PhD Candidate in sustainable built environment

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We have a vacancy for a a PhD in sustainable built environment, focusing on “Information chain for synergetic utilization of resources for built environment” at Department of manufacturing and civil engineering- Civil engineering and Geomatic group.

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

The person hired will specifically focus on information chain and work with the LIFELINE-2050 project, as it is the LIFELINE-2050 project that funds the PhD position.  

The LIFELINE-2050 project aims to optimize the utilization of resources in a synergetic way during the life cycle of built environments, this includes the design, construction, operation, and demolition phases. 

LIFELINE-2050 project in the Centre for Green Shift in the Built Environment

Centre for Green Shift in the Built Environment (GREEN2050, https://www.ntnu.edu/green2050) is a newly established centre at NTNUs Faculty of Engineering. The centre aims to be an arena of networking and collaboration between academia and the industry. A hub for accelerating existing, planned, and new projects. The goal is to transition into a carbon neutral built environment within 2050.  GREEN2050 will provide research of excellence and educate candidates with high digital- and sustainability competence ready to take on the green shift.

Resource efficiency is one of the major focus areas of the centre. At least seven PhD positions are funded for the project LIFELINE-2050: Optimal Utilization of Resources towards Neutral Climate Built Environments in Europe by 2030-2050 under the umbrella of GREEN2050. The aim of LIFELINE-2050 is to optimize the utilization of our limited resources (i.e., materials, water, energy, ICT, spaces, and humans) in synergetic ways during the life cycle (i.e., the design, construction, operation, and demolish phases) of built environments in the line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 3 (Healthy lives and well-being), 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), 12 (Responsible consumption and production), and 17 (Partnerships for the goals)

The main objective of the project LIFELINE-2050 is to develop a holistic assessment framework, digital optimization toolbox (including number of sub-digital twins), and education-innovation hub for achieving resource-effective built environments (e.g., university campuses, district areas) where complex resource-intensive sociotechnical systems need to be holistically optimized. The PhDs in LIFELINE-2050 will work together as a multidisciplinary team across six departments at the Faculty of Engineering at NTNU addressing various type of resources including material, water, spaces, energy, ICT, as well as human. Where, each PhD is expected to focus on one or two resources and collaborate with the other candidates for developing a holistic framework, a digital toolbox, and an education hub, aiming at optimizing the utilization of resources in built environments.

About the research topic 

Crossing it life cycle (design, construction, operation, renovation and end of life), building generates large amount of data which act as a type of asset could leverage great value to all stakeholders. With the help of smart sensors and devices, cloud platform and digital twin environment, construction industry is able to move towards a data driven ecosystem.  Current information on resource use and its consequence at sustainability perspective are fragmented. To keep the updated building information, especially for circularity, all related information on material, energy and water use need to keep integrated and updated at building information modelling.  Furthermore, all these relevant information should be fused in effective and secure way. In this context, the main objective of this PhD position is to develop effective and secure approaches to fusing semantic and non-semantic information crossing whole life cycle of buildings.  

You will report to the head of department