PhD Student Mathematics, Bioengineering - Plant Science

Stellenbeschreibung | Jobbörse Arbeitsagentur

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 7,400 employees in one of Europe’s biggest research centers and help us to shape change!

At the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences - Agrosphere (IBG-3), we conduct research to improve our understanding of biogeochemical and hydrological processes in terrestrial systems. Specific studies focus on environmental controls on biogeochemical cycling of elements, the analysis of exchange processes, and nutrient dynamics in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. A combination of experiments, modeling, and innovative observation technologies is used to bridge the gap between model, process, and management scale. Its research contributes to the sustainable and resource-conserving use of soils and water and to the quantification of the effect of climate and land use change on terrestrial ecosystems. The work will be part of the project “Combining ROot contrasted Phenotypes for more resilient agro ecosystems” (CROP) funded within the program of the German Ministry for Education and Science (BMBF) “Plant roots and soil ecosystems: Importance of the rhizosphere for the bioeconomy” in the framework of the “National Research Strategy Bioeconomy 2030”. In collaboration with the university, the project aims to assess the beneficial effects of cultivar mixtures with complementary root phenotypes within an agricultural field. We evaluate the benefits of the cropping system in terms of water, carbon, and nitrogen fluxes, microbial communities, and yield. We use complementary experimental methods and modeling to achieve this goal. Your work will build on the process-based soil-rhizosphere-plant model developed in the first phase of CROP which integrates a 3D functional-structural approach (CPlantBox) to mechanistically simulate plant growth, plant-soil interactions, and the rhizosphere microbiome. You will contribute to extending and applying the modeling approach for calculating water, carbon, and nitrogen fluxes in the plant and soil to evaluate nitrogen use efficiency and drought resistance at critical stages of plant development. You will work in an interdisciplinary team with postdoctoral researchers from Jülich and Hohenheim.

Your tasks in detail:

	Extending the existing model to account for mucilage effects on soil hydraulic properties and growth of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated to plant roots
	Literature research and (meta-)analysis to gain evidence-based knowledge for model parameterization
	Model conditioning with experimental data from phase I and II
	Performing scenario simulations and analyzing simulation results
	Implementing and using a drought resilience and nitrogen use efficiency assessment framework with experimental data and simulation results
	Presenting and publishing results at conferences and in peer-reviewed journals
 
	Master’s degree in bioengineering, environmental sciences, soil science, or applied mathematics
	Knowledge of plant science, soil science, and microbial ecology
	Solid understanding of differential calculus
	Programming skills
	Independent and cooperative working in an international, interdisciplinary team across institutes
	Very good communication and organizational skills
	Very good command of the English language


Please feel free to apply for the position even if you do not have all the required skills and knowledge. We may be able to teach you missing skills during your induction. We work on the very latest issues that impact our society and are offering you the chance to actively help in shaping the change! We offer ideal conditions for you to complete your doctoral degree:

	Competent and interdisciplinary working environment, as well ...