We offer a 4-year PhD researcher position within the bilateral cooperation FWO research project “Mechanisms of rockmass instability in co-mining of deep mineral and geothermal energy considering spatio-temporal distribution of stress and temperature”, in collaboration with the Central South University (China).

The PhD researcher will develop the Bayesian Evidential Learning (BEL) framework in order to predict the temperature and mechanical stress fields using Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) coupled models constrained to direct (borehole) and indirect (passive and active seismic data) data under large geological uncertainty. The approach will be first developed with synthetic cases, then validated on a laboratory analog, and finally tested in real field conditions.

The PhD student will be based and enrolled at the Department of Geology at Ghent University, and several short research stays at TU Delft are planned. The PhD supervisors will be Prof. Thomas Hermans at Ghent University (UGent), Prof. Longjun Dong (CSU) and Prof. Anne-Catherine Dieudonné and Prof. Alexandros Daniilidis (TU Delft).

Tentative start date: 1 July 2022. The position is initially for one year, but it will be extended to a maximum of four years after positive evaluation. More information about PhD studies at Ghent University can be found here: https://www.ugent.be/en/research/doctoralresearch.

How to apply

Application to be submitted electronically in a single PDF file, by e-mail, to Prof. Thomas Hermans (thomas.hermans@ugent.be).
Application should include a CV, a motivation letter and an overview of study results (transcript of records), as well as the contact details of two reference persons.
All applications will be assessed after the deadline and shortlisted candidates will be contacted for a remote interview, which will likely take place in the second half of April.
If no candidate is selected, a new application round will be organized.

More information on this website.