Kathleen Hermans

The postdoctoral researcher will join the TransMoP project, which examines how land degradation and climate change shape human mobility and staying in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan . Based at the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO) in Halle, the successful candidate will lead the project’s geospatial analyses and work at the intersection of remote sensing, environmental change, and migration-related research. The role focuses on assessing water stress , vegetation dynamics , and land degradation using long-term climate and Earth-observation datasets. The postdoc will handle data processing, time-series analysis, and spatial mapping, developing indicators and multidimensional approaches to understand changes in arid and degraded landscapes over time. The work is embedded in an international, interdisciplinary team with partners in Central Asia and researchers working on migration, livelihoods, and qualitative research. The position offers access to computational infrastructure and methodological expertise at IAMO, opportunities for research stays and field visits in Central Asia, support for conference participation and peer-reviewed publication, and integration into IAMO’s active research community. The role also includes opportunities for teaching and engagement in the academic environment at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg . The appointment is part of a broader research environment that connects IAMO’s work on Central Asia with regional partners and interdisciplinary collaboration across the institute and beyond.