As the impact of global warming on extreme weather events, including droughts, heat waves, unhealthy pollution levels, as well as storms and extreme precipitation, are presenting themselves already, there is an increasing need to understand and predict extreme events as a result of global climate change. This is especially relevant for urban areas where most of the planet’s population now lives and where extreme events can be even more severe, both in intensity and in impact, e.g., urban heat island effects, dispersion of pollution, and flooding. Thanks to the continuous increase of computing power and progress in the development of efficient numerical methods, highly-resolved simulations of the flow in the local microclimates are becoming feasible. In this position, you will work on the forefront of this topic, in a team with long-standing expertise in highly-resolved numerical simulations, wall-bounded turbulence, and atmospheric dynamics. We will use a highly-performing numerical tool for massively-parallel, obstacle-resolving simulations of fluid flows over complex surfaces on many GPUs/CPUs. As a first step, we will focus on fundamental studies on simpler geometries using Direct Numerical Simulations of forced convective turbulence over rough surfaces. The insights from this effort will then be used to develop upscaled model closures for larger systems, specifically in an urban microclimate model where equations of thermal energy (including radiative heat transfer), humidity, and pollutants, are solved over complex surface topologies.

This PhD position is based in the Process & Energy Department of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (ME). The effort will be highly integrated, framed within the TU Delft Climate Action Program, and in collaboration with the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences (CiTG).

We welcome applicants with diverse backgrounds to enrich our dynamic and diverse team, especially for individuals with background on Mechanical/Enviromental/Civil Engineering, or physics. Strong background in fluid dynamics, experience in computational fluid dynamics, and programming in high-level (MATLAB/Python) and low-level languages (Fortran/C++) is important. Experience in high-performance computing is welcomed.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2.872 per month in the first year to € 3.670 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

For international applicants, TU Delft has the Coming to Delft Service. This service provides information for new international employees to help you prepare the relocation and to settle in the Netherlands. The Coming to Delft Service offers a Dual Career Programme for partners and they organise events to expand your (social) network.

Delft University of Technology

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty Mechanical Engineering

From chip to ship. From machine to human being. From idea to solution. Driven by a deep-rooted desire to understand our environment and discover its underlying mechanisms, research and education at the ME faculty focusses on fundamental understanding, design, production including application and product improvement, materials, processes and (mechanical) systems.

ME is a dynamic and innovative faculty with high-tech lab facilities and international reach. It’s a large faculty but also versatile, so we can often make unique connections by combining different disciplines. This is reflected in ME’s outstanding, state-of-the-art education, which trains students to become responsible and socially engaged engineers and scientists. We translate our knowledge and insights into solutions to societal issues, contributing to a sustainable society and to the development of prosperity and well-being. That is what unites us in pioneering research, inspiring education and (inter)national cooperation.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Do you want to experience working at our faculty? These videos will introduce you to some of our researchers and their work.

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Dr. Pedro Costa (P.SimoesCosta@tudelft.nl) or Prof. Rene Pecnik (R.Pecnik@tudelft.nl).