Newsletter September 2008
September 2008
Contents
1. News from the Board
2. RECETO M.Sc. Thesis Merit Scholar Stipend
3. Conferences and Symposia Relevant to RECETO
4. Upcoming Ph.D. Courses and Other Relevant Courses
5. Vacancies and Positions
6. News about RECETO Names
The reorganisation of the Danish research landscape is now complete and RECETO is in a proces of adapting to this new university landscape. RECETO will provide its services to the same institutions as before the university fusions, but with new types of collaboration and with its functions being part of the newly established Ph.D. schools. This also means that RECETO - as hitherto - will be open for affiliation of Ph.D. students from the same institutions as before the fusion proces. New research educational programmes are being established as a result of the university fusions. This opens for new opportunities for RECETO to contribute to new and common activities like workshops, symposia and Ph.D. courses together with these newly established programmes. RECETO is in a proces of revising its regulative.
RECETO sent in an application for 21 x 1/3 Ph.D. stipends in the spring 2008. The application is currently being evaluated by the research councils; answer on the "fate" of the application can be expected December 2008.
RECETO currently has 46 Ph.D. students affiliated.
The RECETO/DTU Environment Summer School 2008 entitled Risk Assessment of Contaminated Sites: From Source Zones to Water Resources was recently held (August 17-22) in Vejle, Denmark.
The main themes of the course were:
· 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 initially had 25 seats, but due to a high demand among PhD-students from all over the world, a total of 31 students participated.
Overall, the course was a great success for all parties involved. The chosen venue (Vejle Family and Youth Hostel) was suitable for having a course of this size (approx. 40 participants, incl. lecturers and guests) and facilitated a relaxed and sociable atmosphere throughout the week. A red thread and high quality in lectures was maintained throughout the course because the lecturers had worked together beforehand and only lectured in their own field of expertise. Students were active and committed throughout the course. The co-operation with the Region of Southern Denmark was very successful and resulted in two very relevant and instructive excursions to the contaminated sites Grindsted landfill and the mega-site Kærgård Plantage.
The students’ satisfaction with the course was high. Most would recommend the course if it is offered again, and many encourage that a follow-up course on remediation technologies be given under RECETO auspices.
The RECETO summer school for 2009 has been planned. The topic will be "Fate and effects of natural compounds in soil". The intensive part of the course will take place at Research Centre Flakkebjerg, Aarhus University. See
Upcoming Ph.D. Courses and Other Relevant Courses below and
RECETOs homepage.
The agendas and minutes of board meetings are posted online at http://www.receto.dk/Organization/Board/Minutes.aspx
RECETO M.Sc. Thesis Merit Scholarships
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 deadline is March 1, 2009. See www.receto.dk
RECETO Travel Grants for Ph.D. students
RECETO Ph.D. students can at any time apply for travel grants to support their participation in Ph.D. courses that are held abroad. See www.receto.dk
M.Sc. Thesis Merit Scholar Stipend
Estelle Katrin Petersson, M.Sc. student under the supervision of Professor Jan Åke Jönsson and Ph.D. student Niklas Larsson at Lund University, Department of Chemistry, Division of Analytical Chemistry, has received a RECETO Scholar stipend for the project Monitoring of NSAID pharmaceuticals in sewage treatment plant effluent utilizing continuous flow hollow-fiber membrane extraction.
Symposia
October 2008
Sense Ph.D. Symposium
Sense – Research School for Socio-Economic and Natural Sciences of the Environment – and former EPCEM (European Postgraduate Course in Environmental Management) students have organized a Ph.D. symposium regarding emerging issues in the environmental sciences. The symposium will take place on October 10 in WICC Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Participation is free of charge. For more information and registration, see http://www.sense.nl/docs/3935
November 2008
EnviroSymp-2008 "Integrating Environmental Science in Decision Making" Symposium
Roskilde University, November 4-5
Three research schools - GESS, COCGI, and RECETO - have organized a symposium for their Ph.D. students, M.Sc. students and supervisors. It will take place on November 4-5 at Roskilde University.
Deadline for registration: October 3, 2008
For more information and registration, see www.envirosymp.dk
Conferences
October 2008
The 5th International Congress of Nano Bio Clean Tech 2008
San Francisco Airport Marriott Hotel, October 27-30
International Association of Nanotechnology has organized a congress concerning the emerging field of Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, and Clean Technology. The program features several one-day industry-focused forums on the topics: Nanoscale Materials Stewardship, Climate Change Challenges & Solutions, Nano Thin Film Solar: Technology Showcase, and Emerging Technology Investment.
For the complete conference program and registration, see the homepage of International Association of Nanotechnology
April 2009
The 2009 Ground Water Summit— The Science and Engineering Conference on the theme “Adapting to Increasing Demands in a Changing Climate”
Tucson, Arizona, April 19-23
NGWA – National Ground Water Association – has organized a conference to address the critical role of ground water in the context of a changing climate with regard to water resources and the challenges and opportunities ahead. The program will focus on the following topics:
Toward More Sustainable Use of Ground Water Supplies: Availability, Access, and Allocation Issues
Ground Water Shed Management, Ground Water/Surface Water Interactions, Ecosystem Support, Aquifer Protection, and Ground Water Remediation
Modeling of Ground Water Systems, Decision Support Systems, and Data/Information Management
For the complete conference program and registration, visit the homepage of NGWA.
The deadline for abstract submission is October 3, 2008.
August 2009
EmCon 2009 - 2nd International Conference on Occurrence, Fate, Effects, and Analysis of Emerging Contaminants in the Environment
Colorado State University, Colorado, 4-7 August
EmCon 2009 will focus on the most recent developments and findings concerning the occurrence, fate, effects, and analysis of Emerging Contaminants, such as pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, hormones, personal care products, nanoparticles, and their degradation products in the environment.
Keynote speakers are Karen Kidd - University of New Brunswick, Canada, Kevin Thomas - Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Bent Halling-Sorensen - University of Copenhagen - Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Thomas Bucheli - Agroscope Reckenholz-Tanikon Research Station ART, Switzerland.
For more information, see the homepage of EmCon2009.
2008
October
Written and oral presentation skills for environmental scientists (GESS Course)
Roskilde University, October 13-17
Contact Person: Valery Forbes ()
Ph.D. course in Environmental Soil Chemistry
Department of Basic Sciences and Environment, Faculty of LIFE Sciences, October
The objective of this course is to examine in detail the biogeochemical processes that take place at the solid-solution interface, have particular significance for pollutant fate in soils and sediments, and offer a basis for remediation technology. The topics to be covered include the mechanisms and quantification of sorption, redox, acid-base, complexation, hydrolysis, speciation, dissolution, and precipitation processes. Different computational strategies and software are trained. The course will take into account the specific interests of the course participants, which means that specific applications or studies can be integrated into the course (e.g., specific pollutant classes, specific processes, or specific technology). The texts read in the course include text book chapters, papers, and excerpts from reports. Selected parts of the study material are presented by the course participants, and hands-on exercises are carried out in the classroom. The course concludes with a report or a commented poster.
The course will be held on the following days: October 2, 9, 16, 24, 28, 31and November 7, three hours per day.
To request last-minute registration in the course, contact Hans Chr. B. Hansen ().
The regular deadline was September 20.
Professional Communication
Aalborg University, October 27-30
A Ph.D. course focusing on theoretical and practical approaches to professional communication. The theoretical approach is to conceptualising the planning, presentation and evaluation processes emphasising the communicative aspects, while the practical approach will deal with training the oral communication in a video laboratory. The issues raised in the course will be participant-based on a general level for scientific communication.
Deadline for registration is October 16.
For more information and registration see the homepage http://adm.aau.dk/fak-tekn/phd/kurser/j4.htm
Course responsible: Professor Anette Kolmos (ak@plan.aau.dk)
November
Integrated Assessment of Global Environmental Change: Causes and Responses
Putten, the Netherlands, 9-16 November
The objective of this postgraduate international course is to study and understand the causes of global environmental change, possible responses, and the use of scientific information in integrated assessments. The course will include lectures, model exercises, exercises in writing texts for integrated assessments, and poster presentations. The course is organized by Sense – Research School for Socio-Economic and Natural Sciences of the Environment – and The C.T. De Wit Graduate School PE & RC – Production Ecology and Resource Conservation, in collaboration with Wagening University and Research Centre.
The application deadline is September 22, 2008. Send your application to the SENSE Education Desk () including your name, the name and address of your research group, your status (PhD student/ post doc/other), if applicable, your graduate school name, and a short motivation letter and your CV.
For more information, contact José Potting, Environmental Systems Analysis Group, Wagening University, Phone: +31 (0)317 482983 ( ) http://www.sense.nl/courses/course/S340
Communicating research to the public and to media
Karolinska Instituttet, Stockholm, Sweden, 17-21 November
This Ph.D. and post doc course has the object of giving an understanding of the importance of communicating science to the public and the media and to give practical tools for written and oral popular science communication and for contacts to the media. The course will include theoretical and practical sessions on communication theory, communicating science, media, popular science writing and presentation skills.
The course is organized by CASCADE, a European Network of Excellence in research, risk assessment, and education on endocrine-disrupting chemicals in food. CASCADE is financed by the European Union 6th Framework program (FP6).
For more information and application: www.cascadenet.org
The application deadline is October 10, 2008.
Statistics and measurement quality in chemistry
Department of Chemistry, Lunds University, November-December 2008
A Ph.D. course that covers the following concepts: Measurement errors, calibration, method validation, GLP and other official rules, experimental design and optimization, exercises with computer programs, discussions of problems provided by participants.
Still open for last-minute registration.
Please contact Jan Åke Jonsson for more information and to register:
2009
January
Hazards in the Chemical Laboratory
Department of Chemistry, Lunds University, January
A Ph.D. course offering insight in toxicology, utake, distribution and elimination of xenebiotics, hazards with microbiology and radioactive isotopes, rules, laws, and new problems.
Send an application to Ulf Ellervik (). Please include name, department, year of graduate studies, preferred language of the course (English or Swedish), and identify at least one hazard in your own work.
April
Decomposition of forest plant litter leading to carbon sequestration in humus
Department of Biology, University of Naples, Italy, April 20 – May 15, 2009
The Ph.D. and Post Doc course will cover the process of litter decomposition from litter fall to the formation of recalcitrant compounds. The concept "Decomposition of plant litter" will be approached as a set of biogeochemical processes (microbial), including chemical changes in the litter as the decomposition proceeds and factors that influence the process.
The course is followed by an exam on May 22, 2009.
For further information, contact Björn Berg at his mail address ()
July
RECETO summer school - Bioactive natural compounds in soil: Analysis, fate and effects
Research Center Flakkebjerg, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Aarhus, 27-31 July
Bioactive natural compounds from plants have been in research focus for decades, firstly due to their pharmacological effects, and with that their health effects when present in edible parts of plants, and secondly due to their defense properties against insects, weeds and diseases. The effects of bioactive natural compounds on weeds, other plants or soil-borne diseases and pests will depend on the mobility and fate of the compounds in soil. During the transport of the compounds from the emitting plant to the target organisms the plant allelochemicals get in contact with soil microorganisms and metabolites will form. This fact was seldom considered in earlier allelopathy studies.
As soon as bioactive natural compounds are leached or exuded into soil from plant material, there is a risk that the compounds or their metabolites may have an effect on non-target organisms or can leach into superficial and groundwater and thus affect both the environment and human health.
This course will cover the chemistry of several groups of bioactive natural chemicals from either agricultural crops or other plants, their sorption, degradation and leaching in soils, chemical analytical techniques and studies into the suppressive effects on weeds.
The course will include
Preparatory reading of course literature
Participation in a 5-day on-site course at Research Center Flakkebjerg from Monday 27 July to Friday 31 July
Hand-in of a report no later than one week after the on-site course.
Lecturers
Hans Christian Bruun Hansen, KU-LIFE
Anne Louise Gimsing, KU-LIFE
Bjarne W. Strobel, KU-LIFE
Per Nielsen Kudsk, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Aarhus
Inge S. Fomsgaard, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Aarhus (course responsible)
Other visiting lecturers will be announced later
Course coordinator: Inge S. Fomsgaard, Tel. no. +45 89993610 or +45 22283399, E-mail
See the complete course listing at www.receto.dk
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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 deadline is March 1, 2009. See www.receto.dk
Jose Seoano, M.Sc. Biosphere continental, has started as a Ph.D. student at the Technical University of Denmark, DTU Environment.
Project title: Individual-based modeling of biofilms: Incorporating horizontal gene transfer dynamics.
Supervisor: Bart F. Smets, Technical University of Denmark, DTU Environment
Sanne Skov Nielsen, M.Sc. Environmental Engineering, has started as a Ph.D. student at the Technical University of Denmark, DTU Environment.
Project title: Stabilization of As and Cr contaminated soil with ochreous sludge from waterworks.
Supervisor: Rasmus Jakobsen, Technical University of Denmark, DTU Environment
Julie Chambon, M.Sc. Environmental Engineering, has started as a Ph.D. student at the Technical University of Denmark, DTU Environment.
Project title: Development of modeling tools to assess design and performance of bioremediation of chlorinated ethenes in low permeability geologic media.
Supervisor: Philip J. Binning, Technical University of Denmark, DTU Environment
Ida Damgaard, M.Sc. Environmental Engineering, has started as a Ph.D. student at the Technical University of Denmark, DTU Environment.
Project title: Enhanced remediation of low permeability clayey till deposits contaminated with chlorinated solvents.
Supervisor: Mette Martina Broholm, Technical University of Denmark, DTU Environment
Simon Toft Ingvertsen, M.Sc. Environmental Chemistry, has started as a Ph.D. student at the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Agriculture and Ecology.
Project title: Technologies for storm and grey water treatment.
Supervisors: Jacob Magid, University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Agriculture and Ecology
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RECETO - Department of Basic Sciences and Environment - Thorvaldsensvej 40 - 1871 Frederiksberg C - Phone: +45 353 32695 - Fax: +45 35332399 - receto@life.ku.dk
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