Postdoctoral fellow – Department of Environment

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Postdoctoral fellow – Department of Environment

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Job description

Offer DescriptionLast application date Mar 07, 2025 00:00Department LA20 – Department of EnvironmentContract Limited durationDegree A PhD degree in a relevant field (Bioscience Engineering, Forestry, Remote Sensing, Surveying, Physics, Geosciences, Environmental sciences, Computer Science)Occupancy rate 100%Vacancy type Research staffJob descriptionABOUT GHENT UNIVERSITYGhent University is a world of its own. Employing more than 15.000 people, it is actively involved in education and research, management and administration, as well as technical and social service provision on a daily basis. It is one of the largest, most exciting employers in the area and offers great career opportunities.With its 11 faculties and more than 85 departments offering state-of-the-art study programmes grounded in research in a wide range of academic fields, Ghent University is a logical choice for its staff and students.Q-ForestLab ( ) is looking for a postdoctoral fellow in vegetation remote sensing and radiative transferYOUR JOBThe postdoctoral fellow is expected to contribute to the development of digital twins and integrate this in optical and microwave radiative transfer modelling. They are expected to lead to the further advancement of key innovations 4, 5 and 6 of the ERC SPACETWIN project. Furthermore, you will take a leading role in the overall management of the project.More about the ERC SPACETWIN project ( )Forests worldwide are undergoing large-scale and unprecedented changes in terms of structure and species composition due to anthropogenic disturbances, climate change and other global change drivers. Climate, disturbances and forest structure are all closely linked: changes in climate can lead directly to physical changes in forest structure and vice versa or to an anticipated increase in forest disturbances. However, it is still uncertain how forest structure is impacted by disturbances (locally) and how we can detect and monitor various levels of disturbance regimes using spaceborne satellite data (globally).This project will focus on the impact of drought, fire and logging disturbances across a range of tropical and temperate forest ecosystems. It will lead to a step-change in our ability to observe, quantify and understand forest disturbances and recovery by using time series of the most detailed structural and radiometric 3D forest models ever built: ‘digital twin’ forests. The key innovations will be: (1) the establishment of an unprecedented 4D dataset across a range of disturbed sites using terrestrial laser scanning; (2) the development of next generation methods to enable big data science of forest point clouds; (3) the identification of key axes of variation of disturbed tree and forest structure; (4) the first ever implementation of digital twins for optical and microwave radiative transfer modelling; (5) the near-real time inversion of remote sensing of forest disturbances using emulation; and (6) the embedding of forest structure in the global observation process to understand the uncertainties in monitoring disturbances.These innovations will open a realm of untapped research questions and applications that call for the most detailed 3D information on canopy structure possible. These insights are also urgently needed to reduce uncertainties and advance the forecasting of carbon stocks and dynamics within the context of the IPCC.Job profileJob profile

• A PhD degree in a relevant field (Bioscience Engineering, Forestry, Remote Sensing, Surveying, Physics, Geosciences, Environmental sciences, Computer Science).
• The conditions of the fellowship stipulate that the PhD degree cannot be obtained at a Belgian university, and the candidate cannot have resided in Belgium for more than 24 months in the past 3 years.
• Demonstrated experience in vegetation radiative transfer modelling and the use of satellite remote sensing.
• Familiar with (terrestrial) laser scanning and 3D modelling.
• Knowledge of programming languages such as R, Matlab or Python. Experience with the linux/unix environment and handling large datasets is a plus.
• A good command of English, both written and oral.
• Demonstrated scientific writing through high-quality publications.
• Willingness to collaborate and be a team player with good communication skills.
• Interested in developing their leadership skills and supervision of PhD students.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU

• A full-time postdoctoral fellowship contract (24 months, with potential extension to 36 months depending on funding availability)
• Tentative starting date: August 1, 2025
• The successful candidate will be based in Ghent
• Position with a strong research focus (80%), 10% project management and 10% supervising of PhD students & teaching support
• All Ghent University staff members enjoy a number of benefits, such as a wide range of training and education opportunities, 36 days of holiday leave (on an annual basis for a full-time job) supplemented by annual fixed bridge days, bicycle allowance and eco vouchers.
• Collaboration in a young and dynamic international scientific team
• Opportunities to present your work at scientific conferences
• Opportunities to develop scientific leadership
• Please mention your favourite animal in your motivation letter so we can check that you at least read this vacancy in full

How to applyApplication submission (CV and application letter) through this google form: | Application deadline: March 7, 2025 (11pm, Belgium time) | Interviews (online): Late March/ early April 2025[You will receive a notification after submitting your application – please check your spam folder]More information: Prof. Kim Calders |Where to apply WebsiteRequirementsResearch Field Agricultural sciences Years of Research Experience 4 – 10Research Field Computer science Years of Research Experience 4 – 10Research Field Engineering Years of Research Experience 4 – 10Research Field Environmental science Years of Research Experience 4 – 10Research Field Environmental science Years of Research Experience 4 – 10Additional InformationWebsite for additional job detailsWork Location(s)Number of offers available 1 Company/Institute Ghent University Country Belgium City Ghent Postal Code 9000 Street Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 33Contact CityGhent WebsitePostal Code9000STATUS: EXPIREDShare this page

Expected salary

Location

Gand, Flandre-Orientale

Job date

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 05:52:50 GMT

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