The IST-EPFL Joint Doctoral Initiative, Lausanne, Switzerland

The Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have established a Joint Doctoral Initiative. The PhD program comprises a curricular component as well as a strong research activity. During the duration of the PhD program, students will spend about 50% of their time at IST and 50% of their time at EPFL and be advised by faculty members from both institutions.
The Joint Doctoral Initiative is oriented towards seven Focus Areas. The Focus Area of Environmental Hydraulics is grounded on long standing collaborations of researchers of institutions, taking advantage of their research and complementarities and building synergies.
The Focus Areas in Environmental Hydraulics will tackle the following suite of problems, all involving an extremely strong environmental, political and societal impact:
1. Security problems in the valleys downstream of dams incorporating flood mapping and risk assessment, particularly for urban areas typically existent in the floodplains;
2. Environmental impacts of dams, including reservoir sedimentation, morphological changes and water quality;
3. Studying avalanches and glacier melting and their impacts in Alpine watersheds;
4. Generating knowledge and competence to deal with the predictable rise of sea-water level and associated impacts;
5. Integrating concepts of ecology in the field of hydraulics.
Closing date: September 15, 2009
For more information, visit the website or contact here.

PhD Studentship Coastal Dynamics, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK

Applications are invited for a PhD studentship in coastal dynamics using statistical and computational methods at the University of Plymouth, UK. The studentship is available for UK nationals, or EU nationals who have been residents in the UK for more than three years.
Closing date: September 18, 2009
For informal enquiries please contact Dr. Vanesa Magar or visit the website. (Source: Coastal-list)

PhD Studentship, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK

The aim is to study the coastal processes associated with replenishing beach sediment using the Argus video system. Students from outside the EU/UK are welcome to apply but are expected to pay the difference between the EU/UK and overseas fees. Please find more details below. For further information please click here.

New International Research Training Group INTERCOAST, Integrated
Coastal Zone and Shelf-Sea Research, University of Waikato, New Zealand

Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) this International Research Training Group will be conducted in collaboration with the Universities of Bremen (Germany) and Waikato (New Zealand).
Focussing on impacts of global, climate and environmental changes in coastal and shelf-sea areas INTERCOAST will train young, highly motivated and interdisciplinary qualified scientists to tackle future challenges and to be prepared for their future professional careers. Within a coastal and shelf-sea research framework these encompass marine geosciences and marine biology as well as social sciences and law in their widest senses.
Operating in close collaboration with the University of Waikato (New Zealand) and the Senckenberg Institute in Wilhelmshaven (Germany), INTERCOAST offers
13 PhD scholarships in the specific fields (linked to E TVL13/2):
- Process based analysis and modelling of beach morphodynamics (IC1)
- Scenarios for future changes in the occurrence of extreme storm surges (IC2)
- Monitoring and modelling of estuarine morphodynamics (IC3)
- Geotechnical characterization and re-use of dredged materials (IC4)
- Sediment- and habitat-dynamics under constructional impact (IC5)
- Benthic ecology and habitat mapping (IC6)
- Sediment impacts on benthic primary producers (IC7)
- Magnetic minerals as markers of coastal zone evolution (IC8)
- Numerical modelling of sediment-fluid-interactions (IC9)
- Sediment pore pressure response from in situ penetration experiments (IC10)
- Legal regulation and control of coastal zone management conflicts (IC11)
- International co-operation on management of shared and migratory fish stocks (IC12)
- Flood risk management and adaptation to climate change (IC13)
2 PostDoc positions (E TVL13) in the general areas of
- Marine Geosciences (PD1)
- Social sciences including Human Geography and/or Law (PD2).
Detailed project descriptions are available at the website.

Chair in Power Electronics or Marine Renewables, School of Engineering, Swansea University, Wales, UK

The School welcomes applications from individuals who consider that they have the potential to play a significant or leading role in the future development of the School. They are now looking to expand our expertise in the area of sustainable energy generation and consumption. They are looking for experienced candidates with strong industrial links to join their team and contribute to research in the fields of Energy related technologies such as Power Electronics or Marine Renewables.
Applicants should have an outstanding record of international excellence in research achievement and publication over the last five years in their subject area. You will be excellent and enthusiastic communicators of the subject and will demonstrate the ability to provide academic vision, with supporting evidence of strong academic leadership in research and teaching. You should demonstrate evidence of research supervision and mentoring of academic colleagues. A strong record of achievement in attracting significant external research funding is highly desirable.
If appropriate, candidates can be appointed at Reader level. In this case applicants will have a PhD and an appropriately strong record of excellence in academic research over the last five years. They will demonstrate clear potential to provide academic leadership in their subject area, and will have excellent communication skills. A strong record of higher education teaching experience and experience of postgraduate supervision is essential. A solid record of achievement in attracting external research funding is highly desirable.
The management team will be delighted to speak or meet with potential candidates who wish to explore these appointments further on an informal and confidential basis. Please contact either the Head of School of Engineering, Prof. Javier Bonet or Prof. Steve Wilks.
Applicants are asked to provide a completed application form, enclosing a Curriculum Vitae, a publication list, and a description, no longer than a side of A4, detailing their research vision and strategy.
An application form and further details may be obtained here. Initial closing date: September 17, 2009. Further information can be found here.

Post Doctoral fellowship, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal (project PTDC/ECM/65442/2006)

LASEF-IDEMC and CEHIDRO, both research centres at Instituto Superior Técnico, IST-UTL, Lisbon, invite scientists and engineers to apply for a Post-Doc fellowship aimed at the production of turbulent data with Large Eddy Simulation (LES).
The workprogram of the Post-Doc grant is included in a joint research effort of LASEF and CEHIDRO on turbulent open-channel flows within emergent arrays of flexible and rigid stems (project PTDC/ECM/65442/2006, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology). The main objective is to test the sensitivity of the results, in terms of velocity and vorticity fields, to different subgrid models.
The work will be accompanied by Dr. Carlos Silva (LASEF) and by Prof. Rui M.L. Ferreira (CEHIDRO) and will take place at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST-UTL) Lisbon.
Requirements and selection criteria
· a PhD degree in the 5 years preceding the application date and a strong background in Fluid Mechanics and computational methods.
· experience with Large Eddy Simulation of turbulent flows.
· a high degree of independence.
· proficiency in English.
Primary criteria used in the selection of participants are
· the applicant's scientific capability and potential, evaluated by the list of publications.
· the alignment of the applicant’s PhD and publications with the objectives of the project.
· the applicant availability and motivation.
Applications should include:
· Curriculum Vitae
· reference letters
· short motivation statement
Applications and inquiries should be sent by e-mail until September 21, 2009.

Hydrodynamic modeller, University of Brussels, Belgium

Candidates should have completed a PhD/ doctorate work in which numerical modelling is a key part, ideally in applications such as computational fluid dynamics or management of water systems. The purpose of this work is to explore, both numerically and experimentally, the role and influence of the deformation of the river water surface in conditions of extreme suspended particle fluxes and fast stream velocity, in line with recently emerging concepts (bedform-driven self-organization, 'control factor m') proposed by the research group. As part of the research program, attempts will be made to gather information on the instantaneous values of control factor m, through simple visualization of the deformed water surface in a real river setting, taken externally using standard (or laser-assisted) videography. The 'in-phase wave' configuration will receive special consideration in the numerical treatment of the problem. One of the technology objectives of the research is to be able to represent particle-bound pollutant fluxes in conditions where direct metrology is especially difficult.
For more information, click here.

Research Associate, School of Civil Engineering & Geosciences, Newcastle University, UK

You will work on the major consortium project "ARCADIA : Adaptation and Resilience in Cities: Analysis and Decision making using Integrated Assessment", funded under EPSRC's Adaptation and Resilience to a Change Climate programme. The ARCADIA project aims to provide system-scale understanding of the inter-relationships between climate impacts, the urban economy, land use, transport and the built environment and to use this understanding to design cities that are more resilient and adaptable. Central to this endeavour will be the development of new urban simulation and decision support tools, to which you will make a major contribution as part of a multidisciplinary research team involving engineers, economists and climate scientists from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.
You may come from one of a variety of backgrounds, including engineering, mathematics, statistics, econometrics or another field involving complex systems simulation. You will hold a PhD or have equivalent research experience involving quantified systems modelling. You will have a keen interest in the science of urban areas, the potential impacts of climate change and ways of adapting to climate change. In addition to having a strong technical background, you will have good interpersonal skills and the ability to combine independent thinking with being part of a multi-disciplinary team. You will be ambitious and be seeking to develop a successful research career in this highly innovative and increasingly high profile field.
For further information or informal discussion contact Professor Jim Hallor visit the website.
Closing date: September 15, 2009
(Source: jobs.ac.uk)

Research Assistant for HYDRALAB Networking, University of Hull,Yorkshire, Uk

You will act as a research assistant to ensure the successful completion of Hull University's contribution to a major EU Integrated Infrastructure project: HYDRALAB. You will assist with the delivery of the reports, papers and other documents associated with networking and will be involved in the editing of a major book on Guidelines and Best Practice for Physical Hydraulic Modeling.
You will have a degree and masters /PhD in Environmental Science or similar discipline. You will be able to give evidence of the ability to write scientific and technical documents, plan technical and scientific research and work as part of a team.
Find out more and download a job description and application form by visiting the website, (quoting vacancy ref: FS147).
Closing date: September 9, 2009

Research Associate in Hydrological Modelling, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster, UK

The Lancaster Environment Centre has an opening for a Research Associate to work on a newly funded NERC funded project "A new grid-free, hysteretic, and scale-dependent approach to modelling hillslope hydrology". This project, which will be supervised by Prof. Keith Beven, aims to develop a new model of hillslope hydrology based on particle tracking methods in which water in the hillslope is discretised into discrete particles moving through different flow pathways. The model will then be applied to a number of experimental sites where tracing data are available. Although the work will be primarily computer modelling, there may also be the opportunity to help with new tracing experiments planned by other groups during the duration. One component of the project will be to explore whether the run time of the model can be speeded up by the use of the latest highly parallel graphical processor cards. The job will require an interest in computer modelling and experience in computer programming. A demonstrated interest in hillslope hydrology or GPU programming would also be advantageous.
For more detailed information contact Keith Beven.
For further information and to apply online, please visit the website.
Closing Date: September 15, 2009
(Source jobs.ac.uk)

PhD Studentship, Modelling Coastal Morphodynamic Responses to Climate Change, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland

A PhD studentship is available within the Glasgow Research Partnership in Engineering (GRPE) at the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Glasgow.
Global climate change would significantly affect future morphological evolution of coastlines. Sea level rise and increasing storminess are the most significant changes to the natural coastal environment which will affect future coastal morphologies. Our ability to predict future morphodynamic changes is vital to the future planning and sustainable management of these most significant natural land forms.
The project can be either pre-defined or self motivated in the broad area of modelling coastal morphodynamic responses to climate change.
The successful candidate will be an enthusiastic and self-motivated person with a good MSc or undergraduate (1st or upper second class honours) degree in engineering (civil, environmental) or oceanography.
E-mail applications should be sent to Dr. Harshinie Karunarathna. The application should include:
· Covering letter stating the motivation for undertaking this studentship
· Curriculum Vitae
· Contact details of two referees
Award will be based on the merit of your application. Closing date: September 14, 2009.

MSc in Environmental Technology – Water Management Option: Funded Part-Time Course over two years with Placement in Anglian Water, Imperial College, London, UK

The Water Management Option - one of the eight options of the MSc course - aims to produce graduates who meet the demand profile of organisations concerned with water technology and the water environment. The Water Management option provides traditional emphasis on water technology and the water environment which is complemented by an increasing focus on management and decision-making tools.
Applications are invited from graduates (with a second class honours and above) for a 2-year MSc programme in partnership with Anglian Water for 2009-2011. The successful candidate will complete two academic terms at Imperial College, starting in October 2009 followed by a 16-month placement in Anglian Water’s Innovation Team.
All potential applicants must read the Postgraduate Prospectus here.
(Source: jobs.ac.uk)

Research Fellow in Remote Sensing for Environmental Surveillance Department of Civil Engineering and Geomatics, Cyprus University Of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus

Applications are invited for a one-year post-doctoral fellowship in remote sensing research programmes in the Department of Civil Engineering and Geomatics. Preference is for candidates with a PhD degree in an appropriate discipline with research and publication experience in their area of expertise. The candidate will work in a lively research environment and should have good team working skills. The candidate will work at the Remote Sensing Laboratory of the Department of Civil Engineering and Geomatics. The facilities of the Remote Sensing Laboratory include hardware and software for image processing and geospatial analysis, as well as a wide array of supporting equipment such as 3 field spectro-radiometers, 2 sun-photometers, 1 CIMEL sun photometer system, lidar backscattering system, etc.
Applicants should have:
(1) A doctorate from a Recognized University in a related field with emphasis on the use of earth observation in the areas of water quality, meteorology, atmospheric sciences, hydrology irrigation, water resources management, coastal water quality etc.
(2) Research experience in any of the fields of remote sensing for environmental surveillance such as water quality, meteorology, atmospheric sciences, air pollution, hydrology, irrigation, water resources management, coastal water quality etc.
(3) Very good experience with image processing software (ERDAS IMAGINE, ENVI, ER MAPPER etc).
(4) Experience in Field spectroscopy is considered as an advantage.
The monthly gross salary for the position will be in the range of €1600 -€ 2260 according to the candidate qualifications. There is no provision for a 13th salary.
Applicants are requested to submit the following:
(1) Curriculum vitae in English or Greek, including a list of publications in conference proceedings and journals (one copy).
(2) A summary of their research experience (maximum 1000 words, one copy).
(3) A copy of their most representative publication.
(4) The names of two people who would be willing to provide a letter of reference if and when asked.
(5) A proof of their qualifications.
(6) Contact information.
Candidates should forward their applications in a sealed envelope marked as "Application for Research Fellow for Department of Civil Engineering and Geomatics", not later than September 14, 2009 to: Cyprus University of Technology, Human Resource, P.O. Box 50329, CY-3603, Limassol, Cyprus. Applications sent by post should reach the University premises by 14 September 2009 the latest. For further information visit University's webpage or contact Dr. Diofantos Hadjimitsis.
(Source: jobs.ac.uk)