PhD position: New Bio-Based Fertilisers from Organic Waste Upcycling 1445 views

The Group of Plant Nutrition at the Research Station Lindau-Eschikon at ETH Zurich is seeking a PhD student for the project “Determining crop uptake and fate of nutrients from new waste and bio-based fertilisers – the case of phosphorus”.

About the Project:

• The FertiCycle Network is looking for 15 highly talented and motivated candidates for PhD, with the skills, knowledge and enthusiasm to help our network make research breakthroughs on new bio-based fertilisers from organic waste upcycling.
• The PhD position published here is based in the Group of Plant Nutrition of the ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
• The candidate will work with various bio-based fertilizers, as well as soil and plant samples from a long-term field experiment and from incubation and pot studies. These samples will be a model in order to improve the long-term tracking of the fate of fertilizer phosphorus (P) in soil plant systems.
• The candidate will focus on a novel isotope method, using the stable 18O bound to P, to study the fate of fertilizer P in soil-plant systems.
• The objective will be to determine isotopic signatures of fertilizers and of P pools in soils that have for years received these fertilizers.
• The PhD project will be completed in the Group of Plant Nutrition, Research Station Lindau-Eschikon, ETH Zürich and includes a secondment at a FertiCycle partner institution.
• The PhD candidate will be supervised by Dr Astrid Oberson, Dr Federica Tamburini and Prof Emmanuel Frossard from the Group of Plant Nutrition (ETH Zurich).

Starting date: 1 September 2020 (or upon agreement)

Duration: 3 years

Requirements:

• Applicants must have obtained Master’s degree in Soil Science, Environmental Science, Agricultural Sciences or a related field.
• Experience with isotope methods, chemical and microbiological analysis and treatment of soils, bio-based fertilizers or other type of fertilizers, plant fertilisation trials (pot or field), and a strong understanding of cycling of phosphorus (or other elements) in agroecosystems.
• Good skills in data management and analysis.
• Strong communication (written and oral) and interpersonal skills.
• Experience with cross-disciplinary and/or multi-cultural collaboration will be an advantage.
• Candidates must fulfill the eligibility criteria of the H2020 MSCA Mobility Rule: researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Switzerland for more than 12 months in the three years immediately before the recruitment date.

Applications:

Application to be submitted online with the following documents:

• A letter that clearly demonstrates your motivation and suitability for the position
• A curriculum vitae
• Full transcripts of your Bachelor and Master degree (or equivalent)
• A copy of your diploma/MSc thesis
• Academic certificates
• Contact information of three referees