Paolo Benettin

UNIL (University of Lausanne) is advertising a fully funded PhD position in Experimental Soil Hydrogeochemistry within the Hydrology group at the Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics (IDYST) . The project is supervised by Prof. Paolo Benettin and is based at the Lausanne Mouline (Géopolis building) campus in Switzerland. The research focuses on how vegetation regulates soil water fluxes and geochemical reactions , especially during dry periods and drought. The PhD candidate will work at the UNIL Ecotron facility, using a programmable climate chamber, soil columns, sensors, tracer experiments, laboratory analyses, and hydrogeochemical modelling. This is a strong fit for students interested in hydrology, soil geochemistry, environmental science, biogeochemistry, experimental ecology, and ecosystem science . The position is 100% activity rate , with 80% dedicated to the doctoral thesis and 20% to teaching assistant/support duties . The contract starts around 01.01.2027 (to be agreed), initially for 1 year and extendable up to 4 years. Funding includes an annual salary of CHF 55,000 , plus personal research equipment and research-related travel support. Applicants should have a background in Environmental Science, Soil Science/Physics, Biogeochemistry, Experimental Ecology, Hydrology, Civil/Environmental Engineering, or a closely related field. Experience with experimental work is expected, such as sensor deployment, soil/water/vegetation sampling, or lab analyses. Strong quantitative skills in R or Python are required, and good written/spoken English is essential; French is helpful but not required. The deadline is 2026-09-30 . Applications must be submitted only through the UNIL website and should include a motivation letter, CV, degree certificates and transcripts, one first-author research report, and at least two references with affiliations and emails.