PhD Student in Ecological Modeling (Switzerland)

Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, is a Swiss-based and internationally networked aquatic research institute within the ETH domain (Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology). It is committed to the ecologically, economically and socially responsible management of water resources and aquatic ecosystems.

The Department of Surface Waters Research and Management (Surf) has a vacancy for a

PhD Student in Ecological Modeling

This PhD position is part of the three year interdisciplinary research project “MOBtrait: Understanding the diversity of aerobic methane oxidizing bacteria in lacustrine oxyclines using community ecology and trait-based modeling† funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.
The PhD candidate will work on the development and application of trait-based models which describe the growth and competition of diverse groups of methane oxidizing bacteria in lakes. Laboratory experiments performed by a second PhD student will guide model development. The successful candidate will therefore work in an interdisciplinary team. The ecological model will be embedded in a biogeochemical model for water column processes. The project aims at improving the quantitative understanding of the methane oxidation dynamics and niche formation of the involved microorganisms in seasonally stratified lakes.

This project requires the ability to develop numerical models based on scripting languages like Matlab or R. Experience in programming  with C or Fortran is an advantage. We are looking for a candidate with solid a background in environmental engineering, ecological modeling, bioinformatics or a related field. Good knowledge of microbiology or lake ecology is an advantage.

We expect the successful candidate to have a high level of scientific interest, team capability and an interest in interacting with different scientific disciplines. The department of Surface Waters of Eawag (http://www.eawag.ch/forschung/surf/index_EN) is situated at the shore of Lake Lucerne and offers a friendly, collaborative and interdisciplinary working environment, state of the art facilities, and excellent working and living conditions. The successful candidate will be enrolled at ETH Zurich, one of the highest ranked Universities in Europe.

The starting date is anticipated for May 2015 or as soon as possible. For further information please contact Andreas Brand (andreas.brand@eawag.ch, +41 58 765 21 48) or Helmut Bürgmann (helmut.buergmann@eawag.ch +41 58 765 21 65)

The deadline for applications is 28 February 2015. Applications should include a motivation letter, CV, and the names of at least two referees. We look forward to receive your application through this webpage, any other way of applying will not be considered. Please click on the link below, this will take you directly to the application form.
https://apply.refline.ch/673277/0318/pub/1/index.html