PhD in civil engineering with a focus on bridge monitoring

3 Feb 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

University of Luxembourg

Research Field

Engineering » Civil engineering

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Luxembourg

Application Deadline

1 Mar 2024 - 09:13 (UTC)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

The University | About us...

The University of Luxembourg is an international research university with a distinctly multilingual and interdisciplinary character. The University was founded in 2003 and counts more than 6,700 students and more than 2,000 employees from around the world. The University's faculties and interdisciplinary centres focus on research in the areas of Computer Science and ICT Security, Materials Science, European and International Law, Finance and Financial Innovation, Education, Contemporary and Digital History. In addition, the University focuses on cross-disciplinary research in the areas of Data Modelling and Simulation as well as Health and System Biomedicine. Times Higher Education ranks the University of Luxembourg #3 worldwide for its "international outlook," #20 in the Young University Ranking 2021 and among the top 250 universities worldwide.

The Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM) contributes multidisciplinary expertise in the fields of Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, Life Sciences and Medicine. Through its dual mission of teaching and research, the FSTM seeks to generate and disseminate knowledge and train new generations of responsible citizens, in order to better understand, explain and advance society and environment we live in.

Within this Faculty, the Department of Engineering invites applications for the following vacancy. The Department of Engineering (DoE) is an interdisciplinary group active in the classical domains of civil, electrical and mechanical engineering and geophysics. The main focus of research is on the development of technological solutions, the sustainable and economical use of resources, the offer of competences for the technological requirements of Luxembourg and the Greater Region industrial and public actors. Special emphasis is given to numerical simulation to reduce the required experimental effort, but the validation of the models will remain an essential asset.

Your Role...

As the successful candidate, you will contribute to a research project at the intersection of engineering (pre-stressed concrete bridges), sensing technologies (fiber-optic sensors, accelerometers), and computer science (machine learning tools, optimization).

The aim of this Ph.D. project is to improve our understanding of structural behavior, degradation mechanisms, and numerical modeling of aging concrete structures. The tasks comprise the development of algorithms for sensor-data interpretation, the design of finite-element models using both AI-based and physics-based approaches, and data-informed structural reliability analysis. Multiple full-scale case studies of bridges in Europe (Switzerland, Luxembourg, …) will be used to validate the developed solutions.

This groundbreaking research output will lead to the preservation of heritage structures, reduce the environmental impact of infrastructure management, and reduce maintenance costs.

Activities…

• Participate actively in the research project as described above
• Write articles to be published in leading international scientific journals
• Present your work at international conferences
• Write a thesis in the domain of civil engineering, with strongly interdisciplinary components
• Assisting in Bachelor/Master projects and courses

What we expect from you…

This project calls for an open character with curiosity across discipline boundaries (civil engineering, computer sciences, and sensing technologies). We do not expect any single person to be an expert across all these fields, but you must be open to learning about and embracing challenges in fields you may not yet have been working with. We thus warmly encourage you to apply even if you feel that you only partially meet the criteria in terms of background and expertise, as you will have the opportunity to acquire the missing knowledge during the first year of the project.

Requirements for the post are:

• Master's degree (or equivalent) in civil engineering (or related area)
• Good understanding of the structural behavior and material properties of concrete structures and modelling of civil structures. Knowledge of data science (optimization, machine learning) and structural sensing technologies is a plus
• Curiosity, a genuine passion for scientific research
• Openness to interdisciplinary research and commitment to teamwork
• Commitment and capacity to critical thinking and good research ethics
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English

How to apply...

Applications should include:

• Curriculum Vitae
• Cover letter answering the following questions:
  • Why do you want to work for a Ph.D. degree? Why at the University of Luxembourg? Why on this project?
• PDF version of your master thesis (file should be no larger than 20MB; compress images if necessary)
• List of publications (if available) or work samples (5 pages max)
• Digital copies of diplomas and complete course grade transcripts (B.Sc. and M.Sc.)

We ensure a full consideration for applications received by 15/03/2024. Applications by email will not be considered.

The University of Luxembourg embraces inclusion and diversity as key values. We are fully committed to removing any discriminatory barrier related to gender, and not only, in recruitment and career progression of our staff.

Requirements
Additional Information
Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

University of Luxembourg

Country

Luxembourg

City

Luxembourg

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://www.aplitrak.com/?adid=UmVjcnVpdGluZy43MjE4MS45OTA4QHVuaXZlcnNpdHlvZmx1…

Contact

Phone

STATUS: EXPIRED