Prof. Olivier Buzzi and Dr. Jubert Pineda (from the Priority Research Centre for Geotechnical Science and Engineering of the University of Newcastle, Australia), Prof. Mark Jaksa (University of Adelaide, Australia) and A/Prof Marti Lloret Cabot (Durham University, UK), are seeking for a highly motivated student to undertake a PhD research on the volumetric response of unsaturated expansive soils. Such soils cause billions of structural damage every year worldwide, including in Europe and Australia, and remain a challenge for researchers and geotechnical practitioners. The response of the expansive soils will be investigated via a series of deformation tests under suction-controlled conditions with measurement of microstructure evolution. The data will be used to establish a simple yet robust constitutive framework that can predict the response of expansive soils upon loading and hydraulic actions.

The laboratory in which the research will take place is state-of-the-art and includes several advanced laboratory techniques to impose and measure suction. The scholarship is worth $32,000 per annum, tax free, for a duration of 3.5 years. In addition, the student will receive $1,500 of relocation support and $1500 per annum for their research project. Newcastle is located 160 km north of Sydney and it is a great location with vibrant life and great beaches.

The start date for the PhD can be discussed but it needs to start in 2023.  

Please contact Olivier Buzzi for information or to express your interest: Olivier.Buzzi@newcastle.edu.au 

This 4-year PhD project at the University of Strathclyde is funded by UK Research Waste Management Research Support Office (RWM RSO) and aims to provide an experimental characterization on the hydromechanical behaviour of compacted bentonite when wetted with high salinity water.

Bentonite is currently proposed as a backfill material for high heat generating wastes and fuels. It is also proposed as a seal material for access ways (shafts/drifts/tunnels) and investigation boreholes.

The PhD candidate will explore, at the micro and meso scales, the impact of salinity on key physical properties of bentonite (e.g. swelling pressure and hydraulic conductivity) and the fundamental mechanisms underlying these processes. The research will mainly be experimentally-based and the PhD candidate will make use of the geomechanics laboratory (https://www.strath.ac.uk/engineering/civilenvironmentalengineering/ourfacilities/geomechanicslaboratories/) and of state of the art technologies for the investigation of the clay microstructure including X-Ray Computed Tomography, Environmental Scanning Microscopy, and Mercury Intrusion Porosimeter (https://www.strath.ac.uk/research/advancedmaterialsresearchlaboratory/ ).

The PhD candidate will be supervised by Dr Matteo Pedrotti and Prof Rebecca Lunn at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK.

Applicants will have a relevant bachelors or master’s degree, examples include civil engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Physics. As part of the research, the applicant will be expected to participate in relevant national and international conferences, meet with the industrial/university partners and to develop journal papers within the research field.

How to apply:

Please contact matteo.pedrotti@strath.ac.uk

University of Strathclyde website: https://www.strath.ac.uk/studywithus/postgraduateresearchphdopportunities/?subject=Civil%20and%20environmental%20engineering

Findaphd.com:  https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/experimental-characterisation-of-bentonite-hydromechanical-behaviour-in-high-salinity-environment/?p155220

A position as Associate professor in Risk management, design principles, and life-cycle assessment  is opened at Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (KTH), Sweden. To apply or for more information: 

https://kth.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:459497/where:4/

A PhD on “Helical pile: physical and numerical modeling for marine geotechnical applications” is now open in Université Gustave Eiffel – Campus de Nantes (ex IFSTTAR), at the centrifuge team – lab-CG. A short stay (4 weeks) in Brazil is also planned for the Ph.D candidate within the framework of this thesis, according to the work progress and experimental plans in connection with the University of Sao Paulo.

More information in the following link: https://www.ifsttar.fr/offres-theses/sujet.php?num=3677&num_session=2&ver=an

The Geotechnical Centrifuges laboratory of the Université Gustave Eiffel at Nantes (France) is searching for a new researcher in Geotechnical Engineering.  

The lab is looking for an exceptional individual to develop a significant independent research program as well as pursue synergistic collaborative research in geotechnical engineering related to physical modelling in centifuge and also to numerical modelling. Please see the attached description for more details regarding this position. 

Application will open on February 13, 2023 until March 17, 2023 on this link : 

https://www.concours.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/charge-e-de-recherche-du-developpement-durable-de-a126.html

Contact : matthieu.blanc@univ-eiffel.fr

We are offering a fully founded 3 years PhD-position in the field of numerical and experimental soil mechanics (Barbara Schneider-Muntau) at the University of Innsbruck starting in March/April 2023. We are looking forward to applications of motivated people to strengthen our team. Please apply until 21. February 2023 under: https://lfuonline.uibk.ac.at/public/karriereportal.details?asg_id_in=13272

A postdoc position is open in the Soil MicroMechanics group at the University of Twente (Netherlands) on the topic “Bio-inspired burrowing robot for soil penetration in limited-access sites”. 

The project involves the design, instrumentation and realization of a prototype probe for underground inspection and soil characterization.

The postdoc will work in a multidisciplinary team, in close contact with experts in the sector of soft robotics. He/She will closely collaborate with another postdoc on the geotechnical and geomechanics aspects of the project.

Applications are expected before 15 March 2023. For more and information and application, please follow the link 

https://utwentecareers.nl/en/vacancies/1043/postdoctoral-fellow-position-bio-inspired-burrowing-robot-for-soil-penetration-in-limited-access-sites/

“EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE AND SATURATION ON THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF CALLOVO-OXFORDIAN CLAYSTONE”

Applications are invited for a fully-funded three-year PhD to commence in October 2023.
The PhD will be based in the Faculty of Science and Health at University of Portsmouth, and will be supervised by Dr Arash Azizi, Dr Nick Koor and Dr Philip Benson. The project will be carried out in collaboration with University of Durham (Led by Prof. David Toll, up to 1 year placement) and Ramboll (up to 6 months placement).

More information on this pdf file and on the website: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/the-effects-of-climate-change-on-the-performance-of-geo-infrastructure-under-cyclic-loading/?p153888

A 1-year post-doc position is available at Politecnico di Milano, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, on Molecular Dynamics simulations of superlubric granular particles.

The position is part of the project “SSLiP: Scaling-up SuperLubricity into Persistence” funded by an HORIZON-EIC-2021 Pathfinder-Open Grant. The project aims at studying the advanced lubricant properties of particular granular materials to establish a radically new way to drastically reduce friction.

A full description and information how to apply is given in the attached pdf and at https://www.polimi.it/en/faculty/working-at-the-politecnico/research-grants/a-r-default-2866a654d2

Candidates must hold a PhD degree in one of these disciplines: Computational Mechanics, Mechanical/Mathematical/Civil Engineering, Granular Physics, Computer science, Tribology or similar fields.

A background in computational mechanics, especially on molecular dynamics simulations, and in data processing is preferential.

For any additional information, see the attached pdf or please write a message to: diego.berzi@polimi.it or dalila.vescovi@polimi.it

Project starting date: April 1st, 2023

Net salary per month: ~EUR 2,000

Supervision: Prof. Diego Berzi, Dr. Dalila Vescovi

Application deadline: February 21st, 2023