Dear list members,

We are seeking two PhD students who are interested to become members of
a multi-disciplinary team, which assesses the current and future
potentials of wetlands in East Africa. An important goal of this study
is to provide decision makers and planners with a decision support tool
which simulates the effects of human induced land use change on wetland
environments. The study sites are located in Kenya and Tanzania.

Both PhD students must have educational backgrounds and strong interests
in applied quantitative modelling and computer programming. A basic
knowledge of the Java programming language would be desirable. They must
be also willing to become active members in a multi-disciplinary team
which works in the areas of geography, botany, agriculture, hydrology,
and the social sciences. Extensive travelling in the region is also
required.

One PhD student will develop a GIS-based multi-agent model for
characterizing the socio-economic environments at four distinctive
catchment sites. A corresponding background in the social sciences and
GIS-modelling would thus be essential. Additional knowledge of
evolutionary computation paradigms and particle swarm optimization would
be desirable.

Presently available wetland models were developed for specific target
environments. Since there are no general solutions available and little
is known about the consequences of human-induced land-use changes in
small to medium-sized wetlands of East-Africa, we will have to build the
decision support system by largely utilizing basic disciplinary
knowledge of this research. The second PhD student will thus be
requested to develop a system model based on these findings. A strong
background in quantitative modelling and systems analysis is thus
essential. Additional experience or education in ecology would be desirable.

The project is not only aimed at providing solutions for better wetland
management in East-Africa, but also supports capacity building in the
aforementioned areas. The positions are thus only open for candidates
from Africa, preferably from Kenya and Tanzania. The duration of both
posts is 3 years and salary is paid according to local PhD tariff
conditions, except during the last half year, where both students will
receive a full stipend for writing there thesises in Germany. Domestic
and international travel costs will be covered by appropriate funds.

The posts provide unique opportunities to become quickly acquainted with
model-driven agro-ecological research, which is a rapidly growing area
of the natural sciences.

Interested candidates are invited to send their applications and names
of two referees to the following email address until 30 April 2007:

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Successful candidates will be invited for personal interviews in Nairobi
and Dar-es-Salam.

Kind regards,
Matthias Langensiepen

--
Prof. Matthias Langensiepen
Modelling Plant Systems
Institute of Crop Science
Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture
Humboldt-University of Berlin
Invalidenstrasse 42
10115 Berlin
Germany