Department of Mechanics: Vacancies: UCEEB Postdocs

Announcement

The Czech Technical University in Prague - University Center for Energy Efficient Buildings (UCEEB) offers five post-doctoral positions in the field of modeling, simulation, assessment and optimization of multi-functional materials and structures.

Start date: as soon as possible after 13 December 2013, until all positions are filled
Contract duration: until 30 June 2015 (with a critical evaluation after the first year)

UCEEB in brief

Launched in October 2012, UCEEB is a newly established joint project of five faculties of the Czech Technical University in Prague. The mission of the Center is to perform high-level interdisciplinary research in the field of energy savings in buildings, utilizing a simulation- based engineering approach. The theoretical research activities will be systematically complemented with experimental validation, performed in a full-scale setting. This will provide unique data on materials, structures, and systems of intelligent control, including on their impact on the built and natural environment. Development of the Center is supported by the European Union through the Operational Program Research and Development for Innovations, project No. CZ.1.05/2.1.00/03.0091.

Project organization

The present project integrates five different topics aligned with the research activities of UCEEB. Each topic will be supervised by a mentor from the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague, with long-term experience in the relevant fields of research. The project is supported by the European Union, through the Operational Program Research and Development for Innovations, project No. CZ.1.07/2.3.00/30.0034.

The mentors involved in the project include, in alphabetical order:

• Zdeněk Bittnar (full professor, Department of Mechanics, bittnar@fsv.cvut.cz), experienced researcher with recent activities in modeling of microstructural development of cementitious composites;

• Robert Černý (full professor, Department of Materials Engineering and Chemistry, cernyr@fsv.cvut.cz), expert in theoretical and experimental investigation of heat, moisture and chemical compounds transport in building materials;

• Bořek Patzák (full professor, Department of Mechanics, borek.patzak@fsv.cvut.cz) with research interests in numerical methods in mechanics, particularly adaptive techniques and constitutive modeling of quasibrittle materials and in high performance computing and software development;

• Jan Zeman (associate professor, Department of Mechanics, zemanj@cml.fsv.cvut.cz), whose expertise lies in numerical and analytical methods for heterogeneous materials.

Research topics

Advanced design and evaluation procedures of complex material experiments

Mentor: Zdeněk Bittnar (when applying for this position, please send the requested documents to Dr. Anna Kučerová via anicka@cml.fsv.cvut.cz);

Description: The work on this project will be focused on the following sub-topics

• formulation of possible criteria quantifying the robustness and optimality of an experimental setup, assessment of their efficient evaluation,
• limitations for analytical and numerical solutions of an experimental design problem with respect to the complexity of a material model and description of the design variables,
• comparison of different algorithms for robust optimization of a resulting multi-objective optimization problem,
• investigation of the possibilities for re-usage of surrogates constructed for experimental design further in parameter identification,
• formulation of Bayesian inference for parameter identification with uncertainties and the attention will be focused particularly to modeling and identification of the transport properties in porous construction materials,
• testing the experimental designs on the basis of virtual experiments simulated by the stochastic finite element method.

All these steps will be developed as a support to experiments in a unique climate chamber, available in the UCEEB center.

Specific requirements: Numerical methods and scientific computing, basic programming skills (in C/C++, Python, MATLAB or similar languages), background in inverse problems or stochastic finite elements is a strong plus.

Low-energy building materials

Mentor: Robert Černý

Description: Low-energy building materials on the basis of industrial waste products will be investigated. At first, selection and analysis of potential raw materials will be done and the technology of sample preparation will be designed. Then, mechanical, hygric and durability properties of the new materials will be tested. Basic service life assessment of newly developed materials at their application for specific building structures will be performed.

Specific requirements: Basic knowledge of experimental work in a physical or chemical laboratory.

Ternary and quaternary systems on gypsum basis

Mentor: Robert Černý

Description: Development and optimization of ternary and quaternary systems, whose main component is gypsum, will be the main aim of the project. Pozzolanic materials will be used as secondary components, with lime or cement as activators. The work will be focused on the formulation of materials with the desired properties by modern optimization methods and the determination of mechanical, thermal, hygric, and durability properties of developed materials.

Specific requirements: Basic knowledge of experimental work in a physical or chemical laboratory.

Development of BIM-based advanced simulation tools

Mentor: Bořek Patzák

Description: Development of new algorithms which would enable efficient collaboration with architects and engineers during the conceptual design phase, based on an isogeometric approach, with attention paid to modular, object-oriented implementation, computational aspects (boundary conditions, coupling with regular FEM, multiphysics modeling, contacts), and scalable parallelization (multicore and GPU computing). Development of robust optimization tools to assist engineers in the selection of an optimal design.

Specific requirements: Good background in numerical methods and finite element method, programming skills (C/C++, Python).

Homogenization of heterogeneous materials

Mentor: Jan Zeman

Description: The focus of this topic is on the development of inexpensive analytical models to quantify e.g. thermal and acoustic properties of highly porous building materials utilized in energy-efficient buildings by exploring the available tools of computational homogenization or continuum micromechanics, according to research interests of the candidate. These models will serve as a support to developments of the research group "High performance building materials and structures" at the UCEEB center.

Specific requirements: Depending on the scientific background of the candidate, experience in numerical homogenization and in scientific computing, or in homogenization theories.

General requirements

We are looking for candidates who

• hold a Ph.D. degree (or equivalent) in the research area related to the selected topic issued from 29 March 2008 until 1 December 2013,
• have an ability to perform independent research with a strong emphasis on publications in refereed journals,
• possess excellent communication skills and written/verbal knowledge of the English language.

We offer

• the possibility to work in a newly established dynamic and ambitious research center with the state-of-the art equipment,
• a contract with a duration until 30 June 2015, with a critical evaluation after the first year,
• a gross salary of 56,000 CZK per month (approximately 2,200 Euro or 2,800 USD; the average gross salary in the Czech Republic is about 1,000 Euro),
• a partial coverage of the mandatory social and medical insurance by the employer (the employee has to contribute 6.5% of the gross salary to pension insurance, 4.5% to health insurance and, according to the currently valid legislation, approximately 16.5% is deduced as income tax),
• the coverage of travel expenses of up to 55,000 CZK per year,
• the coverage of operating costs of up to 40,000 CZK per year,
• a three-month internship at a foreign university or a company.

Application

For more information, please contact the mentor using the e-mail address specified above.

Interested candidates are invited to send their applications directly to the relevant mentor no later than 1 December 2013. The application must contain

• a Curriculum Vitae (one page),
• a motivation letter (two pages), stating personal goals and research interests in relation to the research topic,
• a detailed list of publications,
• two letters of recommendation sent by the referees directly to the mentor (with detailed contact information: email, telephone number and address), one of them written by the previous supervisor,
• a certificate of proficiency in English (CAE, TOEFL or equivalent) or an electronic copy of the candidate’s Ph.D. thesis written in English.

Both national and international applications to this advertisement are appreciated. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until all the positions are filled. Promising candidates will be contacted by e-mail, and will be invited for an on-line interview.

Important dates

• 1 December 2013, 24:00: Deadline for application submissions,
• 4 December 2013: Review of applications, promising candidates will be contacted by e-mail,
• 9-12 December 2013: Final selection of the candidates by the selection committee,
• 12 December 2013+: Personal interview at the Czech Technical University in Prague (with travel costs covered by the applicant), or a Skype conference.

Evaluation criteria

• Publications in refereed journals (50%),
• Assessment of the mentor (25%),
• Quality of the motivation letter (25%).