The ERC Starting Grant project WHEP “Who Has Eaten the Planet: the paths of food systems beyond the safe and just operating space (1850-2020)” is starting on March 2024 at IEGD, CSIC, and we are planning to hire 3 PhD students, 1 research assistant, one part-time programmer and one part-time project manager.
The main aim of the project is to estimate and analyze the environmental and social impacts of food production and consumption in the long term and at a global scale, based on the analytical frameworks of the Planetary Boundaries and the Doughnut Economy. The environmental impacts (land, water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus) will be modelled in a spatially explicit way, obtaining footprints of the agricultural products that will be traced along global supply chains up to consumers. This integrated modelling of the global food system, performed in R, will enable us to link the environmental impacts with dietary patterns, trade flows, and health outcomes.
The hired team members will work in close collaboration with renowned international experts on the fields involved in this highly interdisciplinary project, such as Agronomy, Biology (biogeochemistry), Nutrition, or Economic History.
COMMON FEATURES OF THE JOB OFFERS
- Start ideally in April-May 2024 or according to availability
- The team will be based at IEGD, located at CCHS in Madrid (Spain)
- 3-month trial period
- Full-time represents 37.5 weekly working hours, with flexible organization
- Fluent English required
- We search for applicants with a high motivation, autonomy, and ability for team work
- Expressions of interest should be emailed to Eduardo Aguilera (eduardo.aguilera@upm.es) by February 16, 2024
- The job offers will be published on the CSIC job bank by early March 2024
PhD ON GLOBAL TRENDS IN AGRARIAN BIOPHYSICAL MACROMAGNITUDES
This PhD thesis will be co-supervised by Rasmus Einarsson (SLU), Alberto Sanz Cobeña (UPM) and Eduardo Aguilera (CSIC). It will focus on the reconstruction of crop areas and production, and livestock populations and production based on historical sources such as digitized yearbooks and census. Training (BSc or MSc) in natural or technological sciences will be valued. Strong programming skills are required to manage complex datasets. Knowledge of other languages besides English will be valued. The position category is M2 (€26,300 yearly gross salary) and the contract is full time with a duration of 4 years.
PhD ON BIOGEOCHEMICAL MODELING OF AGROECOSYSTEMS AND FOOD SYSTEMS
This PhD thesis will be co-supervised by Luis Lassaletta (UPM) and Eduardo Aguilera (CSIC). It will focus on modelling carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus from the grid level to the global food system level, analyzing key aspects such as stoichiometric relationships or nutrient use efficiencies. Training (BSc or MSc) in agricultural and environmental sciences will be valued. Strong programming skills are required to construct biogeochemical models. The position category is M2 (€26,300 yearly gross salary) and the contract is full time with a duration of 4 years.
PhD ON HISTORICAL TRADE
This PhD thesis will be co-supervised by Juan Infante-Amate (UGR) and Eduardo Aguilera (CSIC). It will focus on the reconstruction of historical agricultural trade based on historical sources and existing literature. Historical processes such as the “Ghost acreage” of European development, or the role of colonization and globalization on the transference of environmental impacts, will be analyzed, as well as the biophysical and socioeconomic drivers of the observed changes. Training (BSc or MSc) in economics or history, basic programming skills, and knowledge of other languages besides English will be valued. The position category is M2 (€26,300 yearly gross salary) and the contract is full time with a duration 4 of years.
RESEARCH ASSISSTANT
The main tasks of this research assistant are related to the collection, digitizing and processing of historical data sources. Training (BSc or MSc) in history and experience working with historical sources of quantitative information will be valued. The position category is M2 (€26,300 yearly gross salary) and the contract is full time with a duration 2 of years.
PROGRAMMER
This person is expected to assist in diverse programming tasks in R. The tasks will include developing an automated AI-based workflow for extracting data from historical sources, spatially explicit modelling of biogeochemical processes, and modelling biophysical flows and environmental footprints of the global food system. Large amounts of data will have to be processed using big data infrastructure. Training (BSc, MSc, PhD) in informatics, and experience managing agricultural and environmental data will be valued. The position category is M3 (€31,600 full time yearly gross salary) and the contract is part-time (50%) with a duration of 58 months.
PROJECT MANAGER
The hired person will be responsible of all administrative aspects of the project thus having a global view of it. This person will co-lead coordination meetings and will be strongly connected with the IP, team members, and the PhDs co-supervisors during the project duration. Expertise in management of national and/or international projects such as Horizon, LIFE, and Interreg will be positively considered. The position category is M3 (€31,600 full time yearly gross salary) and the contract is part-time (50%) with a duration of 58 months.
HOW TO APPLY
Please send your CV to eduardo.aguilera@upm.es by February 16, 2024. You should indicate what position you are interested in, and include a description of your motivation, expectations and the added value you will represent for the project.