We are seeking to appoint

14 fully funded PhD
(Early Stage Research) Fellows in Earth Observation

to the Marie Curie Initial Training Network "GMES Initial Operations - Network for Earth Observation Research Training" (GIONET)

All posts will include an employment contract at a GIONET partner organisation with a country-specific gross annual salary between ca. €34,425 and €46,095 for 3 years, a mobility allowance between ca. €5,628 and €12,057 per year (dependant on criteria being met), an annual travel allowance (dependant on criteria being met) and a career exploratory allowance (social security, health insurance and other contributions will be deducted from these figures). A research training support budget of €21,600 in total will be available for the benefit of the researcher to attend conferences, training events, travel for fieldwork or purchase equipment and consumables.

GIONET will create a European Centre of Excellence for Earth Observation research training. The University of Leicester is coordinating GIONET, which is funded by the European Framework Programme 7 People Programme. It will provide skilled personnel for the emerging GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) land monitoring and emergency monitoring core services during the GMES Initial Operations period (2011-2013) and beyond. The rationale of GIONET is to train a community of early-stage researchers in the areas of optical and radar remote sensing, including (i) modelling fundamental radiative processes determining the satellite signal, (ii) atmospheric correction and calibration, (iii) processing higher-order data products, (iii) developing information products from satellite data to meet user requirements, and (iv) statistical methods for assessing the quality and accuracy of data products. This training will be delivered through individually supervised research, four international summer schools and local training. Communication skills and effective engagement with stakeholders and the public will form an integral part of the training. The full partner institutions in GIONET are the University of Leicester, UK; Infoterra UK Ltd.; Gamma Remote Sensing AG, Switzerland; the Institute of Geodesy and Cartography in Warsaw, Poland; Friedrich-Schiller-University in Jena, Germany; the Balaton Limnological Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the German Aerospace Center in Oberpfaffenhofen. Two research posts are available at each partner organisation. All researchers will have the opportunity to register for a PhD in a participating University, regardless of their main employer.

Responsibilities:
Successful candidates will take part in the GIONET research training programme, attend the four network-wide training events as well as local research training activities, and carry out supervised research in the field of Earth Observation for the development of the GMES land monitoring and emergency core services in one of 14 available topics from the following research areas: (i) Forest monitoring, (ii) Land cover and change, (iii) Coastal zone and freshwater monitoring, (iv) Geohazards and emergency response, and (v) Climate adaptation and emergency response. It is expected that the fellows register for a PhD degree at one of the GIONET partner Universities and undertake at least two short secondments to other partner organisations for up to 3 months each.

Requirements:

• A good honours degree or equivalent in a discipline relevant to Earth Observation science, e.g. Physical Geography, Environmental Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science, Forest Science, Electrical Engineering or similar.
• A strong potential to carry out excellent research.
• A strong motivation to carry out interdisciplinary research and work in an international team.
• Fluency in English (the language that will be used in the consortium) is required; skills in other languages are desired.
• Mobility (at the time of selection, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity in the country of their host organisation for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to their recruitment. Exceptions apply for international organisations).
• Being classed as 'early-stage researchers', which means candidates must not hold a PhD degree and at the time of selection must be in the first four years (full-time equivalent) of their research careers, measured from the date when they obtained the degree entitling them to embark on a doctorate, either in the country in which the degree was obtained or in the country in which the research training is provided.

For full information on the mobility requirements and definitions of early-stage researchers see
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/people/home_en.html

List of roles and contact details for partner institutions:

University of Leicester: GIONET Coordinator
SEN00137 - GIONET Task 2.2 Global biomass information system
SEN00148 - GIONET Task 2.1 Forest Monitoring of the Congo Basin using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
Professor Heiko Balzter, Tel. +44-(0)116 252 3820; hb91@le.ac.uk

Astrium GEO-Information Services
SEN00146 - GIONET Task 4.1 Optical and SAR-based EO in support of Integrated Coastal Zone Management
SEN00147 - GIONET Task 3.1 Multi-temporal, multi-frequency SAR for landscape dynamics
Mr. Alistair Lamb, alistair.lamb@infoterra-global.com

Gamma Remote Sensing AG
SEN00142 - GIONET Task 5.2 Monitoring landslide displacements with Radar Interferometry
SEN00143 - GIONET Task 5.1 DINSAR/PSI hybrid methodologies for ground-motion monitoring
Dr. Andreas Wiesmann, wiesmann@gamma-rs.ch

The Institute of Geodesy and Cartography
SEN00144 - GIONET Task 3.2 Monitoring of land cover and land use changes using HR satellite images
SEN00145 - GIONET Task 6.1 Satellite Derived Information for Drought Detection and Estimation of the Water Balance
Prof. Katarzyna Dabrowska-Zielinska, kasia@igik.edu.pl

Friedrich-Schiller-University
SEN00150 - GIONET Task 3.3 Multi-scale Remote Sensing Synergy for Land Process Studies: From Field Spectrometry to Airborne Hyperspectral and Lidar Campaigns to Radar-Optical Satellite Data
SEN00151 - GIONET Task 2.3 Multi-concept Earth Observation Capabilities for Biomass Mapping and Change Detection: Synergy of Multi-temporal and Multi-frequency Interferometric Radar and Optical Satellite Data
Prof. Chris Schmullius, c.schmullius@uni-jena.de

Balaton Limnological Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
SEN00138 - GIONET Task 4.2 Dynamics and conservation ecology of emergent and submerged macrophytes in Lake Balaton using airborne remote sensing
SEN00139 - GIONET Task 4.3 Satellite remote sensing of water quality (chlorophyll and suspended sediment) using MODIS and ship-mounted LIDAR
András Zlinszky, azlinszky@tres.blki.hu

German Aerospace Research Centre
SEN00140 - GIONET Task 5.3 Methods for detection and monitoring of small scale land surface feature changes in complex crisis situations
SEN00141 - GIONET Task 6.2 Earth Observation based analysis of regional impact of climate change induced water stress patterns fuelling human crisis and conflict situations in semi dry climate regimes
Stefan Voigt, stefan.voigt@dlr.de

Applications
For further information on each role and to apply on-line, please visit our website: www.le.ac.uk/joinus

All applicants must complete the online application form and also submit a CV with a complete list of publications. The closing date for these posts is midnight on Monday 14 March 2011.

Promoting equality of opportunity