Research Associate, Environmental Studies

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100%, Singapore, fixed-term

Future Cities Lab (FCL) Global is a research collaboration between ETH Zurich and the Singapore universities – National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) – with support from the National Research Foundation (NRF). It operates under the auspices of the Singapore-​ETH Centre (SEC). It aims at supporting the development of sustainable cities and settlement systems through science, by design, in place, over time.

Job description

The Future Cities Lab Global project, at the Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC) and Yale-NUS College, are looking for a Research Associate (RA) interested in studying ecosystem functions of trees and vegetation in urban environments as part of an interdisciplinary team that works on resilient and sustainable urban landscapes, based on the use of green and blue infrastructures providing key ecosystem services. Specifically, the RA will design and lead

• field surveys along the urban-rural gradient to identify species with desirable traits and other characteristics in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, and its hinterlands
• a study on the relationship between traits, distribution and functions of tree species and
• a study that seeks to quantify and compare the ecosystem services of different types of urban vegetation.

The RA will contribute to the assessment of ecosystem services of various green-blue urban landscape designs using various modelling approaches. This contribution will support an iterative loop between designers, scientists, engineers and local resource users, civil society actors, and governments. This iterative loop is a key feature of the Future Cities lab project for Antananarivo. See the project’s webpage for more information.

The position will be supervised by Prof. Dr. Michiel van Breugel (Yale-NUS College, Singapore) and Prof. Dr. Adrienne Grêt-Regamey (ETH, Zurich). You will be based at Tale-NUS and SEC, Singapore, and be expected to enrol as PhD student at ETH. The candidate will develop her/his research in the context of the interdisciplinary Future Cities Lab Global Antananarivo project, as part of an international team consisting of urban landscape designers, hydrologists, ecologists, agronomists and geographers from research institutions in Singapore, Madagascar and Switzerland. Field work will take place in Antananarivo and its hinterlands in collaboration with researchers and students from Switzerland and Madagascar.

Your profile

We are seeking for a researcher with an expertise in plant ecology, plant traits and ecophysiology, the study and modelling of ecosystem services or related fields, with a Master degree in Environmental Sciences, Biology, Ecology or other relevant programs. The RA will further have to demonstrate independent field research experience, excellent skills in data analyses, the ability for independent scientific work proven by a good publication record and a demonstrated ability to communicate in English. The ability to work with remote sensing data (including Lidar) and GIS would be an advantage, as would be a working knowledge of French. Success in the position requires good communication skills, as well as ability to work as a part of interdisciplinary and transnational research group.

Location: Yale-NUS College and SEC, Singapore, with extensive field work periods in Madagascar. In addition, some time would be spent at ETH, Switzerland, where the successful candidate would pursue a PhD on part-time basis.

Organization: Yale-NUS College

Department : Division of Science

ETH Zurich

ETH Zurich is one of the world’s leading universities specialising in science and technology. We are renowned for our excellent education, cutting-edge fundamental research and direct transfer of new knowledge into society. Over 30,000 people from more than 120 countries find our university to be a place that promotes independent thinking and an environment that inspires excellence. Located in the heart of Europe, yet forging connections all over the world, we work together to develop solutions for the global challenges of today and tomorrow.

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