with Iain Couzin, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (posted May 2020)
Location: Konstanz, Germany
Duration: Postdocs up to 5 years, PhDs up to 4 years, fully funded, available immediately.
We seek a motivated postdoctoral/PhD candidates to work in several projects
Using immersive Virtual Reality to understand individual decision-making in insects and/or fish (2 positions: experimental and theory)
Adviser:
Iain Couzin http://collectivebehaviour.com/people/couzin-iain/
In this project the candidate will employ new immersive Virtual Reality systems for freely moving animals to investigate the sensory basis of individual-level decision making, such as during search, navigation and selection among alternative visual options during such processes. The experimental component of this project will involve working with (one or more) organisms such as fruit flies, locusts, zebrafish (or a related compatible system of the candidate’s choice). They would work closely with and/or directly contribute to the development of computational models of visually-mediated decision-making as animals move through space. For the computational position experience with either individual- or agent-based models, neural models, reaction-diffusion models, numerical models relating to geometry, or related approaches, would all be beneficial.
To read more about our VR technologies, please see:
Candidates will work in a dynamic and highly-international research environment in which the working language is English, and will be based in the Department of Collective Behaviour (see http://collectivebehaviour.com/) at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior based on the campus of the University of Konstanz in the historic city of Konstanz in Southern Germany.
The University of Konstanz one of the nine “elite universities” in Germany. The University has almost 12,000 students and is situated on a hill overlooking Lake Constance, the Island of Mainau and Mainau Forest. The campus is a short cycle or bus ride from the city centre. Konstanz has a large and well preserved old town (Altstadt), and a vibrant day and nightlife, including many museums, galleries, and parks. Our nearest airport is Zurich approximately 50 mins drive / 1hr5mins direct train. The Max Planck Institutes and the University of Konstanz focus on excellence in research and the successful applicant will benefit from outstanding infrastructure, opportunities for training and a highly collaborative and international research environment.
Our working language is English and consequently applicants must be fluent in this language; no knowledge of German is required. All of our appointments are for one year initially, with the possibility of renewal up to 5 years for Postdoctoral positions and 4 years for PhD positions based on satisfactory performance. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience, and benefits are included.
The University of Konstanz and the Max Planck Society are committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in their workforce and therefore we encourage applications from such qualified individuals. Furthermore, we seek to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply. We offer extensive support to help researchers balance professional and home life, including assistance with childcare and support of the elderly, and flexibility in how employees arrange working hours. For details see http://www.mpg.de/equal_opportunities.
For further information regarding this position please contact Iain Couzin icouzin@orn.mpg.de.
These positions are available immediately, and will be open until filled. To apply please send an email to Iain Couzin (Director) icouzin@ab.mpg.de, including a statement of interest (including possible research directions) and CV in PDF format.
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We welcome applicants for visiting or resident PhD, postdoctoral or PI positions, as well as sabbatical visitors. There are excellent funding opportunities to conduct research in Germany.
For those interested in postdoctoral positions the following links may be helpful:
Humboldt research fellowships for postdocs. Application: any time. https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/humboldt-fellowship-postdoc.html
Marie Curie fellowships. Application deadline: September 14.https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/calls/h2020-msca-if-2017.html#c,topics=callIdentifier/t/H2020-MSCA-IF-2017/1/1/1/default-group&callStatus/t/Forthcoming/1/1/0/default-group&callStatus/t/Open/1/1/0/default-group&callStatus/t/Closed/1/1/0/default-group&+identifier/desc
DFG (Candidates can apply as PI). Application: any time: http://www.dfg.de/en/research_funding/faq/faq_temporary_positions/index.html
Emmy Noether Program for Independent Group Leaders (6 year positions): http://www.dfg.de/en/research_funding/programmes/individual/emmy_noether/in_brief/index.html
Human Frontiers postdoc fellowships. Application deadline: August 24.http://www.hfsp.org/funding/postdoctoral-fellowships
Freigeist fellowship VW foundation. Application deadline: October 12.https://www.volkswagenstiftung.de/nc/en/funding/our-funding-portfolio-at-a-glance/freigeist-fellowships.html?tx_itaofundinginitiative_itaofundinginitiativelist%5Bcontroller%5D=FundingInitiative&cHash=29d4f3d9556a5d7f02d3a438b7a91ac7
Branco Weiss fellowship. Application deadline: January 15. http://www.society-in-science.org/who-we-are.html
Zukunftskolleg fellowships: Application: after call. https://www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskolleg/
Please contact the relevant host PI (Iain, Damien or Alex) for further information.
