Open Phd position on Plant Phenotyping - Photon Systems Instruments
R&D department of Photon Systems Instruments (PSI) is looking for a motivated and skilled candidate for a PhD position on plant phenotyping in frame of EU international training network (ITN) project SE2B. PSI is internationally recognized and innovation oriented SME company offering application-oriented research opportunity in field of automated plant phenotyping.
The PhD project will deal with “Phenotyping methods for non-invasive monitoring of plant fitness and growth performance in controlled and greenhouse environment“.
The successful candidate will focus on the establishment, validation, data analysis and further development of non-invasive techniques for monitoring plant fitness and growth performance by using unique greenhouse and controlled environment -based automated multi-sensoric phenotyping platforms.
Description
Background
Plant phenotyping refers to a quantitative characterisation of the plant’s anatomical, ontogenetical, physiological and biochemical properties at regular time intervals, non-destructively and objectively. In past years plant phenotyping became increasingly automated by the development of novel imaging technologies and image analysis pipelines that allow for a characterization of plant traits in high-throughput and high-precission. The field of image-based phenotyping has broadened from the initial characterization of single-plant traits in controlled conditions towards greenhouse and field applications and multi-dimensional dynamic phenotyping of morphological, physiological and biochemical traits.
In several past years PSI has developped and manufactured range of automated plant phenotyping systems for controlled and greenhouse conditions. The PlantScreen Phenotyping Systems are designed for in-depth phenotyping of small up to large-scale plants ranging from Arabidopsis to crop species by means of RGB, kinetic chlorophyll fluorescence, thermal infrared, 3D laser scanning and hyperspectral imaging systems.
The project aims to investigate and validate current technological improvements and develop, optimize and standardize the phenotyping protocols for the hyperspectral imaging sensor, chlorophyll fluorescence sensor and projectionof the acquired data on 3D structural models. The insights obtained will be translated into actual applications in basic research and in agriculture research. The succesful candidate will work in a mixed team of company and university employees and will be involved in close cooperative partnerships between PSI and internationally renowed groups involved in automated high-throughput phenotyping.
The 3-year project is funded by Marie Curie Actions (Innovative Training Network).
The PhD project will deal with “Phenotyping methods for non-invasive monitoring of plant fitness and growth performance in controlled and greenhouse environment“.
The successful candidate will focus on the establishment, validation, data analysis and further development of non-invasive techniques for monitoring plant fitness and growth performance by using unique greenhouse and controlled environment -based automated multi-sensoric phenotyping platforms.
Description
Background
Plant phenotyping refers to a quantitative characterisation of the plant’s anatomical, ontogenetical, physiological and biochemical properties at regular time intervals, non-destructively and objectively. In past years plant phenotyping became increasingly automated by the development of novel imaging technologies and image analysis pipelines that allow for a characterization of plant traits in high-throughput and high-precission. The field of image-based phenotyping has broadened from the initial characterization of single-plant traits in controlled conditions towards greenhouse and field applications and multi-dimensional dynamic phenotyping of morphological, physiological and biochemical traits.
In several past years PSI has developped and manufactured range of automated plant phenotyping systems for controlled and greenhouse conditions. The PlantScreen Phenotyping Systems are designed for in-depth phenotyping of small up to large-scale plants ranging from Arabidopsis to crop species by means of RGB, kinetic chlorophyll fluorescence, thermal infrared, 3D laser scanning and hyperspectral imaging systems.
The project aims to investigate and validate current technological improvements and develop, optimize and standardize the phenotyping protocols for the hyperspectral imaging sensor, chlorophyll fluorescence sensor and projectionof the acquired data on 3D structural models. The insights obtained will be translated into actual applications in basic research and in agriculture research. The succesful candidate will work in a mixed team of company and university employees and will be involved in close cooperative partnerships between PSI and internationally renowed groups involved in automated high-throughput phenotyping.
The 3-year project is funded by Marie Curie Actions (Innovative Training Network).
Requirements
We are looking for an excellent student who is a result-driven team player with good communication skills and good proficiency in English (both oral and written).
Specific requirements:
• A university degree at MSc level in plant sciences or biotechnology
• Strong scientific interest in phenotyping and automated image-analysis
• Profound knowledge of plant physiology is of advantage
• Experience with photosynthesis research is of advantage (gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence)
• Knowledge of basic statistical methods and large data-set analysis is recommended
• Capability to operate in dynamic environment between universities and private companies
Application
Researchers applying for a PhD position are eligible if they are still within the first four years of their career in research at the time of appointment (full time equivalent). For more details please check the information on SE2B web page: http://se2b.eu
Motivated candidates are asked to send their application before 30st August 2016 to zalesakova@psi.cz. Please provide the CV, motivation lettre, at least one reference lettre and the contact information of two referees. For further information on the project, you can contact Klára Panzarová at panzarova@psi.cz.
For further information about working at PSI, take a look at www.psi.cz.