The Department for Aquatic Ecology, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) announces a vacant PhD position in biostatistics and ecological modelling. Applicants are invited for a 4-years PhD position, which includes 25 % work on other projects at NINA.

The candidate will be located at the NINA main office in Trondheim under the supervision of Researcher Ola Diserud (NINA) and Professor Steinar Engen (NTNU). Applicants are obliged to enrol on an organised PhD training programme at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

The PhD position is affiliated to the project Forecasting ecological effects of climate change: integrating functional and correlative models – FECIMOD and will participate in research aiming at improving the reliability of predictive models for future climate change impacts on biological systems, and at providing scenarios for selected aquatic model systems. FECIMOD involves project partners from several complementary research institutions in Norway (NINA, NTNU, University of Oslo, SINTEF Energy Research and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute) and has established cooperation with scientists from Sweden (Umeå University) and Canada (Memorial University and Fisheries and Oceans). The candidate will work in a team involving scientists from both NINA and collaborative institutions.

NINA is Norways leading institution in applied ecological research and has approximately 160 employees. The Department for Aquatic Ecology, located in Trondheim, has approximately 32 scientists, post-docs, PhD students and research assistants. More information on NINA and NTNU can be found at http://www.nina.no/  and http://www.math.ntnu.no/

Requirements: Applicants should have a minimum qualification of an internationally recognized Masters degree or equivalent. Education within biostatistics, or applied statistics, is advantageous, but candidates from ecology with a strong background in modelling and statistical analysis will also be considered. Our ideal candidate is motivated for combining applied research on ecological problems with more fundamental model development. The candidate is obliged to enroll on an organized PhD training programme either in statistics or biology, depending on qualifications. In order to be accepted as a PhD student, the grades of the MSc degree has to be sufficiently high (B or better), or the applicant has to document similar level through later scientific work.

NINA works actively for gender balance in our research staff, and therefore women are encouraged to apply. The annual salary of the PhD position is NOK 325 800 to 343 100 (present exchange rate is 12.50 EUR for 100 NOK).

Application: Candidates should submit their application with references via e-mail to siri.svendsenatnina.no, attaching scanned documentation on education, exams (including major grades), relevant experience, and publication list. Selected scientific publications in pdf-format may also be attached. The applicants should also provide a short (max 500 words) description of the reasons why he or she is particularly suited for the position.

For more information, please contact Researcher Ola Diserud (phone: +47 73 80 15 93, fax: +47 73 80 14 01, e-mail: ola.diserudatnina.no), Researcher Anders G. Finstad (phone: +47 73 80 14 46, fax: +47 73 80 14 01, e-mail: anders.finstadatnina.no) or Personnel consultant Siri Svendsen (phone : +47 73 80 15 81, e-mail : siri.svendsenatnina.no

Application deadline is 8th February 2008, and we aim for rapid employment.