Researcher in plant Sciences / Controlled environment agriculture
Deadline: 01.10.2025
Publisert
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Research Position at NMBU – Contribute to Sustainable Food Production in Vertical Farming!
About the position
The Department of Plant Science (IPV), Faculty of Biosciences at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) has a vacant two-year researcher position related to plant sciences/controlled environment agriculture.
The researcher will be connected to the FlexiFarm project: “Flexible Farming Solutions to Minimize Energy Expenditure and Create New Revenue Streams in Vertical Farming”, which is a collaboration between NMBU, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Applied Research, Technology and Innovation (SINTEF), and vertical farms in Norway.
The project aims to understand the energy flexibility of vertical farms (VFs) by modeling how fluctuating lighting and temperature affect productivity. By integrating this knowledge with various energy markets such as spot, flexibility, and balancing markets, VFs can drastically reduce their energy costs, though this is only viable if crop yield is not affected by fluctuating conditions.
The research will focus on growth experiments with selected plant species in controlled environment chambers and involve growth analysis, stress detection, and modeling of plant growth under different light and temperature regimes. Results from plant experiments will be used to model the energy flexibility of VFs (in collaboration with researchers at NTNU/SINTEF).
As photosynthesis is such a crucial factor underlying crop yield in both open and closed production systems, understanding photosynthetic responses and acclimation to fluctuating conditions is essential. The researcher will be involved in exploring how leafy green crop species acclimate their photosynthetic processes to dynamic environmental conditions, with a focus on light and temperature fluctuations.
The position will be part of a growing working group connected to photobiology and production physiology research at IPV.
Main tasks
Conduct growth experiments with selected plant species/cultivars in controlled environment chambers
Establish standard experimental protocols including irradiance, light quality, temperature regimes, nutrient solutions, growing system parameters, relative humidity, and CO₂ levels
Identify cultivars of lettuce/leafy greens with high tolerance to light fluctuations
Carry out growth analysis and plant modeling
Perform photosynthetic phenotyping of plants grown under steady-state and fluctuating light conditions
Map temperature-dependent development of photosynthetic phenotypes and identify photoacclimation components in different species and genotypes through NPQ analysis
Competence
Required qualifications
PhD equivalent to a Norwegian PhD, or a master’s degree in plant physiology, plant science, plant biology, general biology, or similar fields
The master’s degree must correspond to a five-year master’s degree or a cand.med.vet. degree, with learning outcomes corresponding to the Norwegian Qualification Framework, second cycle
Documented strong academic background relevant to the position
Proficiency in both written and oral English
Documented expertise and interest in the research subject
Qualifications considered an advantage
Previous experience in controlled environment research with plants/controlled environment agriculture
Previous experience in growth analysis and plant modeling
Good computational skills and a working knowledge of programming in R or other relevant software
Significant contribution to scientific publications
Documented skills in public communication
Good problem-solving capability and critical thinking
Personal qualities
Be genuinely interested in research
Have an interest in photosynthesis and its related processes
Be willing to work both independently and as part of a team
Bring your own creativity to the project
Remuneration and further information
The position is placed in position code 1108 Researcher (NOK 540 000-680 000) or position code 1109 Researcher (NOK 670 000-700 000) depending on qualifications. The position follows ordinary meriting regulations.
Interested in learning more about the position? We are happy to tell you more about life on campus.
Send application electronically via the link "Apply for this job" at the top of this page. This will route you to the University's Web Recruitment System, where you will need to register an account (if you have not already) and log in before completing the online application form.
Application Deadline: 01.10.2025
Your CV must be entered in Jobbnorge's CV form and not just included as an attachment. This is to be able to comply with the regulations in the Public Administration Act §15.
Documents that cannot be sent electronically are sent in triplicate by ordinary mail marked still.nr. 25/04531 to Norwegian University of Life Science, Faculty of Biosciences, P.O. Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, within October 1st, 2025.
The following must be included in the application:
Cover letter
CV
Copies of diplomas and other relevant certificates
Up to ten publications selected by the applicant as most relevant must be attached to the application. If it is difficult to identify the contribution of the applicant in multiple-author publications, a short explanation about the applicant’s part of the work is suggested.
Applicants who are invited to an interview must be able to present certified copies of diplomas and certificates.
Please note that the report from the expert committee will be sent to all applicants.
