PhD Positions in Quantitative Plant Sciences

Conducting research for a changing society: This is what drives us at Forschungs­zentrum Jülich. As a member of the Helmholtz Association, we aim to tackle the grand societal challenges of our time and conduct research into the possibilities of a digitized society, a climate-friendly energy system, and a resource-efficient economy. Work together with around 7,100 employees in one of Europe’s biggest research centres and help us to shape change!

Would you like to contribute to solutions to climate change and resource scarcity? Work with us at the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences – Plant Sciences (IBG-2) – on innovative use, production, and technology concepts related to “plants”, “sustainability”, and “bioeconomy”. Conduct inter-disciplinary research in international or regional teams using state-of-the-art sensors and measurement concepts – in the laboratory, greenhouse, field, or airborne. Contribute to over ten years of experience in plant phenotyping and knowledge-based bioeconomy research.

Within the graduate program “Quantitative Plant Sciences”, the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences – Plant Sciences (IBG-2) – is offering several

PhD Positions in “Quantitative Plant Sciences”

Doctoral theses are offered in the following subject areas, for which you can apply online via the respective link:

Topic 1: Seed filling dynamics of grain crops as affected by drought and heat
Topic 2: Deciphering the changes in cell walls of drought stressed poplar trees
Topic 3: Light Induced Fluorescence Transient (LIFT) method for quantification and early detection of anomalies in sugar beet performance
Topic 4: Time series of drone-based solar induced chlorophyll fluorescence for sensing crop photosynthetic response to environmental factors
Topic 5: Probing dynamics of photosynthesis regulation in plants by forced oscillation light

Further details on the individual projects can be found on the website http://www.fz-juelich.de/ibg/ibg-2/SPRING-OFFER-PhD-2022.

Requirements for all projects (please attach documents to your letter of application, as only complete applications can be considered):
- A good university degree in a discipline that can contribute in an experimental or theoretical way to one of the above-mentioned projects (in Germany 2.0 or better); please also pay attention to the requirements formulated in the individual projects
- At least one letter of recommendation
- A letter of motivation regarding your scientific interests and experience including your specific interest in the selected project(s)
- Enjoy working in interdisciplinary teams
- Very good oral and written English skills

We offer:
The IBG-2 (Plant Sciences) offers a unique, interdisciplinary working environment in which an excellent infrastructure and state-of-the-art plant physiology techniques are developed and applied to meet the major challenges of plant production for a sustainable bioeconomy.

- We offer world-class infrastructure and expertise in plant phenotyping
- The opportunity to work in a unique interdisciplinary team (scientists, engineers, and technicians) with national and international partners
- A structured doctoral degree program for you and your supervisors with a comprehensive further training and networking package on our doctoral researchers’ platform JuDocS:
www.fz-juelich.de/judocs/EN/Home/home_node.html

- The position is initially for a fixed term of three years; pay will be in line with 65 % of pay group 13 of the Collective Agreement for the Public Service (TVöD-Bund) and additionally 60% of a monthly salary as special payment (“Christmas bonus”); further information on doctoral degrees at Forschungszentrum Jülich including our other locations is available at www.fz-juelich.de/gp/Careers_Docs

Forschungszentrum Jülich promotes equal opportunities and diversity in its employment relations.
We also welcome applications from disabled persons.

We look forward to receiving your application until May 29, 2022 via our Online Recruitment System:
fz-juelich.de/SharedDocs/Stellenangebote/_common/stellenanzeigen/2022D-044-048_IBG-2_Sammelausschreibung.html?nn=718260

The interviews take place in June. Depending on the availability of candidates (e.g. visa or corona limitations), the positions will then be filled promptly.

Questions about the job advertisement?
Please feel free to contact us, mentioning the reference number 2022D-044-048: [email protected]. Please note that for technical reasons we cannot accept applications via email.