UFZ Call for Expression of Interest – Helmholtz Investigator Group on Planetary Solutions

The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) invites Expressions of Interest from outstanding early-career scientists (2–6 years post PhD) seeking to establish an independent Helmholtz Investigator Group at the UFZ.

The UFZ advances planetary solutions to climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution through integrative, cross-disciplinary research. Within the Helmholtz Investigator Group Call, proposals are invited that strengthen UFZ’s core expertise addressing one of the following themes:

I – Predictive Limnology

The UFZ Research Unit Water Resources and Environment is establishing a new research direction in Predictive Limnology to advance the forecasting of aquatic ecosystem dynamics under changing conditions. The new research group will develop innovative methodologies for ecosystem forecasting in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, including modern data-fusion approaches to strengthen predictive capabilities. The research will contribute to the RU Water strategy on predictive hydro-ecology and future-proof water management and UFZ’s strategic focus on fostering ecosystem resilience. The group will collaborate closely with research activities in hydrological modelling, drought forecasting, climate impacts, advanced environmental monitoring, and the eLTER network.

II – Chemical Pollution and Freshwater Ecosystem Resilience under Global Change

The UFZ Research Unit Chemicals in the Environment invites applications to establish an investigator group on chemical pollution and freshwater ecosystem resilience under global change. Candidates are sought who investigate how chemical pollution interacts with climatic, hydrological and land-use-related stressors and how these interactions affect freshwater communities, ecosystem functions, resistance and recovery. Candidates may bring a focused profile in ecotoxicology, molecular and evolutionary ecology, eDNA-based biodiversity monitoring, community and food-web ecology, or ecological modelling. The research program should advance mechanistic or predictive understanding of multiple-stressor effects across biological scales by linking experiments and observations with mechanistic, statistical or AI-supported modelling. The successful candidate is expected to develop an independent research program centered on substantial use of the UFZ stream mesocosm facility with its 47 artificial streams.

III – Digital Hydro-Twins for Water Resources Management

The UFZ Research Unit Smart Models and Monitoring has a leading position in integrating observation, high-resolution modelling and state-of-the-art data analysis approaches to understand and predict environmental change and support resilient management of landscapes and water resources across regional to global scales. Researchers are invited to develop next-generation Digital Hydro-Twins that integrate water management options into process-based hydrological models while also exploring the potential of AI. The aim is to assess changing human water demands, and to enable the exploration of alternative management options.

Eligibility

Due to Helmholtz requirements, candidates must have between two and six years of postdoctoral experience. Additional requirements include at least six months of international research experience outside Germany during the doctoral or postdoctoral phase, as well as an exceptionally strong academic track record and a high-quality draft proposal aligned with one of the thematic tracks.

Selection Process

The selection follows a two-stage process:

• Initial selection by the UFZ, identifying candidates with exceptional scientific excellence, strategic fit to our mission and leadership potential
• Final selection by the Helmholtz Association involving an international expert panel

The initial selection by the UFZ will be based on the following criteria:

• Outstanding scientific achievements and research experience of the candidate
• Quality and strength of the submitted project summary
• Compatibility with one of the thematic tracks outlined above
• Leadership potential, in particular the ability to supervise international and diverse doctoral researchers

Successful Helmholtz Investigator Groups will be hosted at UFZ, receive five years of dedicated funding, and – subject to a positive evaluation at the end of the funding period – be offered a permanent position.

Job description automatically summarized using AI