Junior Onderzoeker Dataverzameling ter Ondersteuning van Regeneratieve Landbouw

De druk op de landbouw en het gehele voedselsysteem neemt gestaag toe om de wereldwijde productie te verhogen en tegelijkertijd duurzaamheid te bevorderen op het gebied van onder meer het inkomen van boeren, bodemgezondheid, het gebruik van hulpbronnen en de milieu- en klimaateffecten. Regeneratieve landbouw biedt een veelbelovende aanpak om een gezond, multifunctioneel en toekomstbestendig bodem- en landbouwsysteem te ondersteunen. Samen met Nederlandse regeneratieve boeren ontwikkelt ReGeNL een toekomstbestendige agrarische sector waarin landbouw hand in hand gaat met bodemgezondheid en natuurherstel, en een goed verdienmodel voor boeren. Tussen nu en 2030 start ReGeNL de transitie naar regeneratieve landbouw met 1000 boeren. Het doel is dat regeneratieve landbouw in 2040 de nieuwe norm is.

In deze rol ondersteun je de monitoring van 100 pionierende regeneratieve boeren binnen het ReGeNL-programma. Wageningen University heeft samen met partners de verantwoordelijkheid om de veranderingen in managementpraktijken van deze boeren te monitoren en te onderzoeken welke resultaten deze veranderingen opleveren. Jaarlijks veldwerk wordt uitgevoerd om verschillende aspecten van de bodem te monitoren en om een inventarisatie te maken van de managementpraktijken die deze pioniers toepassen. Verschillende stappen zijn nodig om een succesvolle monitoringscampagne uit te voeren, zoals onboarding en veldselectie, voorbereiding van de steekproeflocaties volgens een statistisch steekproefontwerp, en het opzetten en uitvoeren van verschillende soorten vragenlijsten; allemaal aspecten waarin jij een belangrijke rol speelt. In deze functie bied jij de technische ondersteuning voor deze werkzaamheden.

Belangrijkste verantwoordelijkheden zijn onder andere:

• Verzamelen van ruimtelijke informatie over de pioniersbedrijven.
• Implementeren van een statistisch steekproefontwerp in QGIS en QField ter ondersteuning van onderzoekers tijdens hun veldwerk.
• Verzamelen en harmoniseren van veldniveau-vragenlijstgegevens uit QField.
• Opstellen van jaarlijkse vragenlijsten in Qualtrics om informatie te verzamelen over het bedrijf en de managementpraktijken.
• Opstellen van geharmoniseerde datasets op basis van verzamelde gegevens.
• Ondersteunen bij de dagelijkse afhandeling van data en verzoeken rondom dataverzameling.

Leerstoelgroep Bodemgeografie en Landschap
De missie van de groep is het verbeteren en delen van kennis over patronen en dynamiek van bodems, landschappen en processen aan het aardoppervlak, en hun drijvende krachten zoals klimaatverandering en mens-landschapsinteracties. De groep gebruikt integratieve benaderingen waarin biofysische en antropogene elementen worden gecombineerd om inzicht te krijgen in de dynamiek van systemen in het verleden, heden en de toekomst. Hiermee willen we bijdragen aan systeembenaderingen voor landgebruik en ruimtelijke planning, duurzaam beheer van bodems, landschappen en ecosystemen (bijv. zandige, rivier-, delta- en stedelijke systemen), en bescherming van cultuur- en geologisch erfgoed.

Samen met drie andere leerstoelgroepen vormt de leerstoelgroep Bodemgeografie en Landschap het Wageningen Soil Cluster, dat internationaal een uitstekende reputatie heeft binnen de bodemwetenschappen.

Postdoc position: GreenTE seed germination

Are you interested in mechanosensing in plants? Do you wonder how mechanical responses regulate seed germination? Then we are looking for you!

To strengthen the GreenTE project team, we are looking for a post-doctoral researcher. As Postdoc in the GreenTE (Green Tissue Engineering) Gravitation programme, you will be part of a multidisciplinary consortium of 7 Dutch universities. Together, GreenTE will unravel how plants sense and respond to mechanical stimuli. These fundamental insights will be the basis to develop engineering interventions to improve plant regeneration, seed germination and defenses against disease. The successful applicant will be an integral member of the GreenTE community, which offers an open, diverse and inspiring environment to engage in multidisciplinary mechanobiology research at the intersection of biology, chemistry and physics, and is expected to participate in GreenTE events, training and collaborations.

In the GreenTE subproject “How do cells communicate during seed germination?” we aim for mapping the mechanical responses during seed germination. The gained knowledge will be linked to transcriptome, translatome and phosphoproteome data to finally create an integrated model of seed germination. Within the team, you will be responsible for investigating how the mechanical responses are converted into biochemical signals. This research might include the identification and characterization of signaling proteins, investigating the effects of genetically modifying these proteins (e.g. By CRISPR) and / or localization studies. Besides carrying out the research project, you will contribute to teaching PhD, MSc and BSc students.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Investigating how mechanical responses during seed germination are converted into biochemical signals;
• Characterizing the biochemical pathways identified;
• Collaborating with PhD students and postdocs working in our group, as well as with scientists in the GreenTE consortium;
• Publication of the results in the scientific literature.

Your team
The GreenTE subproject “How do cells communicate during seed germination?” will run at the Wageningen Seed Science Centre under supervision of Prof. dr. Leónie Bentsink. You will be working in a team with two PhD students and two other post-doctoral researchers.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the Laboratory of Plant Physiology chair group. You will be member of the Wageningen Seed Science Centre and be supervised by Prof dr Leónie Bentsink.

Junior Researcher Data Collection Support for Regenerative Agriculture

Are you interested to work with 100 pioneering farmers in the Netherlands, and you have affinity with data collection tools? Within the ReGeNL project, we are looking for a junior researcher to technically support the monitoring campaigns of the pioneering farmers within ReGeNL.

There is steadily growing pressure on agriculture and the entire food system to increase global production while promoting sustainability in terms of farmers' incomes, soil health, input use, and environmental and climate impact. Regenerative agriculture is a promising avenue to support a healthy, multi-functional and future-proof soil and farming system. Together with regenerative Dutch farmers, ReGeNL is developing a future-proof agricultural sector in which agriculture goes hand in hand with soil health and nature restoration, and a good revenue model for farmers. Between now and 2030, ReGeNL will start the transition to regenerative agriculture with 1000 farmers. The aim is to make regenerative agriculture the new normal by 2040.

In this role you support the monitoring of a 100 pioneer regenerative farmers within the ReGeNL program. Wageningen University, together with partners, has the responsibility to monitor and study the changes in practices of these farmers and what the outcomes of these changes are. Annual fieldwork will take place to monitor various aspects of the soil and to make an inventory of management practices these pioneer farmers apply. Various steps are needed to perform a successful monitoring campaign, such as onboarding and field selection, preparation of the sample locations according to a statistical sampling design, and setting up and implementing different types of questionnaires, all in which you’ll play an important role. In this role you provide the technical support for such aspects.

Key responsibilities will be to:

• Gather spatial information on the pioneer farms.
• Implement a statistical sampling design into QGIS and QField to support the researchers during their fieldwork.
• Gather collected field-level questionnaire data from QField and harmonize these.
• Set up yearly questionnaires in Qualtrics to gather information about the farm and their management practices.
• Compile harmonized datasets based on collected data.
• Support day-to-day handling of data and data collection requests.

You will work at the Soil Geography and Landscape group
The mission of the group is to improve and share understanding of patterns and dynamics of soils, landscapes and earth surface dynamics and their drivers, like climate change and human-landscape interactions. The group uses integrative approaches that combine biophysical and anthropogenic elements to gain insight in past, present and future system dynamics. Through this, we aim to support system-based solutions in land management and spatial planning, sustainable management of soils, landscapes and ecosystems (e.g. sandy, riverine, deltaic and urban), and protection of cultural and geoheritage.

Together with three other chair groups, the Soil Geography and Landscape Group forms the Wageningen Soil Cluster, which has an excellent international reputation in soil science.

Marketing & Communication Project Coordinator

Do you want to make a visible difference in a short time to the basic services of our Marketing & Communication team?
For a temporary internal assignment within one of our units, we are looking for a Marketing & Communication Project Coordinator who brings structure, develops practical resources, and ensures that colleagues can quickly and easily find their way to appropriate communication and marketing support.

The context
Within the Marketing & Communication team of the Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (AFSG), we aim to better organize, expand, and make our basic services more accessible. A lot already exists: formats, checklists, training courses, guidelines, and existing services. At the same time, these resources are not always logically bundled, up to date, easy to find, or sufficiently tailored to the AFSG context.

That is why we are looking for someone who can approach this assignment in a project-based way: from inventory and alignment to development, implementation, and delivery. In this role, you will be responsible for the project management, execution, and completion of the project.

What will you do?
In this role, you will work independently on a clearly defined project with plenty of room for initiative. You maintain an overview, make decisions, and ensure that results are actually delivered.

Your tasks will include:

• inventorying existing tools, formats, training courses, and services within the team and beyond;
• expanding and structuring the inventory that has already been created by the team;
• assessing what is needed for each resource: develop new materials, adapt existing ones for the AFSG context, or incorporate them from a central offering;
• aligning with relevant colleagues and stakeholders within AFSG and, where needed, with central teams;
• developing, editing, or coordinating the further development of practical resources for the basic services;
• ensuring a logical and accessible way to access the offering via the M&C menu or a comparable route;
• contributing ideas on adoption and usage: how do we ensure colleagues know what is available and actually use it?
• delivering a coherent package of resources, support, and working methods.

What kinds of deliverables can you think of?
The tools and services you will work on are very practical and directly applicable. Examples include:

• a checklist for writing an effective commercial LinkedIn post;
• guidelines for developing a strong push proposition;
• LinkedIn training sessions and media training;
• a checklist for participating in trade fairs;
• guidance on how to handle the use of client names and references;
• improving the accessibility of templates, images, and PowerPoint presentations in the corporate style.

PhD in Photonic Pigments from Cellulose Nanocrystals

Do you have a passion for nanomaterials, colloidal self-assembly, and sustainable functional materials? Are you excited about designing new photonic materials from renewable resources and understanding how nanoscale structures and modifications can control the formation of spherical photonic materials and their optical properties? This PhD position may be for you!

In this project, you will investigate how modified cellulose nanocrystals self-assemble into structurally colored materials under spherical confinement. The aim is to create robust and water-resistant photonic pigments based on renewable nanomaterials that can replace conventional synthetic dyes and pigments used in paints, coatings, and inks.

The project will focus on controlling the self-assembly behavior of cellulose nanocrystals and stabilizing their chiral nematic structures through photo-crosslinking chemistry. You will explore how chemical functionalization influences colloidal stability, liquid crystal formation, and the development of structural color. In addition, the project will investigate the incorporation of metallic nanoparticles to produce multifunctional hybrid photonic materials with enhanced optical and luminescent properties.

This interdisciplinary PhD project is jointly hosted by the chair groups Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter (PCC) and the BioNanoTechnology (BNT) at Wageningen University & Research. The project combines expertise in soft matter physics, colloidal chemistry, modification of renewable nanomaterials, and photochemical synthetic reactions to develop a new class of sustainable photonic pigments.

Structural color arises from nanoscale organization rather than chemical dyes. In materials based on cellulose nanocrystals, self-assembly into chiral nematic structures selectively reflects visible light, producing vibrant colors without molecular pigments. However, these structures are typically fragile and sensitive to moisture, limiting their practical applications. In this project, you will develop strategies to stabilize these photonic structures through chemical modification and photo-crosslinking. Furthermore, you will study how spherical confinement — achieved through emulsion or microfluidic methods — influences the self-assembly process and enables the formation of photonic pigment particles that can be dispersed like conventional pigments. By combining structural color with luminescent nanoparticles, the project also aims to produce multifunctional pigments that are robust, sustainable, and suitable for applications such as coatings, security inks, sensors, and decorative materials.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Modify cellulose nanocrystals with photo-crosslinkable groups and study their effects on colloidal stability, liquid-crystal formation, and self-assembly into chiral nematic structures.
• Elucidate the formation of spherical photonic materials using emulsion-based methods and/or microfluidics, evaluating the effect of photo-crosslinking on the mechanical stability and moisture resistance of the materials.
• Synthesize metallic or luminescent nanoparticles to incorporate them in spherical cellulose materials to create multifunctional photonic pigments.
• Characterize the materials regarding their chemistry, nanostructure, and optical properties using advanced microscopy and spectroscopy techniques;
• Collaborate with researchers from both chair groups to integrate knowledge from nanomaterials chemistry and soft matter physics; supervise BSc and MSc students and contribute to teaching activities in BNT and PCC courses.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the chair Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter https://www.wur.nl/en/chair-groups/biomolecular-sciences/physical-chemistry-and-soft-matter and BioNanoTechnology (https://www.wur.nl/en/chair-groups/biomolecular-sciences/bionanotechnology), and is part of the Biobased Solutions team (https://www.biosolutionsteam.com). You will be co-supervised by Joice Kaschuk (PCC) and Anton Bunschoten (BNT).