The inter-university research centre for aquatic ecosystems research WasserCluster Lunz (WCL) invites excellent young scientists to apply for the WCL PostDoc Fellowship Program.
WCL performs research in aquatic ecology and biogeochemistry and is committed to provide innovative research on structure and function of freshwater ecosystems, and to safeguard the sustainable use of resources. Ranging from microbial ecology to biogeochemistry, from restoration ecology to aquatic ecosystem management, and from ecotoxicology to aquatic food web and biodiversity research, WCL has established links with its partner universities to address topical research questions for freshwater ecosystems and their sustainable use. WCL is shared to equal amounts by the University of Vienna, the Danube University Krems, and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna.
WCL offers a variety of excellent outdoor experimental facilities, laboratories, analytical instruments, and a diversity of field sites. WCL is performing high-level basic and applied research in the following research fields.
· Biodiversity of plankton communities (Ptacnik lab)
· Biofilm and stream ecosystem research (Schelker lab)
· River floodplain and restoration ecology (Hein lab)
· Food web ecology and aquatic lipid biochemistry (Kainz lab)
The PostDoc Fellowship Program supports high scientific quality and productivity and aims at a strong cooperation of the PostDoc candidate with the established working groups at WCL. Thus, successful candidates need to show how they link their proposed research to at least two core research fields at WCL. Applicants must have a PhD in Biology or related field (e.g., Ecology, Environmental Sciences, etc.) and demonstrate evidence of excellence in research by publications in top ranked and field relevant academic journals, presentations at international conferences, and strong endorsements by two referees. As the PostDoc Fellowship Program explicitly aims at promoting internationalization and scientific exchange, candidates that have been affiliated with WCL within the past 12 months are not eligible to apply.
Application
Please apply (in English) and send your documents to the following email address: [email protected]
The application deadline is
December 21st 2015.
The application is a 2-stage process:
1. Pre-proposal: candidates provide their CV with a list of publications, two letters of recommendation and the outline of the proposed research (max. 1000 words), including a short background and rationale, research questions, how their research links to at least two working groups at WCL and a tentative time schedule for the research project.
Successful candidates will be invited within 3 working weeks after the application deadline to submit theirfull proposal if their CV and pre-proposal has been positively evaluated.
2. Full proposal (template will be available for successful candidates): Invited candidates contact the respective working group leaders to develop a detailed research plan. The full proposal should then be submitted within 6 weeks after notification and will be evaluated by an international scientific selection committee. Candidates will be notified within 1 month after submission.
The following criteria will be considered for the evaluation of the full proposals:
· Quality and novelty of the proposed research and links to existing research groups at WCL
· Potential to advance cooperation and expertise at WCL
· Candidate’s scientific record and potential to conduct the proposed research project at WCL
· Potential to establish new international cooperation at WCL
The successful research project should start in agreement with the host. The working place will be at WCL in Lunz am See, Austria.
The fellowship is provided for 24 months. The salary is based on the Austrian Science Fund standards (see www.fwf.ac.at). In addition, the WCL may provide budget for travelling and consumables. Successful candidates will be entitled to apply for these additional resources (maximum 10.000 EUR for the entire duration of the fellowship). WCL is determined to increase the proportion of women in science and therefore, particularly encourages female scientists to apply. Disabled persons with equal qualifications will be favoured.
