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Research School for Socio-Economic and
Natural Sciences of the Environment |
| SENSE e-News |
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Newsletter June
31 May 2016 |
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SENSE MSc Honours Awards 2015-2016 ›› |
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Chinese award for research on pesticide use in loess soils ›› |
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Storing energy using microorganisms ›› |
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Copernicus Institute (UU) has joined Global Alliance of Earth System Governance Research Centres ›› |
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Comprehensive report of world’s transboundary water basins finds hotspots of risk ›› |
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Overview of PhD graduations upcoming period ›› |
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Climate-Smart Agriculture - From fundamentals to application, 21-26 August 2016 ›› |
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Overview of PhD / postdoc courses June-August ›› |
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Overview of recently announced PhD / postdoc courses ›› |
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Ecological Theory & Application Discussion Group meeting, 8 June ›› |
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PhD discussion group on agriculture – climate – forests – food, 13 June ›› |
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Wageningen Evolution and Ecology Seminars (WEES), 16 June ›› |
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WIMEK/SENSE Sustainability BBQ, 10 June ›› |
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NonSENSE Forest Walk, 19 June ›› |
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Conference Governance by Sustainable Development Goals, 27-29 June ›› |
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Workshop: The influence of consumer behaviour on the environmental footprint of products, 30 September ›› |
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Overview of upcoming events ›› |
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Information meeting Veni, Vidi, Vici grant, 1 July ›› |
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Funds to publish in an Open Access journal (WUR and other) ›› |
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Postdoctoral position in Behavioural Economics and Applied Econometrics, ETH Zürich, deadline 20 June ›› |
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| SENSE News |
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| SENSE MSc Honours Awards 2015-2016 |
Wednesday May 4, six students of the SENSE MSc Honours Programme 2015-2016 presented their PhD research proposal to the SENSE Doctorate Committee, consisting of Prof. Max Rietkerk (Utrecht University), Dr. Robert van Biesbroek (Wageningen University), and Dr. Michelle van Vliet (Wageningen University). The best three PhD research proposals received an award of €1000, €500 and €250. The committee and course lecturers enjoyed the variety and quality of the different proposals. The final winners of the SENSE Honours awards were:
1. Yujia Yuo
2. Maartje van der Knaap
3. Aristofanis Tsiringakis
The WIMEK Graduate School awarded one PhD position to the best candidate who wrote the PhD proposal together with a WIMEK research group. The winner of the WIMEK PhD Award is Coco Chen Xi.
Coco, Yujia, Maartje and Aristofanis, congratulations with this outstanding achievement!
We would like to congratulate all participants with their great achievements and wish them all good luck with their future careers! |
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| Chinese award for research on pesticide use in loess soils |
 On 9 May Xiaomei Yang (WU) defended her PhD thesis on pesticide use and off-site risk assessment in Chinese loess soils. Promotors are Coen Ritsema and Violette Geissen. For her thesis research Xiaomei Yang has been granted ‘the 2015 National Award for Outstanding Self-financed Chinese Students Study Abroad’ by the China Scholarship Council. |
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| Storing energy using microorganisms |
 By combining existing technologies, Sam Molenaar, SENSE Ph.D. scientist at Wetsus/WU-ETE, developed a rechargeable battery, where microorganisms play a key role. The concept combines the principles of the microbial fuel cell with microbial electrosynthesis. Recent experiments have confirmed that the system is working. Molenaar: ‘It may form a stable, environmental friendly and inexpensive alternative to store energy. |
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| Copernicus Institute (UU) has joined Global Alliance of Earth System Governance Research Centres |
| The Copernicus Institute is committed to support involvement of its researchers in all activities of the Earth System Governance research alliance, including: support for the Taskforce on Accountability; support for the global taskforce on Conceptual Foundations (including the concepts of Anthropocene, Resilience, and Environmental Policy Integration); development of a global taskforce on Equity; and support for a global taskforce on Architecture. |
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| Comprehensive report of world’s transboundary water basins finds hotspots of risk |
| The world’s 286 transboundary river basins span 151 countries, including more than 40% of the Earth’s population and land area. They support the socioeconomic development and wellbeing of humanity and are home to a high proportion of the world’s biodiversity. Transboundary river basins cross international borders and are shared by two or more countries, which often makes managing them more challenging. The UNEP-DHI Partnership, in collaboration with 8 internationally recognised organisations and research institutes, leads the transboundary river basins assessment. The assessment is the first of its kind in scope and ambition. |
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| Upcoming PhD Graduations |
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| Overview of PhD graduations upcoming period |
- Ingrid van de Leemput
Simplifying complexity. Reflections on Ecosystems, Psychiatric Disorders and Biogeochemical Pathways
3 June 2016, Wageningen University, Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management
- Sander van Egmond
Unravelling the Contested Nature of Carbon Capture and Storage
3 June 2016, Utrecht University, Innovation Studies - Innovation Dynamics of Emerging Technologies
- Shaohui Zhang
Energy Efficiency for Clean Air - Capturing the multiple benefits for climate, air quality, and public health in China
10 June 2016, Utrecht University, Energy and Resources
- Jiefei Mao
Water repellent soils: From molecule to ecosystem
10 June 2016, Utrecht University, Environmental Sciences
- Elenestina Mwelwa
Establishing the Environmental Flow Regime for the Middle Zambezi River
13 June 2016, UNESCO-IHE, River Basin Development
- Carolina Rogelis Prada
Operational Flood Forecasting, Warning and Response for Multi-Scale Flood Risks in Developing Cities
13 June 2016, UNESCO-IHE, River Basin Development
- Elco Koks
Economic modelling for flood risk assessments
14 June 2016, VU University Amsterdam, Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), Spatial Analysis and Decision Support
- Rik Oldenkamp
Geneesmiddelen in ons water; Uncertainty and variability in environmental risk assessment of human pharmaceuticals
14 June 2016, Radboud University, Environmental Science
- Berhan Teklu
Environmental risk assessment of pesticides in Ethiopia: A case of surface water systems
20 June 2016, Wageningen University, Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management
- Yiwen Sun
Crested Ibis in a dynamic and increasingly human-dominated landscape
22 June 2016, University of Twente, Department of Natural Resources
- Jennifer Poussin
Flood damage mitigation investments: An assessment of (cost-)effectiveness and household decision making
28 June 2016, VU University Amsterdam, Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), Spatial Analysis and Decision Support
- Benjamin Sprecher
When materials become critical: lessons from the 2010 rare earth crisis
28 June 2016, Leiden University, Industrial Ecology
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| Upcoming Courses |
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| Climate-Smart Agriculture - From fundamentals to application, 21-26 August 2016 |
Agriculture and climate change are closely interrelated: climate is a main determinant of agricultural production while agriculture is responsible for approximately one third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is an increasingly appreciated approach that aims at ensuring food security, while lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and increasing the resilience of agricultural systems to climate change. CSA is facing various challenges that could hamper its implementation including its scope and meaning, enhancing synergies and reducing trade-offs, the identification of climate smart practices, the realization of a conducive policy environment, and the design and implementation of context-specific solutions.
This course addresses the interlinked challenges of agriculture and climate change in a holistic manner approaching CSA from various perspectives including animal & plant sciences, politics & governance, and business & finance in an interdisciplinary manner. It will provide participants with an overview of the up-to-date knowledge about CSA, demonstrate the opportunities, challenges and trade-offs. It will provide ample opportunities to network with experts and fellow candidates from around the world in the field of CSA. |
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| Overview of PhD / postdoc courses June-August |
- International Postgraduate Course European Forest Resources and the Bio-Economy
5-10 June 2016, Ede
- STAN 2.5 Workshop
9-10 June 2016, Vienna, Austria
- Linear Models
13-15 June 2016, Wageningen
- Summer school Modelling environmental resilience
19 June 2016, Paris, France
- Generalized Linear Models
20-21 June 2016, Wageningen
- ENP Summer School “Tackling Transparency: the Challenges of Operationalising Research on Disclosing Sustainability”
21-25 June 2016, Wageningen
- PCDI course Employability Outside Academia (NEW)
21 June, 13 September and 18 October 2016, Utrecht
- Facilitating multi-stakeholder processes using participatory modelling (NEW)
26 June - 1 July 2016, Wageningen
- Sustainability Analysis in Food & Biobased Production (NEW)
27 June - 1 July 2016, Wageningen
- Biobusiness Summerschool (NEW)
27 June - 1 July 2016, Amsterdam
- Mixed Linear Models
27-28 June 2016, Wageningen
- Summer School Concepts and tools to engage in knowledge co-production and public participation
27 June - 1 July 2016, France
- Meta-Analysis (NEW)
30 June - 1 July 2016, Wageningen
- Summer School on the Governance of Socio-Ecological Systems
3-8 July 2016, France
- Summer School Future Deltas (NEW)
4-9 July 2016, Utrecht
- PhD summer school on Urban Metabolism and Water Management: Smart Solutions for the Urban Metropole
4-15 July 2016, Amsterdam and Bologna
- Computational Social Science
10-17 July 2016, Italy
- MICMoR Summer School 2016 - Biogeochemical Processes at the Terrestrial-Aquatic Interface
3-12 August 2016, Germany
- Climate-Smart Agriculture - From fundamentals to application
21-26 August 2016, Wageningen
- Summer School on ‘Critical Transitions in Complex Systems: Mathematical theory and applications’
28 August - 9 September 2016, Denmark
- International Swiss Climate Summer School "Climate Risks - Coping with Uncertainty"
28 August - 2 September 2016, Switzerland
- PhD summer school on Sustainable Production Systems
29 August - 9 September 2016, Sweden
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| Overview of recently announced PhD / postdoc courses |
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| Discussion Groups |
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| Ecological Theory & Application Discussion Group meeting, 8 June |
This group 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.
Sometimes a guest speaker is invited to give an introduction on the theme and tell about her/his research. PhD candidates present their research results or plans, we comment upon a manuscript, or discuss a recent paper.
The topic of the 8 June meeting is Non-timber Forest Products, with two presentations of PhD students:
- Merel Jansen: Improving harvesting practices of non-timber forest products (NTFP) through smarter modelling: the role of individual heterogeneity
- Marlene Soriano: Fate of Bertholletia excelsa populations under reduced-impact logging and Amazon nut gathering: a multiple use forest management perspective
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| PhD discussion group on agriculture – climate – forests – food, 13 June |
| This interdisciplinary discussion group on agriculture, forests and climate change focuses on interactions, trade-offs and synergies between agriculture, climate and forestry. It invites PhDs (but also postdocs and researchers) working on or interested in agriculture, climate, forests and food to discuss scientific papers and documents (including key publications, PhD proposals, theoretical innovations etc). In each session, organized around a central theme, one or more PhD researchers or external speakers present their work. |
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| Wageningen Evolution and Ecology Seminars (WEES), 16 June |
WEES is an initiative from PhD students and postdocs at Wageningen University to organize a continuing series of stimulating seminars on contemporary topics in evolution and ecology. We aim to bring together different groups at Wageningen University using a variety of systems, but with a common interest in evolutionary and ecological questions. For this series we invite researchers from all over the world that have leading roles in their field. After the talk there will be drinks for an informal discussion and a dinner in town with the speaker.
- 16 June: Dan Tawfik (Weizmann Institute of Science - Rehovot, Israel)
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| Upcoming Events |
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| WIMEK/SENSE Sustainability BBQ, 10 June |
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| NonSENSE Forest Walk, 19 June |
The first Non-sense forest walk will take place on the Sunday June 19th. The plan is to meet at 11:00 at the Driebergen-Zeist train station. From there we will do a 14 km walk through a nature area of heather, forest and sand-dunes, and end at the station of Maarn (between 17:00 and 18:00).
Let us know if you wish to join the walk, and/or the dinner (so that we make reservations in advance). Confirm your presence and intention to join and/or the dinner by writing to our email senseforestwalk@gmail.com.
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| Conference Governance by Sustainable Development Goals, 27-29 June |
From 27 to 29 June, 2016, actors from social science academia (including humanities and interdisciplinary institutions), policy circles and non-governmental organizations, will gather in Amsterdam to critically review these newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their potential for mobilizing the world to a more equitable and environmentally sustainable future.
The conference will discuss and develop strategies for future research, teaching and actions that will emanate from the establishment of these goals, targets and indicators. |
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| Workshop: The influence of consumer behaviour on the environmental footprint of products, 30 September |
The RELIEF project (RELIability of product Environmental Footprints) organises a workshop on the influence of consumer behaviour on the environmental footprint of products. Experts in the field of consumer behavioural studies have been invited to discuss challenges in data collection and analysis. Further, the implications of the variability in consumer behaviour on the environmental footprint of consumer products will be discussed.
Interested PhD students are invited to submit a brief description of their PhD project explaining their interest in the proposed workshop along with a question for the panel discussion before Monday, 4 July 2016. Places are limited. The workshop will be free of charge. |
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| Overview of upcoming events |
| Recently announced: |
- CCS multi-tool of meerkoppige draak?
3 June 2016, Utrecht
- Post-Paris: Hoe verder na het klimaatakkoord?
7 June 2016, VVM Utrecht
- Water Innovation Europe 2016 - Water Smart: European solutions for a smart water society
21-23 June 2016, Brussels
- Workshop Plant-soil-microbe interactions for crop and pest management
30 June 2016, Wageningen
- LANDac Annual International Conference 2016 ‘Large-scale land acquisition in the context of urban sprawl and climate change: Linking the rural and the urban’
30 June - 1 July 2016, Utrecht
- Water Initiative for the Future (WatIF) Graduate Student Conference
27-29 July 2016, Ontario, Canada
- Environmental Policy Integration in Times of Transition
7-9 September 2016, Czech Republic
- International Conference on Environment and Health in Changing Climate (ICEHCC2016)
14-16 September 2016, India
- FACEing the future - food production and ecosystems
26-29 September 2016, Germany
- Farewell symposium professor Grietje Zeeman (WU): Recovery and Reuse of Resources from source separated domestic wastewater
7 October 2016, Wageningen
- Workshop "The External Cost of Meat; an Interdisciplinary Exploration"
17-18 November 2016, Belgium
- Research workshop - Ecological democracy: Always greener on the other side?
20-21 February 2017, Australia
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| Full list of interesting upcoming events: |
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| Tips |
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| Information meeting Veni, Vidi, Vici grant, 1 July |
| On Friday 1 July NWO is organising an information meeting for researchers that want to apply for a Veni, Vidi or Vici grant. Practical information will be given and laureates, selection committee members and NWO coordinators will share their experiences. The morning programme is for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the afternoon programme is for the Natural Sciences, Engineering and Life Sciences. The meetings will be held in English. Registration is compulsory. |
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| Funds to publish in an Open Access journal (WUR and other) |
| Wageningen University and Research listed several options for getting Open Access publishing funded, some -but not all- especially for WUR authors. |
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| New vacancies |
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| Postdoctoral position in Behavioural Economics and Applied Econometrics, ETH Zürich, deadline 20 June |
The research topic focuses on the analysis of socio-economic and behavioural determinants of energy consumption as well as on the economic analysis of the impact of energy and environmental policy measures.
The position offers the opportunity to work on projects as well as to perform individual research. Applicants should have a PhD in economics and a strong interest in energy and environmental economics, behavioural economics and applied econometrics. Familiarity with microeconomic theory is an additional asset. |
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