Researcher (f/m/d) in Vertebrate Paleontology

Our Mission: Discovering and describing life and earth - with people, through dialogue.

The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (MfN) is an excellent and integrated research museum of the Leibniz Association with an international reputation and globally connected research infrastructure. MfN is active in three closely interlinked fields: collection-based research, collection development, and research-based public and educational outreach. New laboratories and workplaces for cutting-edge research will be established. One of the world's most comprehensive natural history collections with over 30 million objects will be housed in state of the art buildings as well as fully digitized. The implementation of the so-called Zukunftsplan (future plan), funded with a total of 660 million euros from the Federal Government and the State of Berlin, strongly relies on interdisciplinary national and international partners. Become part of our team as a

Researcher (f/m/d) in Vertebrate Paleontology

75%, fixed-term contract with third-party funding, as soon as possible for a period of 36 months, E 13 TV-L, Code: 31/2023.

Project description:

As part of the DFG project "Research and Responsibility: Virtual access to integrated fossil and archival material from the German Tendaguru Expedition (1909-1913)", a range of dinosaur fossils from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin are being digitised in 3D. The basis for the successful 3D digitisation and exploitation of the vertebrate fossil material is the scientific conceptualisation, coordination, and research on the different digitisation techniques as well as the implementation of the generated core data in a virtual research environment. These activities are in line with the main goals of the DFG project to transparently communicate the colonial origin of the objects and to provide access to fossil and archival materials. A prerequisite for this is the responsible and sensitive handling of scientific material and archival data from colonial contexts. The position holder is therefore expected to have an awareness of these contexts and the ability to handle this data responsibly. Further information on the project can be found on the page: https://www.museumfuernaturkunde.berlin/en/science/digital-exploitation-fossil-and-archival-material-german-tendaguru-expedition-1909-1913

Responsibilities:

• Application and research of different digitisation methods to create 3D surface models of dinosaur fossils from the German Tendaguru Expedition (DTE)
• Establishing quality criteria for the 3D digitisation of these fossils and quality control of the data
• Preparation of guidelines/compendium for the 3D digitisation for the presentation and availability of the digitised material in databases and data platforms
• Conception and coordination of the publication of the results of this work in cooperation with the other participants of the DFG project in internationally peer-reviewed journals.

Requirements:

• University degree in bio- or geosciences (MSc or equivalent)
• Subject-specific PhD or PhD in preparation desirable
• Expertise in vertebrate palaeontology, in particular anatomy of archosaurs, proven by corresponding exam (Masters)
• Experience in the use of 3D digitisation techniques for natural history objects, e.g. photogrammetry or 3D surface scanners
• Experience in the use and further processing of 3D data for research and archiving needs, knowledge of image processing and image editing programs such as MeshLab, Blender, GOM Inspect, and/or Autodesk MeshMixer
• Experience in working with archival databases for natural history objects desirable
• Knowledge and experience in the development and implementation of independent research projects
• Experience in scientific publishing
• Ability to communicate and cooperate in a larger team
• Very good English language skills
• Basic knowledge of German desirable
• Knowledge of colonial contexts of the collection desirable
• Diversity competence and sensitivity to issues of discrimination

Special notes:

In support of equal rights applications from qualified women are particularly welcome. Disabled individuals will be given preference in cases of identical qualifications.

We look forward to receiving your application with the usual documents (cover letter, curriculum vitae, certificates) by 01.06.2023, preferably via our online application portal . For information on the application procedure, please contact recruiting(at)mfn.berlin .

Further informations

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Information about the handling of applicant data at the MfN ( in German) and Privacy policy for the MfN website (in German)

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