January 2008
Contents
1. News from the Board
2. Dissertations
3. Conferences and Symposia in Fields Relevant to RECETO
4. Upcoming Ph.D. Courses and Other Relevant Courses
5. Vacancies
6. News about RECETO Names
7. New Homepage for RECETO
1. News from the Board
RECETO M.Sc. Merit Scholarships for M.Sc.
A number of scholarships – each DKK 30,000 – have been established to ensure that the best M.Sc. thesis work in the RECETO framework culminates in a fully developed paper that is submitted to a scientific journal. Students who are working on topics in environmental chemistry, microbiology, and toxicology within one or more RECETO research groups can apply for the scholarship at any time. See www.receto.dk
RECETO Postdoctoral Positions
RECETO Ph.D.s can apply for postdoctoral positions of three to six months. The purpose of the postdoctoral programme is to strengthen collaborative research among the research groups within RECETO and to contribute to RECETO educational activities. The next application deadlines are March 1, 2008 and September 1, 2008. See www.receto.dk
RECETO Travel Grants
RECETO Ph.D. students can at any time apply for travel grants to support their participation in Ph.D. courses abroad. See www.receto.dk
Coming board meetings:
11 March 2008 at Lund University
The agendas and minutes of board meetings are posted online at http://www.receto.dk/Organization/Board/Minutes.aspx
2. Dissertations
Since the last newsletter, two RECETO students have completed and defended their dissertations and can now claim the title of Ph.D. Congratulations to Fredrik and Thair!
Fredrik Andreas Reichenberg: The accessibility and chemical activity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil. Link to dissertation
Advisors: Jan Åke Jönsson, Lund University, Analytical Chemistry, Sweden and Philipp Mayer, DMU.
Thaer Berri: Membrane extraction - an environmentally friendly and efficient alternative for environmental analysis.
Advisors: Lennart Mathiasson and Jan Åke Jönsson, Lund University, Analytical Chemistry, Sweden.
A list of Ph.D.s associated to RECETO
3. Conferences and Symposia Relevant for RECETO
EnviroSymp-2008 "Integrating Environmental Science in Decision Making" Symposium
Three research schools - GESS, COCGI, and RECETO - have arranged a symposium for their Ph.D. and M.Sc. students to take place on November 5-6 at Roskilde University.
Free for Ph.D. students at the organizing research schools and for Master students in Environmental Science. All others DKK 500,-
See www.envirosymp.dk for updates in development of the Symposium.
Conferences
May
MODFLOW and More: Ground Water and Public Policy
Held by The International Ground-Water Modeling Center (IGWMC).
The conference will be held May 19-21, 2008 at the Colorado School of Mines campus in Golden, Colorado.
Please visit http://typhoon.mines.edu/events/modflow2008/ for a complete description of the conference dates, activities, and relevant abstract topics.
July
XVII International Conference of Computational Methods in Water Resources (CMWR) San Francisco, July 6 - 10, 2008
The XVII International Conference on Computational Methods in Water Resources (CMWR 2008) will be a forum for the dissemination of the latest ideas in the development and application of advanced computational techniques to problems in water resources and related fields, including surface and subsurface hydrology, petroleum exploration, contaminant remediation, carbon sequestration, ecohydrology, climate change, nuclear waste storage, and associated chemical and biological processes. The organizers welcome submissions that either directly involve such computations for water resources problems or that present concepts relevant to such computations. This conference continues the tradition of the 16 previous biennial meetings held in North America and Europe.
Building on the success of the CMWR XVI International Conference, CMWR 2008 will involve four days of regular and special sessions organized to address recurring, emerging, and crosscutting themes in the broader areas of computations and water resources. Several keynote speakers will highlight the sessions. Abstract Submission Closes January 25, 2008
See a complete listing of coming conferences at www.receto.dk
4. Upcoming Ph.D. Courses and Other Relevant Courses
RECETO / RACS Summer School 2008:
Risk Assessment of Contaminated Sites: From Source Zones to Water Resources
17 - 22 August 2008 |
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Risk Assessment of Contaminated Sites is a PhD summer school course that will be offered by DTU Environment (until recently known as Institute of Environment & Resources) and RECETO in August 2008. The main themes of the course are: |
- Characterization of fate and transport of priority pollutants at contaminated sites
- Pathways and exposure routes at contaminated sites
- Risk assessment of soil, groundwater and fresh water
- Water quality, legislation, and the EU Water Framework Directive
The course venue is Vejle Youth & Family Hostel in Vejle, Denmark. Course dates are Sunday August 17th - Friday August 22nd. The course merits 5 ECTS points.
Maximum number of participants is approx. 25. Course fee not fixed yet, but will be soon.
All information about the course will become available during the spring at the website www.racs.er.dtu.dk.
Interested persons can be put on a mailing list and receive notice every time the site is significantly updated.
Contact personat DTU Environment: Camilla M. Christiansen ().
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Workshop on chemometrics at the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 28 - 29 February 2008
Background - In spite of the excellent results obtained in the last 30 years for the analysis of chemical data, chemometrics is still not regarded as a standard tool for the investigation of data obtained from environmental surveys. Techniques such as PCA and PLSR are often perceived as black-box procedures that involve much mathematics and many equations. This perception worsens even more for multi-way data analysis, which often requires a level of abstraction that discourages the non-initiated. The aim of the workshop is to illustrate some applications to the analysis of environmental data of selected basic techniques like PCA and the extensions that are best suited for environmental studies (e.g, Tucker models). The workshop will count for 2 ECTS points.
Organization - PhD students and post-docs in environmental chemistry who want to familiarise with standard and multi-way chemometric techniques are the targets of the workshop.
Qualified experts have been invited to present recent results on the application of chemometrics to various types of environmental data. The Matlab packages used in the practical xercises are publicly available and additional tools to facilitate the access to more advanced features will be provided at the workshop.
Schedule - Both days will be organised with a theoretical introduction to the models, followed by the presentation of some applications on environmental data and of some basic practical aspects. The strictly necessary Matlab tools will be illustrated. The afternoons will be dedicated to practical exercises: two the first day and one the second, followed by a discussion on the results.
Registration - By mail to Postdoc Giorgio Tomasi ) or Assistant professor Jan H. Christensen ()
Deadline - Thursday 21st February
Download Flyer
4th RECETOX Summer School of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology 7 - 13 July 2008
The special attention of this Summer School will be focused on the field experimental methods in environmental chemistry, ecotoxicology, ecological risk assessment, environmental monitoring, the study of exchange processes between environmental compartments, sampling procedures, collection of data for environmental modelling, field study of ecological stressors. The basic goal of this Summer School is application integrated monitoring/modelling approach and conception to the case of POPs.
The Summer School will be organized in two groups:
A) Laboratory and field study on environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology of PTS
B) Sampling, analysis and monitoring of POPs - this part will be organized in the co-operation with the Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention.
Site - RECETOX Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; Field observatory Košetice
Summer School will be organized together with the Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention, EMEP MSC East, Czech Hydrometerological Institute with co-operation with international scientific association such as the SETAC (Society for Environmental Toxicilogy and Chemistry), European Association for Chemical and Molecular Science EuCheMS, Division of Environmental Chemistry and the SECOTOX (Society for Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety). The lectures will be hold by leading scientists in the field of POPs.
Flyer: Download
Research Centre RECETOX
Short Course - IGWMC course on Groundwater Control :
10 - 14 March 2008 at Colorado School of Mines, Colorado, USA
Overview - In civil environmental and hydrologic engineering practice, it is often necessary to control subsurface water flows. Seldom does natural delivery of water occur at the desired rate, pressure, place or chemistry. The interpretation of existing conditions, and the design of altered conditions or control facilities, requires an understanding of the influence of boundaries and material properties and the means of modifying them. In this week-long short course for educated beginners, the instructor will develop fundamental concepts and formulations of groundwater hydrology, and teach the use of simple tools such as flow nets and the basis for analogue and digital models. Civil, environmental and hydrological engineers, geologists, contractors and others involved with water resource, remediation and construction projects should find this basic course useful in the field and office. Examples and exercises are drawn from the instructor's 50 years of experience in every major geologic setting.
No requirement of previous training or experience is required. Rudimentary calculus is assumed. Course sessions are from 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday. Completion of time-consuming homework is preferred, but can be deferred post-course. There will be no exam, nor grade given.
Course Webpage - http://typhoon.mines.edu/short-course/GroundwaterControl_08.html
Course in Health risk assessment I: Principles and Applications
14 - 18 April 2008 at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
The objective of the course is to provide knowledge and understanding of the methods and principles used in health risk assessment and to familiarize participants with the general procedures used in health risk assessments.
The course will include fundamental concepts in toxicology and risk assessment, epidemiology, exposure assessment, and will also cover risk assessment in regulatory decision-making, critical effects, extrapolation, uncertainty factors and allocation of health-based guidance values. Furthermore, attention will be paid to interpretation possibilities and evaluation of data from different test systems, handling of uncertainties and data gaps, and other problems in health risk assessment. Specific problems created by carcinogens and other types of chemicals will also be discussed.
The course is intended for PhD students, post docs, senior scientists and other professionals. Funding for travel, subsistence and course fee is available for PhD students and post docs.
The course is organised by RA-COURSES, a project funded by European Union Marie Curie Actions, in collaboration with CASCADE Network of Excellence and the Postgraduate programme in Environmental Factors and Health at Karolinska Institutet.
For registration and further information: www.cascadenet.org/~RA-COURSES and www.cascadenet.org
Registration deadline is February 15, 2008
Course in SOIL DEGRADATION, EROSION, and RESTORATION : 8 - 18 June 2008 on Iceland
The Nordic NOVA University Network is offering a Ph.D. Short Course on Soil Degradation, Erosion and Restoration.
It is hosted by the Agricultural University of Iceland and the NOVA-SoilSoc Network. Lectures include scientists from Iceland, USA, the Netherlands, and other Nordic countries. It is 4 ECTS.
The Course includes lectures, field excursions and field projects on site in Iceland. Land degradation and restoration of severely degraded lands is among most pressing issues facing mankind. The Nordic countries (and the EU) allocate substantial resources for soil erosion research and measured for development co-operation related to soil erosion and desertification remedies. Soil erosions problems are of staggering proportions in Iceland, which also has the oldest organized soil conservation programs in the world.
The course aims to give state-of-the art understanding of soil erosion, land degradation, means to stop erosion, and restoration of degraded lands. The course covers soil degradation and restoration from global and local perspectives, and includes coverage of processes and ecosystem drivers of degradation and restoration, such as erosion processes, grazing ecology, and ecosystem functions. It also covers pertinent aspects of carbon sequestration and the UN environmental conventions.The course relates to broad environmental interests and applications for students in the field of environmental studies, and also development studies, and other related field and offers a unique setting in Icelandic nature.
More information and registration: http://www.helsinki.fi/soilsoc/courses/coursesSoilSoc/2008erosion.html
GESS-Courses
Written and oral presentation skills for environmental scientists
Week 42.
Contact Person: Valery Forbes ()
GIS Techniques in environmental science
Autumn semester (next time autumn 2008).
Contact Person: Esbern Holmes )
See the complete course listing at www.receto.dk
To have access to the course list in an RSS-feed, see link
Subscribe by adding the following address to your favourite feed reader or your personal Google page: http://www.receto.dk/Nyheder_courses.aspx?lg=rss
5. Vacancies and Positions
RECETO Postdoctoral Positions
RECETO Ph.D.s can apply for postdoctoral positions of three to six months. The purpose of the postdoctoral program is to strengthen collaborative research among the research groups within RECETO and to contribute to RECETO educational activities. The next application deadlines are March 1, 2008 and September 1, 2008. See www.receto.dk
6. News about RECETO Names
Sanin Musovic , M. Sc. Microbiology, has started as a Ph.d. student at the Technical University of Denmark, Department of Environmental Engineering, Institute of Environment and Resources.
Project title: The Microbial Gene Transfer in Agricultural Soils: Focus on mobilization of antibiotic-resistance and pesticide-degrading genes
Supervisors: Barth F. Smets, DTU-E&R and Jan Sørensen, KU-LIFE-ECOL
Lisa Heiberg , M. Sc. Biology, has started as a Ph.d. student at the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Natural Sciences.
Project title: Phosphorus dynamics in flooded lowland soils
Supervisors: Henning S. Jensen, SDU (Inst. of Biology) and Hans Christian Bruun Hansen , KU-LIFE-IGV
Jeanette Berg , M.Sc. Agro. has started as Ph.D. student at the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Natural Science, Department of Ecology
Project title: Human exposure to microorganisms in vegetable production
Supervisors: Ole Nybroe, KU-LIFE-ECOL, Kristian Brandt, KU-NAT-ECOL, and Søren J. Sørensen, KU-NAT-Biology
Nanna Bloch Hartmann, M. Sc. Engineering, has started as a Ph.d. student at the Technical University of Denmark, Department of Environmental Engineering, Institute of Environment and Resources.
Project title: Environmental Effects of Engineered Nanoparticles
Supervisor: Anders Baun, DTU-E&R
7. New Homepage for RECETO @ www.receto.dk
The homepage for RECETO has been ported to the CMS system SiteCore. Having the homepage on SiteCore allows us to use RSS feed to provide you with easy access to the course catalogue, news, and activities.
Ph.D. students will be able to log in, correct their own data, and upload CVs and other documents. For instructions please contact receto.
To submit news, activities, or courses to the RECETO website and the newsletter, please send a mail to receto@life.ku.dk
Subscribe to RECETOs web news by adding the following address to your favourite feed reader or your personal Google page http://www.receto.dk/Nyheder.aspx?lg=rss
To join or resign from the RECETO general mailing list, visit the RECETO website at www.receto.dk > News > receto_newsletter_subscribe . Link
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