Munich, Germany: PhD position in Vertebrate Palaeontology and Macroevolution

Munich, Germany: PhD position in Vertebrate Palaeontology and Macroevolution, GeoBio-Center of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU)
We invite applications for a PhD position within the GeoBio-Center of
the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), Munich. The successful
student will join a new independent junior research group funded by
the Emmy Noether Programme of the German Research Foundation (DFG).
The research group will be led by Dr. Richard Butler, and will focus
on the systematics and macroevolutionary patterns of the initial
evolutionary radiation of archosauromorphs (archosaurs and closely
related reptiles) in the early Mesozoic.
The PhD project will be funded for three years beginning December
2011, with extensive travel funding available for visits to
palaeontological collections worldwide and attendance of international
conferences and courses. The successful student will gain skills in
quantitative analysis of macroevolutionary and biogeographical
patterns, phylogenetics, comparative anatomy, taxonomy, and modern
imaging and databasing techniques (e.g. CT scanning, Morphobank,
Paleobiology Database). Further details of the topic of the PhD
research are available on request from Richard Butler
(r.butler@lrz.uni-muenchen.de).
Requirements: The ideal candidate will be highly motivated with an
excellent academic record and will possess a strong background in
palaeontology or zoology, with prior experience or knowledge of
vertebrate anatomy and diversity as well as modern approaches to
systematics and taxonomy highly desirable. Strong quantitative skills,
experience with analysis of macroevolutionary analysis such as body
size evolution or diversity patterns, and knowledge of specialist
software (e.g. R, Mesquite, TNT) would be advantageous. Students
should hold a Master's degree or equivalent by the beginning of the
PhD program. Excellent written and spoken English is required. German
language skills are beneficial but not essential because the language
of the workgroup will be English (however, funding will be available
for the successful student to attend German language classes if
required).
Application: Applications should include: (1) a detailed curriculum
vitae; (2) a covering letter summarising their experience, motivation
and goals in applying for the project; (3) supporting letters from two
or three academic advisors/referees. Applications should be sent to
Richard Butler (r.butler@lrz.uni-muenchen.de) and Frau Monica
Brinkrolf (m.brinkrolf@lrz.uni-muenchen.de) by Friday 7th October
2011.
Further details are available at http://tinyurl.com/3murthb.
Dr. Richard J. Butler
GeoBio-Center, Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU)
Richard-Wagner-Str. 10
80333 Munich, Germany
mailto:butler.richard.j@gmail.com
r.butler@lrz.uni-muenchen.de
https://sites.google.com/site/richardbutlerpalaeontologist/
butler.richard.j@googlemail.com