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Research School for Socio-Economic and
Natural Sciences of the Environment |
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Newsletter January 2019
18 January 2019 |
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Communicating your Science ›› |
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Pesticide residues present in more than 80% of European agricultural soils ›› |
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Building dams and reservoirs leads to more water use and shortage ›› |
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Modern Greenland ice sheet melt unprecedented since age of industrialisation ›› |
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Overview of PhD graduations upcoming period ›› |
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Employability outside academia, 28 January - 18 March 2019 ›› |
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Making an Impact! Increasing the relevance of research through science-society interaction, 5-6 February 2019 ›› |
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Ethics in Plant and Environmental Sciences, 7 February 2019 ›› |
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Overview of PhD / postdoc courses January - February 2019 ›› |
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Overview of recently announced PhD / postdoc courses ›› |
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Discussion groups January - February 2019 ›› |
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Annual Conference of Pathways to Sustainability, 24 January 2019, Utrecht ›› |
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ESP regional conference Africa 2019: "Management of Ecosystem Services for Nature Conservation and Human Wellbeing in Africa", 4-8 February 2019, Togo, Africa ›› |
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Kennisnetwerk Milieu Workshop Citizen Science, 15 February 2019, Wageningen, the Netherlands ›› |
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Earth System Science PhD Conference, 13-15 March 2019, Jena, Germany ›› |
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European Climate Change Adaptation conference (ECCA) 2019, 28-31 May 2019, Lisbon, Portugal ›› |
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Overview of upcoming events ›› |
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Vacancies at SENSE Partners ›› |
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| Editorial |
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| Communicating your Science |
Most of you have already found it out (perhaps even the hard way): doing PhD research implies that you learn to communicate clearly and effectively about your research subject. It can be so frustrating and difficult, to have this very ‘clear’ idea in your head, and then… when you start talking about it in a discussion or just casually with friends, it can be so difficult to actually express in words what seemed so clear in your mind when it was still ‘only’ a thought.
The upside of this frustration is that we all know it, and thus we can challenge and support each other in the effort of overcoming it and becoming inspiring science communicators. In my experience, all PhD candidates have this 'inspiring science communication’ available as a potential – but it will not develop and bloom without effort and training.
The SENSE network of junior and senior researchers is a splendid context for ‘trial and error’ in the field of ‘communicating your science’. However, this opportunity will only present itself when the PhD candidate seizes it with both hands. This is exactly what two SENSE PhD candidates at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM, VU), Anaïs Couasnon and Dirk Eilander, have done when they took the initiative to design and develop a website dedicated to the communication of their scientific field. Anaïs and Dirk explain their objectives in a blog on their own website: http://compoundevents.org/blog/dear-reader-of-this-blog/
To give an impression, consider the following quote from their blog: “We are aiming to create a space where personal opinions on any aspect of compound events can be shared. We hope that this blog will receive diverse contributions since this research theme encompasses a broad range of fields: climate and atmospheric sciences, hydrology, engineering, etc. with a clear practical implication on risk design-based systems and risk management strategies.”
If nothing else, we immediately ‘get’ from this quote that the authors are really connected and committed to their research subject – this is in itself an important element of successful science communication! At the same time, we can all see that they are using quite a bit of ‘jargon’ – perhaps there is room for improvement here? I can imagine the usefulness of a notion such as ‘compound event’, but it does not immediately ‘tell us the story’ what exactly it is about.
Another element of successful communication is also covered by this website initiative: the authors invite their readers to respond and to join the communication challenge with them. Science communication obviously is a medal with two sides: it can be very frustrating when it fails but it can also be very rewarding if you experience the pleasure of actually clarifying some insight or aspect to others. We wish you successful science communication and a healthy 2019!
Let’s make SENSE together.
Ad van Dommelen |
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| SENSE News |
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| Pesticide residues present in more than 80% of European agricultural soils |
| Soil contamination by pesticide residues has become an issue of increasing concern in the last few decades. Researchers from Wageningen University & Research tested 76 pesticide residues in agricultural topsoils from eleven EU countries. Over 80% of the soil samples contained pesticide residues, the research team reports in the scientific magazine Science of the Total Environment. The presence of mixtures of pesticide residues in soils are the rule rather than the exception, the study reveals. |
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| Building dams and reservoirs leads to more water use and shortage |
| Building reservoirs leads to increases in long-term water use, resulting in prolonged periods of droughts and water shortages in downstream regions. This is concluded by a multidisciplinary team of ten drought scientists, including scientists from Utrecht University, in an article in Nature Sustainability. They recommend to put more effort into water conservation measures rather than in increased water supply. |
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| Modern Greenland ice sheet melt unprecedented since age of industrialisation |
| Current melting at the surface of the Greenland ice sheet is unprecedented for at least the last three-and-a-half centuries. That is what a group of climate researchers from the US, Belgium and Utrecht University report in the journal Nature, based on melt records from three ice cores drilled in central west Greenland. |
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| Upcoming PhD Graduations |
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| Overview of PhD graduations upcoming period |
- K.F. Tieskens
Cultural value of European landscapes: A quantitative approach
21 January 2019, VU University Amsterdam, Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)
- S.S.K. Scholte
The value of nature through an ecosystem service lens: Exploring public perceptions
23 January 2019, VU University Amsterdam, Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)
- Leonardo Vargas Barbosa
Using remote sensing and ecosystem accounting to assess changes in ecosystems, with an illustration for the Orinoco river basin
23 January 2019, Wageningen University, Environmental Systems Analysis
- Seyedabdolhossein (Abdi) Mehvar
Quantifying climate change driven environmental losses in coastal areas: a practical framework
24 January 2019, University of Twente
- Bingzen Du
Effect of land-use change on grassland ecosystem services in Inner Mongolia and their implications for livelihoods and sustainable management
30 January 2019, Wageningen University, Environmental Systems Analysis
- Barak Shojaei Arani
Inferring ecosystem states and quantifying their resilience: linking theories to ecological data
5 February 2019, Wageningen University, Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management
- Martijn Diender
Exploration of microbial systems as biocatalysts for conversion of synthesis gas to bio-based chemicals
8 February 2019, Wageningen University, Microbiology
- Urania Michaelidou
Electrochemically active bacteria in microbial fuel cells
13 February 2019, Wageningen University, Microbiology
- Florian Beyer
Microbiological and process technological aspects of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membrane biofouling
22 February 2019, Wageningen University, Microbiology
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| Upcoming Courses |
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| Employability outside academia, 28 January - 18 March 2019 |
| The aim of this course is to support PhD students and postdocs in their preparation to make the transition to industry and/or non-profit organisations. It helps them finding out what position would suit them. |
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| Making an Impact! Increasing the relevance of research through science-society interaction, 5-6 February 2019 |
| In this course, PhD candidates will learn about perspectives on and activities for science-society interaction. They will develop ideas and activities to increase the societal relevance of their research, and how these can be balanced with other commitments and priorities in the PhD programme. |
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| Ethics in Plant and Environmental Sciences, 7 February 2019 |
| This course focuses on ethical issues that are encountered when doing research in plant and environmental sciences. It includes hands-on dealings with ethical, philosophical, and societal issues surrounding science. |
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Overview of PhD / postdoc courses January - February 2019
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- Soil Ecology, the Multifunctional Potential of Soils
27-31 January 2019, Lunteren
- Employability outside academia
3 times 1 full-day course on 28 January-18 February-18 March 2019, Utrecht.
- GIS in practice
4-15 February 2019, Wageningen
- Making an Impact! Increasing the relevance of research through science-society interaction
5-6 February 2019, Wageningen
- Ethics in Plant and Environmental Sciences
7 February 2019, Wageningen
- Biotechnology of Conversion: Fundamentals of (Bio)Electrochemistry
7 February 2019, UFZ Leipzig, Germany
- Copernicus Climate Change Service - User Learning Services: Train the trainer course
11-13 February 2019, Wageningen
- Game Theoretic Modelling with Maple
11-14 February 2019, Wageningen
- International Advanced Course “Environmental Impact Assessment of Livestock Systems
11-15 February 2019, Wageningen
- Bio)Electrochemistry and its Applications
12-13 February 2019, UFZ Leipzig, Germany
- Academic Publication and Presentation in the Social Sciences
18-21 February 2019, Wageningen
- Institutions and Societal Transformation
19 February-15 March 2019, Wageningen
- Introduction to R for statistical analysis
20-21 February 2019, Wageningen
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Overview of recently announced PhD / postdoc courses (a selection)
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- Selected topics in mathematics
4-15 March 2019, Wageningen
- Modern Methods and Applications for Isotope Analysis of Light Elements
4-7 March 2019, UFZ Leipzig, Germany
- Making Sense out of (Bio)analytical Data in Chemical Mixture Assessment
13-15 March 2019, UFZ Leipzig, Germany
- Visual research methods
15-22 March 2019, Wageningen
- Impact Training: Communicating Science to Non-Scientists -The Basic Essentials
25 March 2019, UFZ Leipzig, Germany
- Summer School Dynamics of Estuarine and Nearshore Systems: From Fundamentals to Cutting-Edge Knowledge
11-21 June 2019, Spain
- NCK Summer School: Estuarine and Coastal Processes in relation to Coastal Zone Management
17-28 June 2019, Texel
- BioBusiness Summer School
24-28 June 2019, Amsterdam
- Summer School: Theory and Practice of Efficiency & Productivity Measurement: static & dynamic analysis
8-19 July 2019, Wageningen
In case you are interested in either participating or teaching a course that is currently not in the programme, please do not hesitate and contact us with your suggestions. |
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Discussion goups January - February 2019
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| Upcoming Events |
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| Annual Conference of Pathways to Sustainability, 24 January 2019, Utrecht, the Netherlands |
| At the annual conference of 'Pathways to Sustainability' researchers and partners in the working field of sustainability come together. Harvard Professor Sheila Jasanoff will challenge two main visions to achieve a more sustainable world by introducing a new imaginary of the 'un-modern'. Diederik Samsom uses storytelling to takes the audience on a journey to sustainable futures. And Jeroen Willemsen, founder of the plant-based ‘chicken’ producing company Ojah, argues that we need to restore the worldwide protein balance to ensure food security. |
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| ESP regional conference Africa 2019: "Management of Ecosystem Services for Nature Conservation and Human Wellbeing in Africa", 4-8 February 2019, Togo, Africa |
| This conference is organized to draw attention to the key role ecosystems are playing in the development of the economy, human wellbeing and culture in (Sub-Saharan) Africa. Yet, in spite of all the benefits of ecosystem services, the ecosystems providing them are facing many threats affecting the livelihoods and resilience of local communities. |
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Kennisnetwerk Milieu Workshop Citizen Science, 15 February 2019, Wageningen, the Netherlands
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| Citizen Science has become a popular notion in the past ten years, but many researchers and policy makers hardly know what the "citizen science" concept means and how "citizen science" can be applied in their own research. When and how can we involve citizens in scientific and policy oriented research? How reliable are the data created or gathered by citizens? What are the prospects and limitations of citizen science? |
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Earth System Science PhD Conference, 13-15 March 2019, Jena, Germany
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| Earth system and climate scientists focus their research on multiple Earth spheres (ocean, atmosphere, biosphere and soils) and the interactions between them. At the Earth System Science PhD Conference 2019, organized by SENSE members, you can meet with experimentalists and modellers from all spheres to view your very specific or broad and multidisciplinary topic, in a broader context. |
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| European Climate Change Adaptation conference (ECCA) 2019, 28-31 May 2019, Lisbon, Portugal |
| The 4th ECCA conference: 'Working together to prepare for change' will focus on six themes, from co-production of knowledge to tackling the global challenges of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. |
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| Overview of upcoming events |
| Recently announced: |
- Workshop on Computer vision for geo-Information
11 February 2019, Wageningen
- Netherlands Annual Ecology Meeting
12-13 February 2019, Lunteren
- Kennisnetwerk Milieu Workshop Citizen Science
15 February 2019, Wageningen
- High level conference on climate change and ocean conservation
19 February 2019, Brussels, Belgium
- Third World Summit on Climate Change and Global Warming 2019
27-28 February 2019, Prague, Czech Republic
- NAC (Nederlands Aardwetenschappelijk Congres) 2019
14-15 March 2019, Utrecht
- NCK days 2019 (Netherlands Centre for Coastal Research)
22-23 March 2019, Enkhuizen
- Symposium Landscape management for functional biodiversity
27-29 March 2019, Wageningen
- EGU General Assembly 2019
7-12 April 2019, Austria
- Conference on Commodities, Volatility, and Risk Management: The Impacts of Trade Restrictions, Market Imperfections, and Green Finance
13-15 May 2019, France
- European Climate Change Adaptation conference (ECCA) 2019
28-31 May 2019, Lisbon, Portugal
- 23rd ICABR conference: Regulation and finance of innovations for a sustainable economy
4-7 June 2019, Italy
- 56th Annual meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation: Tropical Biology & Sustainable Development
30 July - 3 August 2019, Madagascar
- 49th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society
9-13 September 2019, Germany
- International conference Coastal Management
24-26 September 2019, France
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| Full list of interesting upcoming events: |
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| Job vacancies |
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| Vacancies at SENSE Partners |
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| More vacancies |
| During the month new vacancies are regularly posted on the SENSE vacancy page. |
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