项目介绍

2026年9月17日

About the position

Are you interested in the present and future sea ice state in the Arctic Ocean?

There are several means of observing ice conditions in ice-choked waters. For some applications, daily or weekly information on sea ice is sufficient, whereas for maritime operations a much higher temporal resolution is needed — especially with regard to ice drift, so that onboard and remote operations are provided with accurate information for decision-making. Complex operations in the marginal ice zone with Autonomous Underwater Vehicles and Unmanned Surface Vehicles also rely on ice drift and general ice situational awareness at a high spatio-temporal resolution.

The project shall explore the use of marine radar onboard ice-going vessels as decision input for Arctic marine operations. The idea is to use the radar to identify the ice drift surrounding the vessel, and also to explore its potential for identifying concentration, floe size, geometry, and possibly stage of development. The plan is to build models so that radar measurements alone can be used to populate, as far as possible, the Stage of Development, Concentration, and Form fields — thereby obtaining a “live” Egg Code for decision-making onboard the vessel at all times. 

Are you motivated to take a step towards a doctorate and open up exciting career opportunities? As a PhD Candidate with us, you will work to achieve your doctorate, and at the same time gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a further career in higher education and research, in and outside academia. The position is likely to involve fieldwork in Arctic conditions.

Your immediate leader will be the Head of Department.

About the project

This PhD position is affiliated with Arctic Ocean 2050, a ten-year Norwegian research initiative bringing together 18 institutions to explore how the Arctic Ocean will change over the coming decade. The program’s vision is a sustainably and collaboratively managed Arctic Ocean, approached as one interconnected system spanning from the seafloor to the atmosphere, addressing the local, regional and global consequences of climate change in the region.

The initiative is organized around six research themes: global drivers and feedbacks, the changing Arctic Ocean, abrupt changes and adaptation, human activity in the Blue Arctic, modelling and observing, and Arctic pathways for policy-relevant solutions. This position contributes to the modelling and observing theme, developing radar-based methods for ice drift and situational awareness that feed directly into the program’s broader research effort.

Duties of the position

• Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate
• Carry out research of good quality within the framework described above
• Academic publications and popular science dissemination
• Participate in the Maritime and Smart infrastructure research groups 
• Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions
• Other career-promoting work 

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a relevant Master’s degree in Cybernetics, Electrical Engineering, Remote Sensing, (Geo)Physics, Applied Mathematics, Marine Technology, Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics or equivalent. Your degree must include a major independent project (minimum 30 ECTS) equivalent to a master’s thesis
• Your course of study must correspond to a five-year Norwegian course, where 120 credits have been obtained at master’s level. Master students can apply, but the master’s degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position. 
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your Master’s degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to NTNU’s grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be considered if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty’s  Doctoral Programme in Engineering

The appointment is to be made in accordance with NTNUs guidelines for recruitment positions for general criteria for the position.