LMU Munich is seeking to fill several exciting positions around Earth system modeling and land use. See here (or below) for further details and https://www.geographie.uni-muenchen.de/department/fiona_eng/department/geographie/index.html for general information on our group.
Postdoc positions (up to 6 years) - scientific researcher for ecosystem-climate interactions:
https://job-portal.lmu.de/jobposting/d81ba3e3509c37cd93e7510ae4da2f2ee393a388
Model-data-integration (for two years with option for permanent position):
https://job-portal.lmu.de/jobposting/baa74d2c0220de9b732c5c7b3d4f8a2ffff1ef600
PhD position (as part of the Land-Atmosphere Feedback Initiative; deadline soon):
https://job-portal.lmu.de/jobposting/bfeddb35fb1650c55baf85efd13147d7b2e5a8dd
The positions will stay open until filled.
Thanks a lot in advance for your support in passing this on to suitable candidates!
Best,
Julia
ABOUT US:
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München is a leading research university in Europe. Since its founding in 1472 it has been committed to the highest international standards of excellence in research and teaching. The Chair for Physical Geography and Land Use Systems (Prof. Julia Pongratz) at LMU’s Department of Geography investigates the interactions between ecosystems and climate, and how these are altered by the anthropogenic use of land. Our group develops and applies the latest generation of land-use emission, vegetation and Earth system models and integrates them with observational data. Key research questions are the fate of ecosystems under the pressures of land-use and climate change, Earth system feedbacks via energy, water and biogeochemical cycles, and the role of vegetation and soils for greenhouse gas emissions reduction and CO2 removals in support of the Paris Agreement. The team is strongly involved in large national and international collaborations such as the Global Carbon Project, CMIP, IPCC, CDRterra, Horizon Europe projects and the national Earth System Modeling Strategy (natESM) [1].
[1] https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/ - https://www.wcrp-climate.org/wgcm-cmip - https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/ - https://cdrterra.de/en - https://www.nat-esm.de/
We have several positions available:
Scientific researcher (m/f/x) for ecosystem-climate interactions
YOUR TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The scientific researcher is expected to conduct innovative research. Possible research topics include own model simulations and integration with Earth observations to understand the ecosystem response to future land-use change and assess feedbacks with the changing climate; further developments in our land-use emission model BLUE towards a terrestrial carbon cycle model; and contribution to an interdisciplinary assessment of carbon dioxide removal methods. It is not necessary (or expected) that the applicant works on all these topics. Instead, it is intended that one of them should become a main focus area for the applicant; priorities will depend on the interests of the applicant, the development of the research field and success in related research proposals by the working group.
In all cases, tasks will be to
· advance the field of ecosystem-climate interactions and ecosystem modeling
· contribute to a better understanding of ecosystem-climate interactions and/or provide research results that are relevant for decision-making in support of sustainable land use and climate neutrality
· collaborate with other members of our group and other research institutions, with the option to co-supervise Bachelor, Master and Ph.D. students
· take a leading role in the development of scientific publications
· contribute to scientific outreach activities
YOUR QUALIFICATIONS:
· a PhD in a natural or physical science subject (geography, environmental science, ecology, physics or similar)
· good programming skills (such as python or R)
· excellent communication skills in English (our working language), proven also by scientific publications
· Training or experience in Earth system or carbon cycle modeling is advantageous, but not essential.
BENEFITS:
· the chance to be part of a dynamic team working at the frontier of Earth system science
· E13 TV-L position, commensurate with work experience, for three years starting May 2024 or soon thereafter, with the possibility to extend to a maximum of six years, based on performance, and to acquire a postdoctoral lecturer qualification (“Habilitation”). In the latter case, a contribution to teaching in the study programs of the Department of Geography is expected.
· career development through the LMU qualification program
· a stimulating working environment at one of Germany’s top-ranked universities. Our institute is located in the centre of the vibrant and internationally diverse city of Munich with excellent public transportation links.
CONTACT:
Please send an application outlining your fit for the position (including a cover letter, a curriculum vitae, copies of scientific degrees, and the names and contact information of two references) by e-mail (one PDF-attachment with max. 5 MB including all documents) with subject “SciRes-2024LMU” to climate.jobs@geographie.uni-muenchen.de. Deadline for application is March 18, 2024. For further information please contact Prof. Dr. Julia Pongratz (julia.pongratz@lmu.de).
Scientific programmer (m/f/x) for model-data integration
(for two years with option for permanent position)
YOUR TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Models are our main tool to project how ecosystems and climate evolve. But a key driver – the vast usage of land through agriculture, forestry and urbanization – is still lacking substantial detail in these models. This impairs our fundamental understanding of the interactions of humans, land, and climate, and is also critical as models are increasingly guiding political decision-making on land-use and climate to limit global warming. You can contribute to building the next generation of climate models, working at the intersection of numerical modeling, high-performance computing, and large-scale data analysis. You will contribute to strategic decision-making as well as to concrete design and implementation of land-use processes in our models. You will work closely with the other researchers in our group, and with external partners, e.g., in natESM, to align the group’s developments with the national and international modeling landscape. While the focus will adjust over the years with the development of the research field and success in related research proposals by our working group, it currently lies on the Earth system model ICON-ESM and its land component JSBACH4 as well as the land-use emission model BLUE, which integrates a range of Earth observational data.
Further tasks will be to
· support team members in model development and setup of simulations, and convey good scientific programming skills to the team members
· contribute to scientific publications and scientific outreach activities
· contribute to writing proposals that advance the field of Earth system and ecosystem modeling
· do some teaching in the study programs of the Department of Geography
YOUR QUALIFICATIONS:
· a strong interest in climate and sustainability science
· a PhD in a natural or mathematical science subject (computer sciences, geography, mathematics or similar)
· very good programming skills, ability to work on high-performance computing systems and with large datasets
· excellent communication skills in English (our working language), proven also by scientific publications
· high communicative skills, high independence and proven ability to structure complex processes and efficiently finish tasks
BENEFITS:
· the chance to be part of a dynamic team working at the frontier of Earth system science
· Initially E13 TV-L position, commensurate with work experience, for two years starting June 2024 or soon thereafter. If the candidate’s performance is satisfying it is intended to make the position permanent. A change to civil servant status (A13) is possible under certain conditions, a later promotion up to A14 is feasible.
· career development through the LMU qualification program
· a stimulating working environment at one of Germany’s top-ranked universities. Our institute is located in the centre of the vibrant and internationally diverse city of Munich with excellent public transportation links.
CONTACT:
Please send an application outlining your fit for the position (including a cover letter, a curriculum vitae, copies of scientific degrees, and the names and contact information of two references) by e-mail (one PDF-attachment with max. 5 MB including all documents) with subject “ModDat-2024LMU” to climate.jobs@geographie.uni-muenchen.de. Deadline for application is March 27, 2024. For further information please contact Prof. Dr. Julia Pongratz (julia.pongratz@lmu.de).
Doctoral researcher (m/f/x) assessing scale questions in land-atmosphere modeling
YOUR TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The doctoral researcher will be part of the Land-Atmosphere Feedback Initiative (LAFI, see below), a new Research Unit funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). At LMU we will address scale interactions with the overall aim to substantially improve our understanding of land-atmosphere exchange concerning the question how relevant it is to resolve land-surface heterogeneity that is not resolved in global Earth system models, despite these models’ application to rather small-scale problems like impacts of land-use decisions on regional climate. We will draw on high-resolution large-eddy modeling with ICON to bridge these scales. The doctoral researcher will
· evaluate and improve an advanved land surface model in atmospheric simulations at hectometer scale
· run and evaluate this model for Central European sites, in collaboration with observational partners and complementary land modeling approaches in LAFI, and test various ways of representing land heterogeneity
· take a leading role in the development of scientific publications on water, energy and carbon fluxes comparing large-eddy and Earth system model output
YOUR QUALIFICATIONS:
· a MSc in a natural or physical science subject (geography, meteorology, physics or similar),
· good programming skills (such as fortran, python),
· excellent communication skills in English (our working language)
· Training or experience in atmosphere, vegetation or climate modeling is advantageous, but not essential.
BENEFITS:
· the chance to be part of a dynamic team working at the frontier of climate science.
· A 75% E13 TV-L position, commensurate with work experience, for four years starting April 2024 or soon thereafter,
· career development through the LMU qualification program,
· a stimulating working environment at one of Germany’s top-ranked universities, in the vibrant and internationally diverse city of Munich. Our institute is located in the centre of Munich with excellent public transport links.
CONTACT:
Please send an application outlining your fit for the position (including a cover letter, a curriculum vitae, copies of scientific degrees, and the names and contact information of two references) by e-mail (one PDF-attachment with max. 5MB only including all documents) with subject “LAFI-2024” to climate.jobs@geographie.uni-muenchen.de. Deadline for application is February 28, 2024. For further information please contact Prof. Dr. Julia Pongratz (julia.pongratz@lmu.de) or Prof. Dr. Mirjana Sakradzija (m.sakradzija@lmu.de).
ABOUT THE LAFI PROJECT:
The quality of weather forecasts, seasonal simulations, and climate projections depends critically on the adequate representation of land-atmosphere (L-A) feedbacks. These feedbacks are the result of a highly complex network of processes and variables related to the exchange of momentum, energy, and mass. Significant challenges persist in understanding processes and feedbacks, which this initiative will address.
The Land-Atmosphere Feedback Initiative (LAFI) is an interdisciplinary consortium, led by the University of Hohenheim, of researchers from atmospheric, agricultural, and soil sciences as well as from bio-geo-physics, hydrology, and neuroinformatics proposing a novel combination of advanced research methods. The overarching goal of LAFI is to understand and quantify L-A feedbacks via unique synergistic observations and model simulations from the micro-gamma (» 2 m) to the meso-gamma (» 2 km) scales across diurnal to seasonal time scales.
For all positions: Handicapped persons with comparable qualifications receive preferential status. We encourage female candidates to apply.