Applicants are invited for two PhD fellowship/scholarship at Graduate School of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark, within the Agroecology programme. The positions are available from 1 April 2025 and 1 July 2025 or later. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.
Title
PhD in Multi-sensor mapping of soil properties and tile drains using proximal and remote sensors
Research area and project description
Thanks to the technological advances in the 21st century, soil sensors are increasingly becoming affordable, accessible and easy to use enabling the collection of near-continuous soil information in space and time. Novel proximal and remote sensing technologies are increasingly being adopted as the go-to approach to augment cost, labor-intensive soil sampling and laboratory analysis procedures for rapid estimation and high-resolution mapping of soil properties. They are also seen as viable alternative methods for mapping agricultural infrastructure such as subsurface drainage systems. Globally, companies and farming communities are seeing an increased adoption of soil sensors to manage various soil conditions, and their value will only continue to grow.
We are seeking two PhD candidate who will contribute to advancing the knowledge of using state-of-the-art electromagnetic soil sensors (i.e., electromagnetic induction, ground-penetrating radar, visible, near-infrared and gamma-ray spectroscopy and multiband cameras) for:
i) Soil property estimation and mapping with relevance to betterment of precision agriculture applications using novel data fusion approaches. In particular, the PhD will focus on optimal sampling designs and on comparing and contrasting linear vs. non-linear modelling, single vs. multi-sensor approaches. A special focus will also be developing best modelling approaches for mapping in three-dimensions.
ii) Developing a framework for mapping agricultural subsurface drainage systems. Here, controlled experiments will be performed to comprehend the sensors’ suitability and limitations. More importantly, advanced image processing and deep learning models will be trained and tested for automatic drainage pipe detection from the multiband imagery.
Project description (½-3 pages)
This document should describe your ideas and research plans for this specific project. If you wish to, you can indicate an URL where further information can be found.
Qualifications and specific competences
Applicants must have a relevant Master’s degree (120 ECTS) or at least one year of a Master’s degree in soil science, applied geophysics, geostatistics or data science. Prior experience with digital soil mapping, predictive modelling and computer vision is advantageous. Technical know-how of programming languages (R, Matlab or Python) and GIS is expected.
Place of employment and place of work
The place of employment is Aarhus University, and the place of work is AU Viborg, Blichers Allé 20, 8830 Tjele.
Contacts:
Applicants seeking further information are invited to contact:
PhD position #1:
- Mogens Humlekrog Greve greve@agro.au.dk (main supervisor)
- Triven Koganti triven.koganti@agro.au.dk (co-supervisor)
PhD position #2:
- Bo Vangsø Iversen, bo.v.iversen@agro.au.dk (main supervisor)
- Triven Koganti, triven.koganti@agro.au.dk (co-supervisor)
How to apply
Please follow this link to submit your application.
Application deadline is 6 January 2025 at 23:59 CET.
Preferred starting dates are 1 April 2025 and 1 July 2025.
For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide.
Please note:
- Only documents received prior to the application deadline will be evaluated. Thus, documents sent after the deadline will not be taken into account.
- The programme committee may request further information or invite the applicant to attend an interview.
- Shortlisting will be used, which means that the evaluation committee only will evaluate the most relevant applications.
Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background. Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with applicable collective agreement.
INFORMATIONER OM STILLINGEN:
- Arbejdspladsen ligger i:
Aarhus Kommune
-Virksomheden tilbyder:
-Arbejdsgiver:
Aarhus Universitet, Nordre Ringgade, 8000 Aarhus C
-Ansøgning:
Ansøgningsfrist: 06-01-2025;
Se mere her: https://job.jobnet.dk/CV/FindWork/Details/626bce42-c0dc-40c2-a022-fcd3a5199fdb
