Happy New Year 2023

Dear ALERT community,

On behalf of the ALERT Bureau and the Board of directors, we would like to wish you a Happy New Year 2023.

This year, two new members joined us (https://alertgeomaterials.eu/alert-geomaterials/members/), and the annual meeting in Aussois was a great success, with more than 200 participants at the Center Paul Langevin. We can only hope to keep the same trend this year.

We wish you all the best for 2023, may it bring peace, health and joy to you and your loved ones.

See you all in Aussois,
Arthur and Frédéric.

PhD open position at EPFL

The Laboratory of Soil Mechanics (LMS) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, EPFL, Lausanne, is seeking a Ph.D. student to support the development of innovative tools for designing geotechnical engineered barriers for the isolation of waste from the environment. The focus of the project concerns both nuclear waste and municipal waste barriers.

More information on this flyer.

Please send an email with the subject line “Ph.D. application – SNSF project” including your motivation letter and your CV to recruitment.lms@epfl.ch and angelica.tuttolomondo@epfl.ch.
Applications will be evaluated as soon as received.

Deux demi-journées en l’honneur de Jacques Desrues et Denis Caillerie

*ENGLISH BELOW*

La direction du Laboratoire 3SR, aidée par Pierre Bésuelle et Cino Viggiani, vous invite à participer à deux demi-journées (26 et 27 Janvier 2023) en l’honneur de Jacques Desrues et de Denis Caillerie. Ces deux demi-journées auront lieu dans l’amphithéâtre du Laboratoire LEGI.

Plus d’informations sont disponibles sur le flyer.

À l’exception de l’exposé de Claudio Tamagnini, cet événement sera entièrement en Français. Il sera également possible d’assister à ces présentations en visioconférence. Ceux qui le souhaitent, peuvent contacter Pierre Bésuelle (pierre.besuelle@3sr-grenoble.fr) et/ou Cino Viggiani (cino.viggiani@3sr-grenoble.fr) pour obtenir le lien zoom.

*ENGLISH*

The management of the 3SR Laboratory, assisted by Pierre Bésuelle and Cino Viggiani, invites you to participate in two half-days (26 and 27 January 2023) in honour of Jacques Desrues and Denis Caillerie. These two half-days will take place in the amphitheatre of Laboratoire LEGI.

More information is available on the flyer.

With the exception of Claudio Tamagnini’s presentation, this event will be entirely in French. It will also be possible to attend these presentations by videoconference. Those who wish to do so can contact Pierre Bésuelle (pierre.besuelle@3sr-grenoble.fr) and/or Cino Viggiani (cino.viggiani@3sr-grenoble.fr) to obtain the zoom link.

Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Geotechnical & Geosystems Engineering at EPFL

The EPFL School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC) invites applications for an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) of Geotechnical & Geosystems Engineering in the Institute of Civil Engineering.

Topics of interest cover fundamental research in mechanics of geomaterials and applications to sustainable design of geosystems and geotechnical structures. The use and development of novel experimental and/or theoretical methods is expected to advance understanding of the behaviour of soil-structure interactions, granular systems as well as vulnerability assessment of slope instabilities, among others.

The successful candidate will have a strong research background in Geotechnical Engineering and Soil Mechanics as well as the potential to develop an innovative and internationally recognized research program leading to an outstanding record of scientific accomplishments. 

EPFL, with its main campus located in Lausanne, on the shores of Lake Geneva, is a dynamically growing and well-funded institution fostering excellence and diversity. It is well equipped with experimental and computational infrastructure and offers a fertile environment for research collaboration between various disciplines. The EPFL environment is multilingual and multicultural, with English serving as a common interface. EPFL offers significant start-up resources and internationally competitive salaries and benefits, as well as excellent experimental and computational facilities.

More information, and details on how to apply can be found online at https://www.epfl.ch/about/working/faculty-position-in-geotechnical-geosystems-engineering/ 

12th International Conference on Geosynthetics

With great pleasure and honour the Italian Geotechnical Society (AGI) and the Italian Chapter of IGS (AGI-IGS) invite you to attend the 12th International Conference on Geosynthetics, which will be held in Roma, Italy, on September 2023.

Hence the 12ICG intends to become the base for the next step therefore the conference theme will be: Geosynthetics, Leading the Way to a Resilient Planet

More information on this flyer.

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER POSITION IN THE MODELLING OF COMPLEX PROCESSES IN GEO-ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

2-year position in the newly formed Westlake University in Hangzhou China. Competitive salary ranges from 300k to 400k RMB per year, depending on experience, as well as relocation expenses and housing benefits. The project is focused on creating advanced modeling techniques combining different physics layers, such as fluids, soils, and solids. Researchers with PhD in Mathematics, Physics, Civil or Mechanical Engineering, or related fields are welcome to apply. Experience in computational methods such as Discrete Element Method, Lattice Boltzmann Method, Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics, Particle Finite Element Method, Material Point Method, and related methods is also highly desirable. We are also interested in persons with experience in Machine Learning applied to these problems.

Responsibilities will involve conducting independent research in the aforementioned areas, supervising Ph.D. students on related topics, and support in the formulation of research proposals. Excellent candidates will also enjoy support to apply for merit-based research fellowships offered in China.

For information on our research group, please visit our website  https://m3.westlake.edu.cn/

Westlake is a newly formed university with great support from the local government as well as the private sector. For more information about it please visit its website https://en.westlake.edu.cn/

For further information please send an email to A/Prof Galindo Torres s.torres@westlake.edu.cn.

Eighteen month post doctoral position at Université Gustave Eiffel

Project Title: centrifuge modelling of geotechnical structures made with cement modified soils (CMS)

The overall aim of the project is to develop the use of CMS as construction materials for geotechnical structures. The post doctoral research fellow will sepcifically study the mechanical behaviour of geotechnical structures made with cement modified soils using centrifuge test on small-scale models.

More information on the website: https://mit.univ-gustave-eiffel.fr/toute-lactualite/actualites-details/offre-post-doc-modelisations-en-centrifugeuse-de-structures-geotechniques-faites-en-sols-traites-au-ciment or on this pdf file.

PhD Position at University of Portsmouth (UK)

Engineering solutions for deep geological disposal of radioactive waste requires a
challenging combination of knowledge: on one hand, how structures such as tunnels and
caverns within a rock mass modify the local/regional stress state, and on the other hand,
how these structures respond to in-situ stresses over century to millennium timescales. In
all cases, pre-existing discontinuities (faults, fractures, interbedding and joints) and complex
lithology (e.g. clay-rich zones and/or mudstone-halite interbeds) may significantly modify
these responses which in turn are again modified by the presence of fluids and/or
temperature.

Applications are invited for a fully-funded (3 years, 8 months) PhD to commence in 1st February 2023, hosted in the Rock Mechanics Laboratory, School of Environment, Geosciences & Geography at the University of Portsmouth.

More information in the pdf file or on this website.

Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Geotechnical Engineering at Aalto University

Aalto University School of Engineering invites applications for TENURE TRACK ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING.

The call is targeted to ambitious individuals seeking a full-time Assistant Professor position in the Aalto University tenure track system: https://www.aalto.fi/en/tenure-track/tenure-track-career-path.

The vacancy is open at the Department of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, Aalto University: http://civileng.aalto.fi/en/. The department has 18 professors supported by lecturers, post-doctoral researchers, doctoral students and technical staff. In total, the number of personnel is about 120. The department and school have well-equipped research infrastructures and access to national scientific computing services. Furthermore, the department and school are located at the Aalto University campus in Otaniemi, Espoo, where several other research institutions and organizations have laboratories and offices.

More information on the website: https://www.aalto.fi/en/open-positions/tenure-track-assistant-professor-geotechnical-engineering