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Research School for Socio-Economic and
Natural Sciences of the Environment |
| SENSE e-News |
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Newsletter February
28 January 2016 |
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Bregje van der Bolt (WU) in documentary about Tipping Points ›› |
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Re-using resources in cities: a Dutch case-study ›› |
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Overview of PhD graduations upcoming period ›› |
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Grasping Sustainability, 22-26 February ›› |
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Making an Impact! How to increase the societal relevance of your PhD research, 25-26 May ›› |
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Overview of PhD / postdoc courses February-April ›› |
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Overview of recently announced PhD / postdoc courses ›› |
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Plant-Soil Interaction Discussion group, 3 February: kick-off meeting ›› |
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Research seminar Earth System Governance, 18 February ›› |
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Reading group Environmental Economics, every second week on Wednesday ›› |
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EURO-AGRIWAT conference Water Footprint of agricultural products: progress, challenges and solutions, 7-9 March ›› |
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Minisymposium Systems and sustainability in time and space and inaugural lecture Dr. Alexey Voinov, 18 February ›› |
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Inaugural Lecture SENSE director Philipp Pattberg (VU): Environmental governance in the anthropocene: Complexity, fragmentation and the role of transnational institutions, 19 February ›› |
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Overview of upcoming events ›› |
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5 Moronic Mistakes That Keep PhDs Stuck In Academia (blogpost Next Scientist) ›› |
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My adviser's best advice (blogpost Science Career) ›› |
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Postdoc (Researcher) Image analysis for Health Geography, Twente University, deadline 14 February ›› |
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Postdoc (Researcher) Scaled-up, Semi-Automated, Cadastral Parcel Extraction - Using High Resolution Satellite Imagery, Twente University, deadline 8 February ›› |
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PostDoc Position (70-100%) in Life Cycle Assessment Group of Empa, Switzerland ›› |
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Assistant Professor in Human Geography, Utrecht University, deadline 12 February ›› |
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PhD Learning from smart grid pilot projects, Wageningen University, deadline 4 February ›› |
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EURO-AGRIWAT conference Water Footprint of agricultural products: progress, challenges and solutions, 7-9 March |
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| SENSE News |
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| Bregje van der Bolt (WU) in documentary about Tipping Points |
 SENSE PhD candidate Bregje van der Bolt (WU) took part in a documentary for Dutch school children, explaining climate change and tipping points. Bregje also takes part in an outreach programme for high school pupils and therefore has her own page on the website www.tippingpointahead.nl, where children can ask her questions.
Watch the documentary ›› |
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| Re-using resources in cities: a Dutch case-study |
SENSE authors: Jennifer Lenhart, Bas van Vliet, Arthur Mol, Environmental Policy, Wageningen University
Dense urban environments have significant resource-saving potential and serve as good platforms for climate change mitigation. This study reviewed an initiative to improve use of energy and water in Rotterdam, highlighting factors important for success including exchanges in close geographic proximity and private-sector participation.
Despite its novelty, the REAP approach has already inspired sustainability guidelines in Rotterdam, such as those relating to water, materials and green space. As the climate changes and cities begin to revise their strategies for energy use, REAP provides a useful blueprint of how urban areas can improve their resource management. Further research should evaluate its longer-term impact in Rotterdam, and compare it to similar projects in other cities. |
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| Upcoming PhD Graduations |
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| Overview of PhD graduations upcoming period |
- Yasmijn van der Knaap
Stream valley catchments in times of climate change: an ecohydrological approach
28 January 2016, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Systems Ecology
- Sarah Gerssen-Gondelach
Yielding a fruitful harvest - Advanced methods and analysis of regional potentials for sustainable biomass value chains interlinked with environmental and land use impacts of agricultural intensification
29 January 2016, Utrecht University, Energy and Resources
- Gijsbert Werner
Plants, microbes and Markets. Evolution and maintenane of belowground cooperation
4 February 2016, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Animal Ecology
- Yafei Wang
The effect of urban green infrastructure on local microclimate and human thermal comfort
9 February 2016, Wageningen University, Environmental Systems Analysis
- Rungnapha Khiewwijit
New wastewater treatment concepts towards energy saving and resource recovery
18 February 2016, Wageningen University, Biorefinary and Process Dynamics
- Trond Husby
Economic impacts of behavioural responses to flood risk – Exploring general equilibrium effects using micro-level insights
22 February 2016, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Environmental Economics
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| Upcoming Courses |
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| Grasping Sustainability, 22-26 February |
 Explore, understand and utilise sustainability, the different concepts, objectives, indicators and methodologies.
To date, many different scientific concepts and approaches of environmental sustainability exist. What are the differences? What do they entail? How can you achieve sustainable development? How can you apply sustainability in your own research? Moreover, what is your role as a scientist and how can you deal with facts, insecurities, values and opinions?
This course will enable you to grasp sustainability and to apply concepts and approaches to your own research.
Extended final registration deadline: 1 February |
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| Making an Impact! How to increase the societal relevance of your PhD research, 25-26 May |
 Generating impact of research requires intense and ongoing collaboration with industry, government, societal organizations and citizens. It involves much more than communicating research findings to the wider public, formulating recommendations for policy makers or engaging in public debates as a scientist.
This new SENSE course builds on a transdisciplinary understanding of impact of sustainability research. You will discuss challenges and dilemmas, especially in the context of individual or small team PhD projects. At the end of the course, you will make an informed decision on whether and why you desire to integrate ideas of transdisciplinarity into your research and if so, in what way, and with what intended impact.
Registration deadline: 27 April |
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| Overview of PhD / postdoc courses February-April |
- Competences and Skills in Interdisciplinary Cooperation (NEW)
8 February 2016, Leipzig, Germany
- Biotechnology of Conversion: Fundamentals of (Bio)Electrochemistry
10 February 2016, UFZ Leipzig, Germany
- Biological Processes for Resource Recovery (NEW)
15 February - 10 March 2016, Wageningen
- Aspects on Geoenergy and Participation
15 February 2016, UFZ Leipzig, Germany
- PCDI course Employability Outside Academia
19 February, 11 March and 15 April 2016 (all Fridays)
- Grasping Sustainability
22-26 February 2016, Lunteren
- Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment
29 February - 4 March 2016, Delft
- The Science of Conservation; Managing Biodiversity in a Changing World
2-12 March 2016, South Africa
- Microbial Services in Times of Global Change
7-11 March 2016, UFZ Leipzig, Germany
- Mathematical Models in Ecology and Evolution (NEW)
14 March - 25 June 2016, Groningen
- Understanding Chemical Partition Equilibria
21 March 2016, UFZ Leipzig, Germany
- Transport of Chemicals on Small Spatial Scales
22 March 2016, UFZ Leipzig, Germany
- A1 SENSE Introductory Course
30 March - 1 April 2016, Apeldoorn
- Root Ecology (NEW)
3-8 April 2016, Denmark
- ESPA Summer School 2016 (Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation)
10-16 April 2016, UK
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| Overview of recently announced PhD / postdoc courses |
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| Discussion Groups |
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| Plant-Soil Interaction Discussion group, 3 February: kick-off meeting |
The Plant and Soil Interactions discussion group offers a platform to discuss the current and cutting edge research in plant and soil science.
 Meetings are aimed at facilitating networking and collaboration between young scientists researching many aspects of how soil and plants interact. Topics of the meetings are related to plant and soil research and are chosen according to the current interests of the group, e.g. topics involving nutrient and carbon cycling, plant interactions with soil biota or connections between the above and belowground communities.
Meetings have a varying format which is chosen to fit the topic: e.g. debate on experimental set ups and scientific methods used in plant and soil science, lectures and discussion with invited speakers, or critical review of current literature.
We aim to create a place that facilitates the exchange of knowledge, experience and feedback between young researchers in plant and soil science.
What do you want to discuss? |
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| Research seminar Earth System Governance, 18 February |
| 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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| Reading group Environmental Economics, every second week on Wednesday |
A reading group with PhD students in the field of Environmental Economics. Each week one of us presents
- a paper in the broad field of environmental economics that he/she finds interesting (everyone reads the paper on beforehand), or
- a working paper he/she is working on, or
- the research set-up of an experiment or survey he/she is working on, or
- a topic he/she finds interesting based on a collection of the relevant literature.
After the presentation (±20 mins) the remaining will be used for discussion. The group is open for new participants and new topics! |
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| Upcoming Events |
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| EURO-AGRIWAT conference Water Footprint of agricultural products: progress, challenges and solutions, 7-9 March |
Do not forget to register for the first international SENSE conference, co-organised with the European Cost Action Euro-Agriwat.
- Keynotes from SENSE speakers and international speakers, such as Arjen Hoekstra, Elías Fereres, Martin van Ittersum, Huub Rijnaarts, Jay Lund and Ruth Matthews
- Paralles sessions on Crop Water Footprints, Water footprints and sustainability, Remote sensing and water footprints, Solutions to improve water footprints, Grey water footprints and Optimising water footprints of catchments
- the River Basin Game (developed by Arjen Hoekstra)
- Network opportunities in an informal atmosphere
Registration deadline: 7 February 2016 (reduced fee for SENSE PhD candidates) |
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Minisymposium Systems and sustainability in time and space and
inaugural lecture Dr. Alexey Voinov, 18 February |
 Prof. Alexey Voinov, appointed by the Executive Board of the University of Twente as Professor of Spatio-Temporal Systems Modeling for Sustainability Science at the Faculty of ITC will be giving a lecture in the Prof. ir. M.P. Breedveld-room of the Waaier building at 16:00 hrs on Thursday 18th February 2016 to mark the occasion of his appointment.
A Mini-Symposium will take place prior to the lecture, featuring presentations by leading scientists in the field, and covering a wide range of topics related to sustainability science and systems modeling. |
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| Inaugural Lecture SENSE director Philipp Pattberg (VU): Environmental governance in the anthropocene: Complexity, fragmentation and the role of transnational institutions, 19 February |
 Philipp Pattberg is Professor (full) of Transnational Environmental Governance and Policy at VU University Amsterdam. He currently serves as the deputy department head of the Department of Environmental Policy Analysis (EPA) at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM).
He specializes in global environmental governance, with a focus on climate change, forestry and biodiversity. Dr Pattberg’s current research scrutinizes institutional complexity and fragmentation across environmental domains.
As of 2016 Philipp Pattberg is general director of SENSE.. |
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| Overview of upcoming events |
| Recently announced: |
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| Full list of interesting upcoming events: |
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| Tips |
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| 5 Moronic Mistakes That Keep PhDs Stuck In Academia (blogpost Next Scientist) |
A negative feedback loop exists in academia. Once you’re in the academic system, the system keeps you there by refusing to prepare you for anything else, including an industry job.
You’re told over and over again that nothing else but staying in academia is respected. You’re told over and over again that you can’t do anything else. You’re told that there is nothing else.
The academic system makes you so dependent on it that you get used to being treated poorly by people, like your advisor, committee members, and even other postdocs and graduate students. |
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| My adviser's best advice (blogpost Science Career) |
| In Science Careers-produced Working Life story, Josh Shiode wrote about his experience as a graduate student uncertain about his future and his decision to tell his adviser about his doubts. Read the story to find out how it worked out. |
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| New vacancies |
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| Postdoc (Researcher) Image analysis for Health Geography, Twente University, deadline 14 February |
| You initiate, carry out and participate in research and consulting activities on image analysis that is relevant for arrange of health outcomes, within the broad domain of GeoHealth. Research will be based on the quantitative application of geoinformation science and Earth observation technology to health outcomes. Traditionally ITC emphasizes research and consultancy in developing countries, where we have a particular interest in the epidemiology of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and their associated morbidities. |
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| Postdoc (Researcher) Scaled-up, Semi-Automated, Cadastral Parcel Extraction - Using High Resolution Satellite Imagery, Twente University, deadline 8 February |
| The position enables the exploration and evaluation of techniques for automatically and/or semi-automatically detecting and extracting visible cadastral boundaries. Emphasis is placed on: 1) determining the most suitable technical approach for national and regional scaled application – in a range of contexts; 2) using available repositories of high-resolution satellite imagery; and 3) incorporating policy, legal, economic and institutional aspects into the analysis. The work requires is socio-technical in nature: assessment and potential adaptation of algorithms, software, and processing methods will be undertaken – as will analysis of contextual issues and practical realities for implementing the approaches at scale. |
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| PostDoc Position (70-100%) in Life Cycle Assessment Group of Empa, Switzerland |
This position mainly involves the following tasks:
- Establishing life cycle inventory (LCI) datasets and characterisation factors for the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) of nanomaterials
- Editing of project reports
- Representation of Empa as an LCA/LCI expert in the Group of LCI experts of the ecoinvent Association
- Contributing to international publications
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| Assistant Professor in Human Geography, Utrecht University, deadline 12 February |
| The job consists of 80% teaching bachelor and master students including lectures, workshops, assessment, excursions and the organization of teaching modules. Modules to teach will be Introduction to Human Geography, Regional Geography, Geograpy Education and Geography & Tourism. The remaining part of your appointment, 20%, will be available for research and valorization, with a focus on projects that have a relation with ‘Urban Futures’, the main research theme of the department. Within this theme, research activities can be undertaken from a more social perspective (focusing on issues such as urban inequality, transnational mobilities or healthy urban living) or from a more economic perspective (issues like resilience and networked cities). |
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| PhD Learning from smart grid pilot projects, Wageningen University, deadline 4 February |
| The PhD-project is part of a larger international, interdisciplinary research programme on smart grids. The PhD-candidate will carry out social-scientific research on the co-evolutionary innovation process of smart grid developments in and around a number of existing Dutch pilot projects, and possibly conduct some research in Austria as well. |
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One week left to register for the first 