, Poland, deadline 31 October ›› |
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Post-doctoral position available in the Life Cycle Assessment and building field, Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment, Grenoble, France, deadline 1 December ›› |
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Climate Change Policy Expert, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Hanoi, Vietnam, open until the position is filled ›› |
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Senior Soil Scientist – Soil and Land Restoration, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Columbia, open until the position is filled ›› |
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| Editorial |
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| Doing a PhD project involves choosing carefully what you do with your time: four years may seem like a long time (at first), but pretty soon reality knocks on the door. Therefore it is quite understandable (even recommendable) that some participants in the SENSE A1 introductory course come to this course with initial reservations.
Fortunately, the 48 participants of last week’s SENSE A1 introductory course (‘Class of September 2015’, see photo impression) as always are very well able to make up their own minds about what is helpful and what is not. Therefore we are happy to report that the outcome of the (anonymous) general evaluation for this course was (again): 4.1 on a scale of 5. For a course which is ‘compulsory’ and with almost fifty participants, we consider this a (highly) successful outcome.
Less quantitative, but perhaps even more telling… are the numerous active exchanges, smiling faces and evening campfire which together provide a fertile soil for reflections, ideas, friendships.
The next edition of this course will take place on Wednesday 30 March to Friday 1 April 2016 in Apeldoorn. If you have not already done so, or if a new PhD candidate colleague is arriving at your department in the next few months, it would be a good idea to plan this course and complete registration asap (see: A1 spring 2016 ). Apart from experience in ‘research poster presentation’, ‘project planning’, ‘scientific integrity’, ‘dealing with your supervisor’, and ‘networking’ – it will give access to a rich framework of dedicated colleagues and possible future friends (in the previous edition with 25 different nationalities participating).
See you @ SENSE,
Ad van Dommelen
SENSE Director of Education
  
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| SENSE News |
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| Graduation Gerrit Hansen: "Assessing the observed impact of anthropogenic climate change" |
| On 14 September Gerrit Elke Hansen (WU) defended her PhD thesis on the impact of anthropogenic climate change. She addressed the question whether and to what extent the impacts of anthropogenic climate change are already observed, i.e. detected and attributed, in natural and human systems. Promotor was Rik Leemans, former General Director of SENSE. |
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| Upcoming PhD Graduations |
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| Overview of PhD graduations upcoming period |
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Thomas van der Pol
Climate change, uncertainty and investment in flood risk reduction
2 October 2015, Wageningen University, Environmental Economics and Natural Resources
- Harke Pera
Lipid bilayer stability in relation to oxide nanoparticles
6 October 2015, Wageningen University, Physical Chemistry and Colloid Sciences
- Eman Elsheikh
Water productivity of Sunflower under different irrigation regimes at Gezira Clay Soil, Sudan
8 October 2015, UNESCO-IHE, Land and Water Development, and Wageningen University
- Elham Sumarga
Spatial modelling and ecosystem accounting for land use planning: Addressing deforestation and oil palm expansion in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
13 October 2015, Wageningen University, Environmental Systems Analysis
- Diego Andres Suarez Zuluaga
Evaluation of different conditions in the anaerobic oxidation of methane
14 October 2015, Wageningen University, Environmental Technology
- Karen Fortuin
Heuristic principles to teach and learn boundary crossing skills in environmental science education
14 October 2015, Wageningen University, Environmental Systems Analysis
- Ralph Lasage
Community based adaptation in water management - Assessing impacts and vulnerability
15 October 2015, VU University Amsterdam, Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)
- Noël Diepens
Sediment toxicity testing and prospective risk assessment of organic chemicals
19 October 2015, Wageningen University, Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management
- Yang Liu
Quantifying the toxicity of mixtures of metals and metal-based nanoparticles to higher plants
20 October 2015, Leiden University, Conservation Biology
- Alemayehu Bitew
Strategies to adapt to climate change in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia: landscape impact assessment for on-farm adaptation
20 October 2015Wageningen University, Soil Physics and Land Management
- Denica Bozhinova
Interpreting plant-sampled Δ14CO2 to study regional anthropogenic CO2 signals in Europe
21 October 2015, Wageningen University, Meteorology and Air Quality
- Simon Hageman
Bio-induced solid selenium for recovery from water
23 October 2015, Wageningen University, Environmental Technology
- Eugenie van der Harst-Wintraecken
Robustness of Life Cycle Assessment Results. Influence of data variation and modelling choices on results for beverage packaging materials
28 October 2015, Wageningen University, Environmental Systems Analysis
- Jae Wook Chung
Pathogen removal using saturated sand columns supplemented with hydrochar
30 October 2015, UNESCO-IHE, Pollution Prevention and Control, and Wageningen University
- Maribel Zapater Pereyra
Design and development of two novel constructed wetlands: the Duplex-constructed wetland and the Constructed wetroof
30 October 2015, UNESCO-IHE, Pollution Prevention and Control, and Wageningen University
- Clifford Chuwah
Exploring feedbacks between air pollution and climate policy
3 November 2015, Wageningen University, Meteorology and Air Quality
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| Upcoming Courses |
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| ENP Summer School “Tackling Transparency: the Challenges of Operationalising Research on Disclosing Sustainability”, 21-25 June 2016 |
The Summer School will focus on the challenges of operationalizing social science research on disclosing sustainability information. The organizers of the Summer School invite PhD students and Postdoc researchers embarking on, or involved in, researching themes of transparency, accountability and empowerment in global environmental governance, traceability in commodity chains, and citizen generated transparency.
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| Overview of PhD / postdoc courses October-November |
- Structural Equation Modelling
5-9 October 2015, Wageningen
- PCDI course Employability Outside Academia
6 October, 3 November and 15 December 2015, Utrecht
- Working at the Science-policy Interface
12-16 October 2015, UFZ Leipzig, Germany
- Bioeconomy - an Introduction
12-13 October 2015, UFZ Leipzig, Germany
- Bayesian Statistics
12-13 October 2015, Wageningen
- Solving the Energy Puzzle: A multidisciplinary approach to energy transition (NEW)
12 October - 27 November 2015, MOOC
- Autumn school 2015: Science in a regional context (NEW)
14-16 October 2015, Leewarden
- Multivariate Analysis
14-23 October 2014, Wageningen
- Introduction to R for statistical analysis
19-20 October 2015, Wageningen
- Risk Assessment
19-23 October 2015, Wageningen
- PCDI Postdoc Retreat - STEM
28-30 October 2015
- Advanced Short Course on "Where there is little data: how to estimate design variables in poorly gauged basins"
2-13 November 2015, Delft
- Linking Community and Ecosystem Dynamics
15-20 November 2015, Schiermonnikoog
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| Overview of recently announced PhD / postdoc courses |
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| Discussion Groups |
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| Ecology Theory & Application Discussion Group meeting, 7 October |
| Ecological Theory & Application is a discussion group that organises two-monthly meetings for PhD students with a broad interest in ecology. Each meeting is organised around a central ecological theme, such as distribution patterns, climate change, ecophysiology, trophic interactions, etc.. |
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| Research seminar Earth System Governance, 8 October |
| The primary aim of this seminar series is to familiarize PhD students with state-of-the-art research in the field of environmental and earth-system governance. The series provides PhD students the opportunity to present their research and discuss their work with experts in the field of environmental and earth-system governance. |
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| Upcoming Events |
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| MilieuChemTox symposium: Pharmaceuticals in the environment - prescription to science and policy, 6 November |
| Keynotes on: ecotox of (veterinary) pharmaceuticals and analysis; the problems and distribution; solutions: green chemistry and removal; the vision of the industry and policy. |
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| BioGeoCivil Summit 2015, 18-19 November |
The partners of the STW sponsored BioGeoCivil program warmly invite you to participate in their closing event, the BioGeoCivil Summit 2015
Within the BioGeoCivil program, Bio-Based Geo & Civil Engineering for a Sustainable Society, biology-based materials, technology and processes have been studied and developed with the aim of solving engineering challenges, while at the same time reducing the impact on the environment.
Participants need to register and are invited to submit an (extended) abstract, poster and/or a list of recent publications using the provided templates. Results of the event will be disseminated through a special publication. |
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| Overview of upcoming events |
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- Energy Lecture: “Basics of Energy”
1 October 2015, Groningen
- Euromarine Foresight Symposium: "Future Coast - Europe"
5-7 October 2015, Berlin
- Duurzame 100: Food for Thought
9 October 2015, Utrecht
- Interdisciplinary debate – Water Delight
20 October 2015, Wageningen
- Seminar Ecosystem Services: From Information to Management
30 October 2015, Wageningen
- ESP conference 2015: Ecosystem Services for Nature, People and Prosperity
9-13 November 2015, South Africa
- Current Themes in Ecology: "Microbial Power - Impact of Microbial Communities: From Gut to Globe"
19 November 2015, Lunteren
- CleanSea Project presents: Marine Litter Symposium and Film Premiere
3 December 2015, Amsterdam
- Student Conference on Conservation Science
22-24 March 2016, Cambridge
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| Full list of interesting upcoming events: |
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| Tips |
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| Subsidie-aanvraag KNAW-fonds Ecologie, deadline 15 December |
Het KNAW Fonds Ecologie ondersteunt ecologisch veldwerk in binnen- en buitenland en ecologisch onderzoek in het buitenland, verricht door jonge onderzoekers, werkzaam in Nederland.
In de eerste plaats komen fundamenteel-wetenschappelijke vragen in aanmerking, daarnaast onderzoek dat een fundamentele oplossing voor praktijkproblemen probeert te vinden. |
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| Subsidie-aanvraag KNAW China Exchange Programme (CEP) - individuele bezoeken |
| Het CEP wil structurele onderzoekssamenwerking tussen Nederland en China bevorderen door het verstrekken van ‘seed money’ voor nieuwe samenwerking. Het programma ondersteunt de uitwisseling van junior-onderzoekers, kortlopende gezamenlijke onderzoeksprojecten en een jaarlijkse thematische Summer School op alle wetenschappelijke gebieden. |
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| Vacancies SENSE partners |
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| Tenure-track position Assistant Professor in Environmental Economics, VU Amsterdam, deadline 14 October |
| The tenure track candidate will be encouraged to develop a largely externally funded research programme in her/his research field. The appointee is expected to teach, conduct research, and fulfil limited administrative duties in support of the strong teaching and research base. Teaching involves courses in general environmental economics and in courses related to the candidate’s own specialty for various BSc and MSc programmes (e.g. Environment and Resource Management MSc programme, Earth Sciences and Economics BSc). The candidate is expected to supervise BSc and MSc student projects. The candidate should show academic leadership, maintain a high publication output, and raise competitive research funding. On the longer term, the candidate is expected to build up a successful group around his/her field of expertise. |
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| Assistant Professor Organising Land Information, ITC, Twente University, Enschede, deadline 14 October |
| The mission of the department of Urban and Regional Planning and Geo-Information Management (PGM) is to develop capacity of organisations that are involved in the field of Geo-Information Management for Multi-level Governance of Urban Regions, primarily for and in countries that are technologically and/or economically less developed. Additionally to its mission, the PGM Department has the special mandate to manage ITC capacity development activities related to Land Administration, including the activities to be realized in cooperation with Kadaster International. The department PGM has a vacancy for an Assistant Professor Organising Land Information The post primarily contributes to the capacity of the Land Administration knowledge field within the PGM Department (School for Land Administration Studies). The Assistant Professor supports the Professor in the daily scientific coordination within the knowledge field. Individual activities and expertise development will be coordinated with the responsible Professor. Contributions in education, research and project services are coordinated by the responsible Portfolio Managers within the PGM department. |
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| Post-doc in health risk analysis and assessment in closing wastewater and waste cycles, Wageningen University, deadline 25 October |
| As a post-doc you will be part of the Urban Systems Engineering (USE) team of our Environmental Technology Group. In this group we organize research around an understanding of cities as complex systems connected through networks of resource flows including wastewater, water, solid waste, energy and nutrients. The research we carry out aims to increase resource efficiency and supports reuse of resources. To achieve this objective we analyze and evaluate flows through urban systems and develop and design technological concepts for urban environments. The USE group has an interdisciplinary character, working closely with other areas of expertise, such as social science and agriculture. We expect the new candidate to contribute and strengthen this cross disciplinary integration. Six PhDs, two postdocs, four scientific staff members, and two professors, right now work within the young and growing USE team. Your research will focus on analysis and assessment of health risks associated with these circular approaches, and as such you will enrich the USE team. In our group, successful postdocs are stimulated to apply for Tenure Track and further career development. |
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| Full Professor Water Systems and Global Change (M / F), Wageningen University, deadline 31 October |
The full professor (1.0 / 0.8 fte) is responsible for the scientific development of interdisciplinary research and education in the field of Water Systems and Global Change (WGC). The WGC chair will focus on the understanding of anthropogenic driven changes in water cycles in relation to interactions between climate, water, energy and agricultural systems. Within the WGC group there are currently three different natural sciences based research lines that aim at identifying, quantifying and assessing:
- dynamic feedbacks and interactions between water and global change, modelled and observed at different spatial and temporal scales;
- impacts, vulnerabilities and risks of global change on water, agricultural and energy sectors;
- opportunities to reduceimpacts of global change by different adaptation and mitigation strategies for water and agriculture.
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| Vacancies other organisations |
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| Postdoctoral Scientist – Biogeochemistry of Catchment/Lake Systems, Biology Centre CAS, Czech Republic, deadline 15 November |
| HEM research is focused on chemical, hydrological and biological processes in the soil‐water‐lake system that determine the composition and quality of freshwaters and affect aquatic ecosystems of lakes and reservoirs. The currently addressed issues of HEM team members include: recovery of mountain lakes and their watersheds after a 30‐year period of strong acidification (Bohemian Forest and Tatra Mountains); climatic and socio‐economic causes of long‐term trends in eutrophication and cycling of nutrients (C, N, P, Si) in river impoundments and other artificial lakes of Central Europe; photochemical degradation of humic substances and its importance for biological processes in the aquatic environment; role of sediment in the cycling of organic matter and nutrients in lakes; influence of hydrological regime and hydrodynamics in stratified reservoirs on phytoplankton growth. Research methodology of HEM is mainly based on: (i) longterm ecosystem monitoring conducted on a number of pilot sites, (ii) experiments explaining the subprocesses of the system, (iii) data analysis via statistical methods and empirical and mechanistic models. HEM has analytical laboratories with modern instrumentation: spectrophotometry, titration methods, CNS analysers, AAS, ICP/MS, HPLC (for more information see: www.hydrochem.cz). |
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| Experienced researcher (ERA Chair Holder), Department of Bioeconomy and System Analysis, State Research Institute, Poland, deadline 31 October |
| We are looking for a dynamic scientist to establish an interdisciplinary research group, combining experiment and theory. The ERA Chair holder is expected to represent research excellence in the field of bioeconomy, systems analyses, mathematical modelling, spatial analyses, climate change adaptation and mitigation methods, renewable energy, GHG emission or related fields. These should be documented by publications in international journals, as well as a record of outreach activities in the specified area. |
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| Post-doctoral position available in the Life Cycle Assessment and building field, Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment, Grenoble, France, deadline 1 December |
Objectives:
- Development of dynamic LCI models for the building lifecycle, based on the overall model developed in the DyPLCA project
- Dynamic LCA of a building case study, including the dynamic LCI models
- Results interpretation (influence of dynamic LCI on the LCA results, identification of most important contributors, sensitivity and uncertainty analysis)
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| Climate Change Policy Expert, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Hanoi, Vietnam, open until the position is filled |
| The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) is looking for a professional with the ability to think creatively to bring new approaches to difficult development problems with the expertise to prepare project proposals seeking positive changes. This requires someone who is well versed with international climate change initiatives as well as translation of information into compelling communications for policy makers. S/he must be interested to engage in interaction with diverse actors including policy roundtables to identify potential areas for change, and to engage in social media and other creative communications including blogging, to ensure widespread dissemination of knowledge. This requires someone who primarily is creative within their field of expertise, but who is also good at listening and engaging in conversations across organizational and cultural boundaries. We are seeking someone who is good at bridging diverse worlds and documenting the results in a concise and clear fashion. |
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| Senior Soil Scientist – Soil and Land Restoration, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Columbia, open until the position is filled |
| This is a new position that will serve as a focal person for research on land restoration. Success will require research across disciplines and especially across scales to address questions such as “How can we maximize benefits with investment in land restoration?” “What are the best practices and where should they be implemented?” “Whose livelihoods are at stake during restoration initiatives, and how can we protect them?” and “How can we ensure accountability with monitoring and assessment?” The scientist will take a key position in the Soils Research Area where there will be significant scope to design and guide research. S/he will work with scientists across the institute and will engage directly with partners from landscape to national levels. |
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