PhD position in Granular Mechanics (Montpellier/Montreal)

We are inviting students to apply for a PhD position in Granular Mechanics in co-tutelle between the research group of Pr. Emilien Azéma at University of Montpellier (France) and Pr. Carlos Ovalle’s research group at Polytechnique Montreal (Canada). We are interested in failure strength of anisotropic geo-materials.

Please see the attached file for more information.

TUSAIL training network: 15 PhD positions in numerical modelling of industrial granular materials

The European Training Network TUSAIL (Training in Upscaling particle Systems: Advancing Industry across Length-scales) invites applications for 15 PhD positions. The duration of the appointment is 36 months, full-time employment contract, starting around September 2021.

TUSAIL is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Initial Training Network funded by Horizon 2020, which comprises 16 academic and industrial partners in total, led by the University of Edinburgh. Over the course of four years, from the beginning of the project in March 2021, TUSAIL will train 15 early-career researchers to meet industry’s requirements for highly skilled staff in the multi-disciplinary field of upscaling industrial particle processes. The reliable, validated simulation methodologies and tools developed in TUSAIL will be disseminated to industry, enabling quantitative predictions of large industrial processes which will be of value for design, operation, and optimisation.

If you are interested in doing a PhD with us, we invite you to take a look at the project descriptions and application procedure (see https://tusail.eu/projects/).

Online symposium on “Cement sheath integrity in oil & gas wells” – 24-26 March 2021

Dear colleagues,

We are delighted to announce an online symposium on “Cement sheath integrity in oil & gas wells, current challenges and future solutions” in the afternoons (European time) of March 24-26, 2021, co-organized by Ecole des Ponts ParisTech and LafargeHolcim.

Registration is free but mandatory by March 14, 2021, on the website of the symposium: https://well-cem-integ.sciencesconf.org/

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Four post-doc and five PhD positions in soil-structure interaction for tree stability

Project title: Engineering a safer urban forest under extreme storms

Brief description: The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUTS) is actively recruiting multiple post-doc and PhD positions for studying tree stability problems using geotechnical and structural engineering principles and research methods. We are looking for candidates who are interested in:
(1) Field testing of tree biomechanics and root anchorage;
(2) Centrifuge modelling of soil-root interaction;
(3) Numerical modelling of soil-root interaction;
(4) Wind tunnel modelling of wind-tree-soil-root interaction; and
(5) Analytical tree dynamic modelling for reliability-based analysis
Different positions require different skill sets; please see attached detailed job advert. for more information: JobAdvert-PhD and JobAdvert-PostDoc

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Three Assistant Professors in Earth Sciences at Utrecht University

The Department of Earth Sciences at Utrecht University is seeking outstanding candidates (f/m) to fill three tenure-track positions in Earth Sciences at the Assistant Professor level. We may consider a higher-level appointment for one of the positions. The department’s mission is to advance our understanding and prediction capability of processes that govern the evolution of System Earth from the molecular to the planetary and from the microsecond to the geological time scale. Our ambition is to be a world-leading centre of excellence in scientific research as well as research training and teaching, and to contribute in a meaningful way to the challenges of a modern, sustainable society by acquiring new and fundamental geo-scientific knowledge and by directly addressing societal challenges related to the field of earth sciences.

Within the context of this mission and ambition, we seek enthusiastic scientists and educators who are able to develop their own internationally recognised research line in any field within the Earth Sciences. We are especially interested in research complementary (in field and/or techniques) to that already conducted in our department with the exclusion of themes covered in our sister department of Physical Geography and the Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht.

See attachment for more information. You can also contact Prof Jack Middelburg, head of department, via j.b.m.middelburg@uu. nl.
You may also wish to visit our research pages at www.uu.nl/geo/aw.

The application deadline is March 15, 2021.

Advanced virtual course on “Modeling Granular Processes for Energy and Environment (GPE)”

Granular materials such as soils, powders and pharmaceutical products constitute the most abundant form of solid matter on Earth. Composed of a large number of grains interacting via frictional contacts and/or cohesive forces, they defy the standard scheme of classification in terms of solid, liquid, and gas. Their complex behavior has been at the focus of contemporary research in physics, mechanics, chemistry and geosciences. Today, the models and methods developed for two decades in this field represent a vast potential for application to technological and societal challenges related to energy, materials and environment.

The aim of this course is to provide a general introduction to both classical and modern concepts, models and methods developed for granular materials with a view of application to research issues in energy and environment. To bridge the gap between basic concepts and applications, several environmental granular processes and the related research issues are covered. As numerical simulations play a crucial role in modern research on granular processes, several methods will be introduced. Furthermore, an important part of the course will be focused on the multiscale modeling of granular materials from particle interactions and particle-scale inhomogeneities up to their collective and rheological behavior at the macroscopic scale.

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Fully Funded PhD Research Studentship on Machine learning to determine soil properties

Project Title: Machine learning to determine soil properties: a smartphone-based solution for stakeholders

PhD Studentship: This 3.5 years fully funded doctoral program is a collaboration between Abertay University and the James Hutton Institute. Abertay University is one of the fastest growing universities in the UK. In the latest Guardian University League Tables, Abertay University is ranked 8th in the UK in Civil Engineering among 60 institutes and 1st in Scotland. Abertay University has been named UK University of Year for Teaching Quality by The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021. The James Hutton Institute (based in Dundee and Aberdeen) is one of the largest environmental and agricultural research institutes in the UK, carrying out research in climate change, soil science, crop breeding, agronomy and many other topics.

Project Description: Soil properties, such as organic carbon, can be estimated using modern data mining and modelling approaches. The proposed approach will correlate soil colour with soil structure metrics extracted from images produced by smartphone and tablet cameras, as well as environmental factors. This approach was used as a foundation to develop a mobile phone app which measures Scottish soil organic carbon content. This research project aims to build on work done to date to develop a new machine learning model that enhances existing performance and functionality. Furthermore, the project proposes analysing the pH, bulk density, particle size distribution and permeability of the soil using images. Following development of the model, a new SolEst app will be developed and tested, which provides an environmentally-friendly and costless platform for land managers working in the construction and agriculture sectors to analyse these and other soil properties using their mobile phone. This interdisciplinary project merges geotechnical engineering, digital technology and artificial intelligence to introduce a cutting-edge method for soil analysis using widely available smartphone technology.

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Two Postdoctoral Positions in Computational Geomechanics at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University invites applications for two postdoctoral positions in Computational Geomechanics.

About PolyU Hong Kong: the Hong Kong Polytechnic University is ranked the third-best universities for Civil Engineering in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Global Universities Ranking 2021.

Available positions: There are currently two postdoctoral positions at PolyU Hong Kong funded by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the year 2021. The positions offer the possibility of working on multiscale multiphysics modelling of fluid-structure-soil interaction in offshore geotechnics.

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PostDoctoral position in multiphase flow and hydrodynamic transport in permeable media: experiments, data analysis, and simulations

The University of Barcelona (UB) and the Spanish National Research Council (IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona) invite applications for a postdoctoral position to study multiphase flow and hydrodynamic transport in permeable media. The position is part of the HydroPore project, a joint project between the IDAEA-CSIC, the UB and the Technical University of Madrid (UPM).

You will find more details on this project and conditions to apply in this attached file. You may apply for this position until February 14, 2021.

PhD Position in geo-environmental science and engineering

PhD position in the newly formed Westlake Institute for Advanced Study in Hangzhou China. Full scholarships available. The project is focused on creating advanced modelling techniques for the complex physics present in geoenvironmental problems. Excellent applicants coming from Mathematics, Physics, Civil or Mechanical Engineering, or related fields are welcome to apply. Experience in computational methods such as Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics, Particle Finite Element Method, Material Point Method and related methods is also highly desirable.

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

Information on the group research activities can be found in https://m3.westlake.edu.cn/ . To discuss the position, please contact Associate Professor Sergio Torres at s.torres@westlake.edu.cn

Instructions on the PhD program can be found in https://en.westlake.edu.cn/news_events/westlakenews/UniversityNews/202012/t20201217_7522.shtml