WESS – the Water and Earth System Science Competence Cluster - was founded by the Universities of Tübingen, Hohenheim, and Stuttgart together with the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research, UFZ, in 2009 in order to strengthen the research cooperation between these institutions and to facilitate interdisciplinary research in the fields of water and solute fluxes at the catchment scale as a function of climate and land use changes (www.wess.info).
WESS invites applications for a
PostDoc/Scientist position in “Computational Hydrology” (m/f)
to develop and apply simulation codes for coupled flow and reactive transport of carbon and nitrogen components at the land surface and in the shallow subsurface, contributing to the integrated modelling framework of WESS. The position offers an excellent environment for working with a highly skilled interdisciplinary team.
The successful candidate will work on the following research topics:
1. Model development: Development of appropriate concepts for coupling water flow and reactive solute transport processes across the land surface, through the soil-plant system down to groundwater. The focus is on the interaction between vegetation and hydrological processes.
2. Model implementation: WESS is aiming at establishing a flexible simulation framework for coupled hydrosystem analysis. The new modules will be coupled to existing simulations tools via efficient interfaces.
3. Model application: The simulation framework will be applied to data sets from the WESS test sites in South-West (Neckar subcatchments) and East Germany (TERENO Bode observatory).
Applicants are expected to have:
 A scientific background in quantitative geosciences, physics, applied mathematics, or civil and environmental engineering,
 A PhD in a related field and an appropriate publication record
 Skills in software development and scientific computation (high performance computing, code coupling and distributed development)
 Very good written and oral communication skills in English
Further information can be provided by: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Olaf Kolditz (olaf.kolditz@ufz.de); Prof. Dr. Thilo Streck (thilo.streck@uni-hohenheim.de).
The appointment will be limited to June 2013 (subject to approval of funding; extension of contract is possible). The place of work is Tübingen/Leipzig, Germany. The candidate will spend about 20% of work time at the WESS partner institutes in order to foster the cooperation within WESS. Salary will be according to civil service guidelines (TVL E13/E14), depending on personal skills and work experiences. Women are explicitly encouraged to apply to increase their share in science and research. Physically handicapped persons will be favored if they are equally qualified.
Please send your complete application documents (curriculum vitae, certificates, description of scientific development and a list of publications) until 25.08.2011 under the code digit WESS W5.2 to WESS, c/o University of Tübingen, Dept. of Geoscience, Dr. Hermann Rügner, Hölderlinstrasse 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany (h.ruegner@uni-tuebingen.de).