PhD student in Hydrology
Hydrological Sciences (HS)
The Institute of Environmental Engineering of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW) is searching for a doctoral student for employment at the Department of Hydrology, Meteorology, and Water Management. The person employed at the position will implement research tasks in the scope of the project PRELUDIUM BIS 5 financed by the National Science Centre (NCN) entitled “Elevated atmospheric CO2 – a neglected source of uncertainty in future hydrological projections in different climate zones” (2023/50/O/ST10/00303). The primary objective of the project is to increase knowledge of the role of elevated atmospheric CO2 (eCO2) concentrations in predicting hydrological processes at the catchment scale. The scope of work includes: (1) in-depth literature review on eCO2 effects on selected plant parameters; 2) Development of SWAT+ model incorporating eCO2 effect on plant growth and hydrological response; 3) testing the new model in diverse catchments under different climate forcings; 4) quantification of different sources of uncertainty (including eCO2) in hydrological projections.
Candidates are sought whose research interests include hydrology and climatology, especially in an area involving the application of mathematical models of environmental processes. Openness to new topics, i.e. environmental physiology, is welcome. Desirable qualities are: high motivation for scientific work, ability to work in a team, conscientiousness. Availability to work 100% full time is expected. The work will be performed in a dynamic, interdisciplinary, international team, providing the opportunity to implement own research ideas, scientific development and publication of articles in renowned scientific journals. The project includes a 6-month research internship at the Texas AgriLife Research – Blackland Research & Extension Center in the USA, funded by a grant from the National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA), as well as ongoing scientific cooperation with foreign and domestic partners. In addition, the project budget provides funds for participation in workshops, conferences, courses, etc.
Required qualifications:
- MSc title (environmental engineering, Earth sciences, agricultural sciences, environmental protection, applied mathematics, or related disciplines);
- Excellent knowledge of the English language, permitting writing scientific papers, presentations at international conferences, and fluent communication with foreign partners;
- The following skills will be preferred:
- Experience with proces-based mathematical models (hydrology, plant growth)
- Scripting in R/Python (e.g. for processing and analysis of environmental data)
- Basic programming skills in Fortran
- Experience with GIS software
The competition is open for persons that do not have a doctoral degree and are not participants of Polish doctoral schools. The scholarship committee will take into consideration two criteria: (1) competences for implementation of particular tasks in the research project; (2) scientific output of the candidate, including publications in renowned scientific journals. The competition winner will be obliged to submit recruitment documents to the SGGW Doctoral School (https://www.sggw.edu.pl/rekrutacja/rekrutacja-szkola-doktorska/) for the purpose of obtaining the status of a PhD student.
Employment conditions:
Doctoral scholarship for a period of 48 months to the amount of 5,000 PLN per month until the mid-term evaluation (24th month), and 6,000 PLN after the mid-term evaluation, received based on rules stipulated in the provisions of the act of 20 July 2018 of the law on higher education and science. Pursuant to the binding provisions, the scholarship will be reduced by social security contributions, but not by income tax. There is a possibility of obtaining an additional scholarship from the Doctoral School (~3,500/~5,300 PLN before and after mid-term evaluation, respectively. Planned start date: 1 October 2024.
Additional information:
Planned term of conclusion of the competition: by 1 September 2024. The candidates may be requested additional information or invited to an online interview with members of the scholarship committee between 19 and 30 August 2024. We reserve the right to respond only to selected offers. In the case of lack of satisfactory offers, the competition may be prolonged.
Please send your application exclusively by email until 5 August 2024 to the following address: mikolaj_piniewski@sggw.edu.pl with message title “Preludium Bis PhD”.
Required documents:
1. Cover letter in English;
2. CV with information on scientific output;
3. Copy of the Master’s diploma;
4. Master thesis or selected scientific article with the candidate as the first author;
5. Opinion of the scientific supervisor or a direct superior.