We are looking for a highly-motivated and ambitious PhD candidate who is interested in research at the frontiers of fluid dynamics, experimental physics, aquatic ecology and environmental science.

Cyanobacterial blooms are increasingly abundant in water systems worldwide. They cause problems due to the potential production of toxins that can harm aquatic life and humans. One of the available methods to reduce cyanobacterial blooms is artificial mixing in deep lakes. The method relies on generating fluid flow inside the lake that eventually avoid the rapid production of the cyanobacteria. This project aims to significantly improve the efficiency of the current artificial mixing techniques as an effective method of bloom mitigation.  We will study how fluid dynamics affect cyanobacterial filaments and colonies under different mixing conditions, using controlled laboratory experiments, field studies, and mathematical models.

The project is highly interdisciplinary and a collaboration between the Institute of Physics (IoP) and the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) at the University of Amsterdam.

For more information about the Groups, please visit FluidLab, FAME, Soft Matter Group, Computational Soft Matter Group.

What are you going to do

You will:

• design and build non-standard experimental tools to study fluid flows at different length scales;
• study how fluid dynamics affect cyanobacterial filaments and colonies;
• closely collaborate with both physicists and biologists;
• perform field work on natural and artificially mixed lakes in collaboration with other researchers;
• develop new fluid dynamics and statistical physics models for lakes;
• present your results at international workshops and conferences;
• work collaboratively and participate actively in scientific discussions between research groups in the Institute of Physics (e.g., Soft Matter Group and Computational Soft Matter Group) and with the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (e.g., Department of Freshwater and Marine Ecology);
• publish in high level international journals;
• take part in supervision of Bachelor and Master students.

What do we require

We are looking for a candidate with:

• a creative, curious, and driven nature;
• a MSc degree in one of the followings fields: physics, mechanical or chemical engineering, applied mathematics, fluid dynamics, physical oceanography or experimental (micro)biology with a physics background;
• previous experience in an experimental lab: imaging, image processing, fluid dynamics, biophysics or similar;
• demonstrated interest in the interplay between physics and biology;
• excellent written and oral communication skills in English;
• demonstrated experience with programming (Python, Matlab, ect.) and data analysis in physics or biophysics.

Fixed-term contract: 18 months.

A temporary contract for 38 hours per week for the duration of four years (the initial contract will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it will be extended for a total duration of four years). This should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. We also expect you to assist in teaching undergraduates and master students. 

The salary, depending on relevant experience before the beginning of the employment contract, will be €2,434 to €3,111 (scale P) gross per month, based on a fulltime contract (38 hours a week). This is exclusive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Take a look here.

University of Amsterdam

With over 6,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Science – Institute of Physics

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 7,000, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The mission of the Institute of Physics (IoP) is to carry out excellent research in the field of experimental and theoretical physics, to provide inspiring teaching within the physics and other curricula and to transfer our knowledge of and enthusiasm for physics to society. The IoP has over 50 faculty and 180 researchers in total. The combination with the NWO Institutes at Amsterdam Science Park constitutes the largest physics hub in the Netherlands and is an international centre of excellence.

The Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) is one of eight research institutes of the Faculty of Science at the University of Amsterdam. The research at IBED aims to unravel how ecosystems function in all their complexity, and how they change due to natural processes and human activities. At its core lies an integrated systems approach to study biodiversity, ecosystems and the environment. IBED adopts this systems approach to ecosystems, addressing abiotic (soil and water quality) and biotic factors (ecology and evolution of plants, animals, and microorganisms), and the interplay between those. The IBED vision includes research encompassing experimental and theoretical approaches at a wide variety of temporal and spatial scales, i.e. from molecules and microorganisms to patterns and processes occurring at the global scale.