Newsletter July 2009
July 2009
Contents
1. News from the Board
2. RECETO M.Sc. Thesis Merit Scholar Stipend, Postdoctoral Positions, and Travel Grants
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
Applications for RECETO co-financed PhD stipends 2009. We had 40 applications for the 10 positions (One of the 11 advertised positions did not get any applications). We had funding from FI to allow full grants to 5 scholarships. Independent (in this process) board members had made a prioritized list within each theme. They presented the ranking of the candidates and the arguments behind. The board discussed the ranking within each theme and between themes. The board made a prioritized list based on following criteria - in prioritized order (approved on RECETO board meeting #22):
· Qualifications of the applicants, based on the assessments made by the key supervisor and the second assessment board.
· Distribution between the three themes.
· Distribution between institutions.
· Previous financing though RECETO
Based on the first criteria the board made a prioritized list. The board fully agreed on this list and the 5 candidates was offered the position. The 5 candidates all said thank you, but as only 2 so far have the employment settled we only announce them here:
Esther Sørensen Boll, Supervisor Jan H. Christensen
Estelle Petterson, Supervisor Jan Åke Jönsson
RECETO has joined two applications for Ph.D. scholarships submitted in June. The applications respond to the announcements of "Mobility stipends" and "Cooperation stipends" funding from the Danish Research Councils. The first application is titled: Water resources under climate change, while the second application is entitled: From landuse to drinking water - biogeochemcial bottle neck processes for retention and degradation of pollutants. In total 8 full stipends have been applied for. Officially it is the Head of the Ph.D. school at LIFE who has applied in both instances.
RECETO and other post graduate educational programmes (PGEP) are concerned with the new system for application and allocation of Ph.D. scholarships. It is found vital for the continued operation of the PGEP's that they are given good oportunities for applying Ph.D. scholarships, and that cross-institutional applications can be send in. RECETO is not happy with the new "one faculty - one application" principle.
This year the EnviroSymp-2009 will be restricted to environmental microbiology - more info on this will follow in the next newsletter. An EnviroSymp-2010 is planned for the spring 2010.
The RECETO Newsletter and homepage has got a new manager; Liping Fang is taking over the job from Esther S. Boll. Liping Fang is Ph.D. student at LIFE, and he is a non-Danish speaker. Hence, it is gratefully expected that all the news sent to RECTEO would be in Engish.
RECETO is joining an initiative to build up a post graduate research programme together with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. A workshop will be held in October 2009.
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 August 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
Conferences
August 2009
EmCon 2009 - 2nd International Conference on Occurrence, Fate, Effects, and Analysis of Emerging Contaminants in the Environment
Colorado State University, Colorado,
August 4-7
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, visit the home page of EmCon2009.
September 2009
International Scientific Conference: "Humic Substances in Ecosystems 8"
Šoporňa, Slovakia,
September 13-17
For additional information, please visit the homepage.
ISPAC 22 - Internatonal Society For Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds
Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston, SC USA,
September 20-24
For more information, vistit the home page of ISPAC.
Multiple Stressors - Novel Methods for Integrated Risk Assessment
Aarhus, Denmark,
September 28-30, 2009
Link to online registration.
Download the conference flyer.
Deadline for abstracts: July 1, 2009
Symposia
September 2009
7th ISRR Symposium: Root Research and Applications (RootRAP)
Vienna, Austria
September 2–4, 2009
The Symposium on Root Research and Applications is organized by the root research working group from University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) in a close co-operation with the International Society of Root Research (ISRR). During the last three decades six different ISRRSymposia have brought together root researchers from different scientific disciplines and nationalities. These symposia have contributed significantly to a better understanding of root functions and their various aspects from plant scale up to the entire ecosystem. The aim of this 7th Symposium is to approach the complexity of root research through a co-ordinated teamwork between multidisciplinary specialists, in order to support the application of recent findings into practice and to figure out future priorities.
Download poster
Download folder
Details at the RootRap home page.
October 2009
Mini symposium / workshop: Intelligent use of Energy in Greenhouses
University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
October 6-7, 2009
For detail info, please visit the home page
August 2009
Applied statistics with R for the agricultural, life and veterinary sciences
Jelgava, Latvia
09-14 August 2009, by Jens Streibig
The development and advancement of agriculture, veterinary and other life sciences are linked to well-designed experiments, be it in test tubes or in the field, and proper use of statistical analysis. The analysis of experiments is crucial for the decision making and prediction of say best treatment. Consequently, the choice of the proper statistical tool is of paramount importance. There are numerous programmes that can be used to analyse experiments. However, there is currently one that has caught the interest of theoretical statisticians as well as scientists depending of applied statistics, viz. the open source programme and environment R (www.r-project.org).
For more information, course schedule and registration, visit NOVA PhD course homepage
Safe and Sustainable sanitation
Tampere, Finland
August 10-12, 2009, by Tuula Tuhkanen
The aim is to familiarise the students to the different methods on urine and excreta reuse, the evaluation, selection and implementation of techniques and risk control actions related to the reuse. The course gives the students the basic skills of interactive exchange of information and options among individuals, groups, and institutions (stakeholders) regarding most common sustainable sanitation techniques and the risks and risk management techniques related. The safety, acceptability, affordability, technical feasibility and ecological sustainability of alternative, non-traditional sanitation will be covered. The following aspects will be included:
- Developing vs. developed countries
- South vs. North
- Dry vs. humid climates
- Rich vs. Poor
For more information, please download the preliminary program.
September 2009
Assessment and Propagation of Uncertainty in Spatially Distributed Environmental Modelling
Geocenter Denmark
September 8-11, 2009, by Jens Christian Refsgaard, etc
Deadline for registration: July 15, 2009
For more information and registration, visit FIVAs home page.
Publishing in per-reviewed journals
Munich, Germany
September 14-16, 2009
If you are currently preparing or writing a paper for an international peer-reviewed journal this 3-day comprehensive training is ideal for you. During the training, you will improve your manuscript in progress or draft concrete ideas for a manuscript. The training takes you from planning and preparing to writing and submitting a paper. You learn the relevant writing techniques to substantially improve the quality of your paper and lead it through to publication success.
For more information, visit Trees & Trees' course home page.
Volatile Organic Sulphur Compounds – Analytical and Physical Chemistry
Research Centre Foulum, Aarhus University
September 17-23, 2009
The objective is to give the students competences on analytical and physical chemistry of volatile organic sulphur compounds (VOSC) required for (i) choosing and implementing analytical methods for measurements of VOSC and (ii) application of these measurements for evaluating key processes in relation to VOSC emission sources and reduction technologies.
For more information, download course description.
Phosphorus in Wetlands - hydrology, biogeochemistry, and management
Research Centre Foulum, Denmark
September 20-26, 2009
This course provides an introduction to phosphorus dynamics and management in wetlands spanning from environmental regulations and legislation over phosphorus biogeochemistry, monitoring and wetlands hydrology to modern strategies for use of wetlands as bufferzones to reduce eutrophication of freshwaters. The course is a tool course with emphasis on fundamental understanding and computational approaches in phosphorus processes and mass balances, the legislative frames targeting surface water quality, and the approaches and technologies to be used in best management of wetlands used for phosphorus retention.
The course is organized by the Research Education Programme, RECETO and STAIR as part of VMPIII and Danish council for strategic reseach programmes in collaboration with the research projects:
“Best management of stream banks, bufferzones and floodplains for reducing agricultural phosphorus losses - BUFFALO-P”.
“Development and test of newcost-effective monitoring technologies and planning design for restoration of wetlands - MONITECH”.
Download course flyer.
For more information and registration, visit STAiRs home page.
Multiple Stressors - Novel Methods for Integrated Risk Assessment
Aarhus, Denmark
September 28-30, 2009
Link to online registration.
Download the conference flyer.
Deadline for abstracts: July 1, 2009.
October 2009
Philosophy of Risk in Health Risk Assessment
Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
October 12-16, 2009
The objective of the course is to provide an overview of important aspects of interactions between science and policy in health risk assessment with a focus on strategies to handle scientific uncertainty.
For application and further information, please visit the home page of CASCADE Network of Excellence.
Application deadline: August 14, 2009.
Roads to success in interdisciplinary research
Munich, Germany
October 6, 2009
Within one day, you get introduced to the most important skills that help you reach integration across disciplines and your project goals. We can advise training participants how to avoid the most common pitfalls of interdisciplinary research and to make interdisciplinary research a success.
For more information, visit Trees & Trees' course home page.
Understanding per-reviewed publishing
Munich, Germany
October 8, 2009
If you are planning to write a paper for a peer-reviewed journal and you have not a great deal of experience with publishing, this 1-day compact training is ideal for you. Within one day, you get introduced to the principles of peer-review and the most important aspects of preparing and writing a paper.
For more information, visit Trees & Trees' course home page.
Climate impacts on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
Ultuna campus, SLU, Uppsala, Sweden
October 21 - December. 09, 2009
Students from different subject areas (e.g. plant, soil and aquatic sciences) completing this course will obtain a deeper understanding of the ecological significance of climate impacts and climate change on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems from global to local scales.
Deadline: September 15, 2009
For detail info, please visit the course homepage.
Coping with the challenges of a PhD study
Munich, Germany
October 26-28, 2009
The training will guide you to plan and conduct your PhD study in a way that will lead you to success. It covers all relevant aspects of a PhD study. You are getting equipped with tools for project planning and (self-) management. You know how to handle the most challenging psychological factors of a PhD study, you know which complementary skills you need to learn, and you know your career choices.
For more information, visit Trees & Trees' course home page.
November 2009
NKS-B Workshop on Radioanalytical Chemistry for Radioecology and Waste Management
Risø-DTU, Roskilde, Denmark
November 16-20, 2009, by Xiaolin Hou, etc
The objectives of this workshop are:
- To provide the participants with an overview of the radiochemical analytical methods for the determination of various radionuclides (mainly beta and alpha emitting) relevant to environmental radioactivity and waste management
- To provide an opportunity to the participants getting knowledge and practical (hands-on) experience of state-of-the-art measurement techniques used for the determination of different radionuclides by participating in practical training in the laboratory (experimental demonstration and analysis of real samples)
- To provide a forum for knowledge exchange of radioanalysis of various radionuclides and discussion of present radiochemical procedures for the individual radionuclides.
The workshop aims to strengthen the education of MSc/PhD students and young scientists in the radiochemical analysis for environmental radioactivity, waste management, decommissioning of nuclear facility, and other relevant areas, and to increase competence of staff involved in radiochemical separation and determination of radionuclides.
Registration deadline is Thursday the 1st of October.
For more information, visit the course home page.
Course in Exposure Assessment I: Chemical exposure assessment analysis and modelling
Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
November 16-20, 2009, by Patrik Andersson and Karin Wiberg
The objective of the course is to give an introduction into the field of exposure assessment with specific focus on chemical analysis and various modelling techniques.
For application and further information: www.cascadenet.org/~RA-COURSES and www.cascadenet.org
Application deadline is September 18, 2009.
Download the program.
January 2010
TRISK-European Toxicology Risk Assessment Training Programme
University of Milan, Italy
University of Surrey, UK
Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
University of Düsseldorf, Germany
University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
Technoalimenti SCpA, Italy, 2010-2011
The objective of the training programme is to provide a comprehensive training in toxicological risk assessment that serves as a model for future European training in risk assessment for accredited European risk assessors.
For more information and application procedure see the attached documents
and the following websites of CASCADE and TRISK
Deadline for application is September 30, 2009.
Download the programme
Download the application
February 2010
Food, medicine and philosophy in East and West
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, and Hong Kong/Guangzhou, China
February 25- March 19, 2010, by Per T. Sangild
What determines what we eat? Science, culture or religion? How do people view the human body in health and disease? As a chemical machine or a spiritual, holistic entity? Widely different diet and health traditions are coming closer in the globalized world. The distinction between food and medicine is unclear, and both relates to culture, philosophy and religion. Dietary habits and human health may be determined by more than product availability, technology and natural science. Food and medicine differ between East and West, in mixtures of natural, social and human sciences.
Please contact Lars Holm Rasmussen, lhr(at)life.ku.dk, for further information and registration.
Further info, please visit the homepage
See the complete course listing at www.receto.dk
Martin Hangler, M.Sc. Genetics and Microbiology, has started as a Ph.D. student at Copenhagen of University, Faculty of Life Sciences,
Department of Agriculture and Ecology.
Project title: Impacts of organic amendments and field-scale heterogeneity on the structure and function of bacterial degrader communities.
Supervisor: Jan Sørensen, University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Agriculture and Ecology
Nora Badawi, M.Sc. Environmental Chemistry, has started as a Ph.D student at Geological surveys of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS)
Project title: Soil heterogeneity and its influence on contaminant degradation, metabolite formation and leaching to the groundwatar
Supervisors:Jan Sørensen, University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Agriculture and Ecology
Mita Eva Sengupta, M.Sc. Microbiology, has started as a Ph.D. student at Copenhagen of University, Faculty of Life Sciences,
Department of Veterinary Disease Biology.
Project title: Modelling the fate of helminth and protozoan free-living stages in low quality water used for food production
Superviors: Anders Dalsgaard, University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Veterinary Disease Biology.
Esther Sørensen Boll, Cand. Agro, has started as a Ph.D. student at Copenhagen of University, Faculty of Life Sciences,
Department of Basic Sciences and Environment.
Project title: Chemical Profiling of Oil and PAH Polluted Soils and Drainage Water – A Step Towards a Novel Paradigm in Risk Assessment
Supervisors: Jan H. Christensen, Julie K. Jensen, and Rasmus Bro, University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Life Sciences
Karin Cederkvist, M.Sc. Soil and Environmental Chemistry, has started as a Ph.D. student at Copenhagen of University, Faculty of Life Sciences,
Department of Basic Sciences and Environment. And Environment and Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning
Project title: Development of a Novel Water Treatment Technology based on Natural Biogeochemical Processes - Exploring the benefits of Open University Innovation.
Supervisors: Marina Bergen Jensen, University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Life Sciences, Forest & Landscape Denmark/Unit of Landscape
Peter E. Holm, University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Basic Sciences and Environment.
Is there news you would like to contribute? To submit news, activities, or courses to the RECETO website and the newsletter, send a mail to
To join or resign from the RECETO general mailing list, visit the RECETO website at www.receto.dk > News > receto_newsletter_subscribe . Link
Feel free to send this newsletter to your co-workers or others who may be interested in RECETO.
If you have comments or suggestions about the homepage, please send a mail to
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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