1 million euros for sustainability research

Robert Bosch Junior Professorship advertised

Stuttgart, April 4, 2008 – For the second time, Robert Bosch Stiftung is advertising the Robert Bosch Junior Professorship in “Sustainable Use of Natural Resources” endowed with up to 1 million euros for independent research over a period of 5 years. The program advisory committee is chaired by Klaus Töpfer, former German Federal Minister of the Environment and Director of the UN Environment Program. The deadline for applications is June 1, 2008.

The Junior Professorship is awarded to exceptional young scientists to study the sustainable use of renewable natural resources, especially in developing and transforming countries, at a German university or research institute. This year, applications focusing on two fields are particularly welcome:

1. Competition for land use – such as the conflict between cultivation of energy producing and food crops; 2. Agriculture and health – such as the effects of livestock farming on the spread of epidemics, or inversely the effects of HIV/AIDS on agricultural production in developing countries.

Scientists from all countries and relevant fields can apply, including agricultural and forestry studies, biology, environmental studies, economics, mathematics, sociology and medicine. If requested, the foundation can support applicants in negotiating a “tenure track” option at a guest institution.

Last year’s Robert Bosch Junior Professorship was awarded in Berlin to Dr. Nina Farwig. The biologist will research at Philipps-Universität Marburg how ecosystems react to species loss in depleted rain forests in South Africa.