Automated recognition of alpine mass movements integrating remote sensing, geomorphology and artificial intelligence

We are offering a fully-funded, 18-month research fellowship at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences of the University of Milano–Bicocca (www.disat.unimib.it).

We seek a talented and motivated candidate to work in the framework of the project MIRAGE (Mass movement Investigation and prediction through geomorphology, Remote sensing and Artificial intelligence), funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research.

The project will develop libraries of deformation signals, obtained through radar interferometry, to tune deep-learning models aimed at automatically map mass movements over wide areas of the Alps, and support their characterization in geohazard perspective.

The ideal candidate has a geomorphological, engineering geological or geophysical background, and is motivated to work within a multidisciplinary team. Experiences in InSAR processing and mass movement mapping are particularly appreciated.

The research fellow will:  generate radar interferograms from satellite images using DInSAR technique;  interpret deformation signals characteristic of mass movements of different type and activity through geomorphological techniques, supported by diverse remote sensing and field data;  support the construction of Deep Learning models;  disseminate results by participating in international conferences and publishing papers in high-impact journals.

The research will be carried out in close cooperation with partner researchers of CNR-IMATI at Genova (Italy) and University of Bologna, and other international collaborators.

The fellowship will start in February 2024, the official call for application will be issued in December 2023.

Please contact  federico.agliardi@unimib.it  for any questions related to scientific and salary aspects.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/research-fellowship-unimib-automated-recognition-alpine-agliardi

University Assistant Position at the Chair of Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Recovery

One vacant position for a full-time University Assistant (m/f/d) at the Chair of Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Recovery, in the Department Petroleum Engineering at the earliest possible date in a 4-year term of employment. Salary Group B1 according to the Uni-KV, monthly minimum salary excl. Szlg.: € 3.277,30 for 40 hours per week (14 x per year), actual classification is according to previous relevant experience.

Description:

Energy and environmental aspects of geoscience remain the greatest challenges that our society will face in the coming decades. To provide a numerical tool for energy transition (e.g. underground energy storage) and environmental protection (e.g. sub-surface integrity), we develop an open-source finite element code that enables us to simulate multi-physical processes in sub-surface such as fluid and heat transport, rock deformation and failure, and reactive transport. We are looking for a person who will further advance the method with either of the following topics:

  • crack propagation in porous materials
  • multi-phase/multi-component flow
  • multi-scale modeling

Requirements:

  • Engineering degree in one of the listed fields: Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Physics, Computational Science
  • Familiarity with numerical methods for solving PDE systems

Desired qualifications:

  • Good communication skills in English and team working capabilities
  • Experience in object oriented programming

And the link to the application website:

https://napps2.unileoben.ac.at/napps/public/mbl.nsf/13db8d6a0d8d1372c1256dac0053f561/f24aebd52ca05a62c1258a3e0056177a/$FILE/MBL%20042324%20-%20Stellenausschreibung_EN.pdf

Opening of Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS)

Applications for the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS) through City University of Hong Kong from 1 September 2023 – 1 December 2023 are invited. Established by the Research Grants Council (RGC) since 2009, the HKPFS aims to recruit talented students from around the world to undertake PhD studies in Hong Kong.
Each fellowship recipient will receive the following for THREE years:

  • A yearly stipend of HK$331,200 (approximately US$42,460); and
  • A conference and research-related travel allowance of HK$13,800
    (approximately US$1,760) per year

In addition, CityU will award each successful Fellowship recipient a Scholarship, which covers students’ tuition and on-campus hostel accommodation fees in their first year of research studies and provide a full stipend to support the fourth year of PhD study. Various types of financial support will be provided to eligible students to undertake research related activities and to attend international academic conferences.

More information of HKPFS can be found in the attached e-flyer.

Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Prof. Jeff Wang (jefwang@cityu.edu.hk) to start the application.
https://scholars.cityu.edu.hk/en/persons/jianfeng-jeff-wang(f8581622-5e2b-4d3f-a2a9-9c88810fbea4).html

  • Successful applicants may choose their research topics from (but not limited to) the following list:
  • Development of novel feature-aided digital volumetric correlation (DVC) methods for fine-grained soil mixtures
  • X-ray microtomography study of geomaterials
  • Microtomography-based numerical simulation of soils
  • Data-driven constitutive modelling of geomaterials
  • Machine learning in geotechnics
  • Coupled CFD-DEM simulation
  • Simulation of multiphase flows in porous media
  • Discrete fracture network (DFN) modeling of jointed rock masses

The successful candidate will be co-supervised by Prof. Cino Viggiani (cino.viggiani@3sr-grenoble.fr) from Laboratoire 3SR.

1 Postdoc and 1 Ph.D. student positions are open at University College Cork, Ireland

Postdoc in geothermal infrastructure

The Postdoc will work on a large-scale EU geothermal infrastructure project “ ‘LEG-DHC’ – Large-scale climate neutral Energy Geostructures in District Heating & Cooling systems/networks” in a consortium of 15 partners, with a balanced participation of Universities and public institutions (8 partners) and private companies (7 partners).

The candidate should have a PhD degree in Civil / Geotechnical / Geological / Energy Engineering. Experience in deep / shallow geothermal energy, district heating, energy management would be an advantage.

https://my.corehr.com/pls/uccrecruit/erq_search_package.search_form?p_company=5023&p_internal_external=E#

Reference number: 071092                       Closing Date: 5th October 2023

PhD in novel monitoring and AI for large-scale geo-infrastructure

The PhD will develop and improve a novel tool (drone, robotics and image-based defect assessment) for geo-infrastructure monitoring in collaboration with Cambridge University, UC Berkeley, Tyndall and industrial partners. The developed novel monitoring tools will be applied to 2-4 ageing & prospective underground infrastructures in a large scale to gather more comprehensive monitoring big data than previously available at lower cost.

Candidate Experience: The candidate should have a minimum 2.1 in an honours Bachelor’s degree in Civil / Mechanical Engineering, or an equivalent standard from an overseas university. All applicants whose first language are not English must meet UCC English language entry requirement (e.g., IELTS or TOEFL).

Application: Please e-mail a CV (max. 2 pages) and a cover letter outlining your experience and motivation to Dr. Zili Li (zili.li@ucc.ie) as soon as possible. http://www.zililigroup.com/

Researcher/PhD position at the University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

call is open to award one researcher/PhD student grant within the I&D Project INTENT – Intelligent health monitoring of road infrastructures using bender elements embedded in pavements, reference 2022.06879.PTDC, funded by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT). The recipient is expected to conduct research in the field of Civil Engineering/Geomechanics at the University of Minho, in Guimarães, Portugal.

The grant holder will work at the ISISE Research Centre, University of Minho, to develop, test and produce Bender Elements (BE) sensors taking into account a set of specifications defined in a previous Task of the project. Subsequently, these sensors will be delivered and installed for field tests aimed at the continuous monitoring of road granular layers.

Job:  Research grant for MSc graduates, with an option to undertake a PhD

Research field: Civil Engineering/Geomechanics

Stating date: October, 2023

Application deadline: October, 9, 2023

More information on this link.

Postdoc and Ph.D. Student Positions – Climate-Resilient and Equitable Infrastructure – Tufts University

Multiple Postdoc and Ph.D. student positions are open at Tufts University in the Greater Boston Area in the United States. The selected candidates will work with a multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers at Tufts in collaboration with other universities to contribute to the ongoing studies focusing on “Climate-Resilient and Equitable Infrastructure”. Ideal candidates will have a strong academic background and research experience in a related disciplinary field within civil engineering (e.g., geotechnical, structural engineering) or related geoscience fields. Further, experience and interest in multidisciplinary research projects, including engineering and social science dimensions, are strongly preferred. Experience with modeling tools, geospatial analysis, remote sensing, and AI/ML is also strongly preferred.

Applicants must send their application documents (cover letter, CV, and names and contact info for three references) via email (farshid.vahedifard@tufts.edu). Review of applications will start immediately and continue until October 31, 2023.

Postdoctoral position open at Centrale Nantes in experimental and numerical characterization of shear cracks along rough interfaces

A postdoctoral position is open at Centrale Nantes, within the Research Institute in Civil and Mechanical Engineering (GeM) https://gem.ec-nantes.fr. The position comes in the context of the NExT project: ”Understanding failure of frictional interfaces”. Understanding the behavior of dynamic shear cracks and friction evolution is relevant for a wide range of problems in different fields, such as fiber pull-out in the failure of composite materials, bimaterial structures and adhesive joints produced using advanced manufacturing techniques for automotive, electronics and biology applications. Shear ruptures are also relevant to the study of earthquakes occurring as ruptures along faults in the Earth’s crust. Interface roughness controls rupture behavior along interfaces, and it influences a broad class of rupture mechanics issues including dynamic propagation, which results in catastrophic failure.

The postdoctoral position focuses on investigating the role of roughness on shear crack propagation and friction evolution using a combined experimental and numerical approach. This project will enhance our understanding of fundamental physical processes governing failure of materials and interfaces. It will also entail the advancement of experimental and computational mechanics techniques.

The postdoctoral scholar will be supervised in conjunction by Vito Rubino https://www.ec-nantes.fr/m-vito-rubino and Ioannis Stefanou http://coquake.eu/index.php/group. The position is fully funded for 12 months (and can be extended up to 18 months) under the NExT Junior Talent program. Highly‐motivated candidates with the required skills should submit an application (including a CV, cover letter describing interests and qualifications related to the project, and contact details of two references) to Dr. Vito Rubino at vito.rubino@ec-nantes.fr.

More information on this pdf file or on this website.

Postdoctoral position at KULeuven on offshore wind turbines foundations

In the framework of the research project “Soil ageing around offshore wind turbine foundations – from operational response to decommissioning” (SAGE-SAND), we are looking for a motivated and computational mechanics-oriented postdoctoral researcher with an interest in advanced numerical modeling to realistically predict pile drivability and extractability.

This postdoctoral position is part of the research project “Soil ageing around offshore wind turbine foundations – from operational response to decommissioning” (SAGE-SAND) that is co-supervised by different academic partners (KULeuven, UCLouvain, ULiège). The project focuses on foundations for Offshore Wind Turbines (OWT), which are characterized by large installation costs and environmental impact.  In order to improve both of these aspects, the project investigates the evolution during multiple years of soils’ mechanical properties, i.e. soil ageing, and the alternative use of vibratory driving for installation and decommissioning of offshore (mono)piles. Unique full-scale tests with extensive monitoring, advanced laboratory tests, and numerical modeling at multiple spatial scales will provide guidelines for future design. The project has a duration of 3 years and includes large scale in-situ pile tests and monitoring, advanced micromechanical characterization and testing (SEM, X-ray microtomography,…), micromechanical modelling (discrete element method, phase field modelling,…), and nonlinear dynamic modelling of the pile-soil system at the macroscale.

The postdoctoral position focuses on advanced numerical modeling of pile installation and extraction at the macro-scale, accounting for the liquefaction behavior of the soil to realistically predict pile drivability and extractability. The soil-pile system is modeled by means of the Material Point Method (MPM), accounting for dynamic soil-structure interaction and the presence of pore water.

For more information please contact Stijn François (stijn.francois@kuleuven.be) or Hadrien Rattez (UCLouvain, hadrien.rattez@uclouvain.be).

You can apply for this job online no later than October 18, 2023

More information on the application procedure is available on this website: https://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/jobs/60258491

Research engineer Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical-Chemical (THMC) processes in geomaterials

To test the safety and feasibility of geological disposal of radioactive waste in deep clay layers under real conditions, SCK CEN started in 1980 with the construction of a laboratory at 225 meters below ground level (HADES). Here, engineers test the safety and feasibility for building and operation of the waste repository: How can we build tunnels and side tunnels? Scientists perform research into the thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical characteristics of clay and the interaction between the radioactive waste and the surrounding engineered barriers and host clay. How will the clay behave after excavation of the tunnels and the disposal of the waste? What is the impact of the heat-emitting waste on the clay formation? How can we study the stability of the galleries? Apply now for this job offer, and help us answering these questions.. 

More information on that website. Deadline : 17/09/2023