项目介绍

2024年10月10日

PhD position

There is a vacancy for a PhD Research Fellow at the Geophysical Institute (GFI). The position is for a fixed-term period of 3 years funded by the Doctoral Network NEXTgenT (next generation of over 25MW offshore wind turbine rotor design) H2020 / Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA, agreement no.101168855) and will cover an important part of the activities at the Bergen Offshore Wind Centre (BOW) targeting at bridging fundamental and applied research within offshore wind energy.

About the project/work tasks

The MSCA Doctoral Network covers 4 key research aspects: 1) wind characteristics and resources, 2) aerodynamics, 3) structures, and 4) aeroelasticity. Twelve fellows will undertake individual projects in these areas. All the research questions in the project reflect industry needs. Academic novelty and innovation will be reflected in the methodologies and solutions. The research results will be disseminated directly to the public and scientific community. The outcomes are both technologies and a talent pool to accelerate the next generation of large-scale offshore wind power. 

The NEXTgenT consortium has excellent coverage of academic universities and industry organizations including manufacturers, energy utilities, system operators, consultancy and technology innovation centers. Moreover, the MSCA Doctoral Network has mobility as one key aspect, the successful candidate is thus expected to spend secondments of several months duration with both industrial and academic partners during the PhD period. 

Standard structural models for XL OWTs (extra-large offshore wind turbines) rely on linear finite elements that are corrected to accommodate stiffening/softening effects. Due to their exceptionally low computational cost and good predictive capabilities, these models are presently the industrial gold standard. However, OWTs are getting larger and structural responses will exhibit geometrical nonlinearities. Models to account for those nonlinearities do exist and are well developed but are not industry standard. The suitability of standard structural models for the aeroelastic analysis of XL OWTs will be investigated to determine where there is an unavoidable need for employing geometrically nonlinear formulations. Simulations for relevant load cases with standard and non-standard models will be carried out and the potential for improvement of the predictive capabilities by data assimilation will be investigated. Optimization problems to adjust the models to best suit the data sets will be formulated as well. The research activities associated to the position target also at a close collaboration with ongoing research at the BOW and GFI. It is expected that the results emerging from these research activities will be published in highly-ranked international journals.         

Qualifications and personal qualities

• Applicants must hold a master’s degree or equivalent education in engineering, informatics, mathematics or physics, or must have submitted his/her master’s thesis for assessment prior to the application deadline. It is a condition of employment that the master’s degree has been awarded.
• Experience with structural analysis of slender structures and the finite-element method (FEM) is a requirement.
• Programming skills (e.g., Fortran, C++ or Python) is a requirement.
• Experience with either scientific computing or numerical optimization is an advantage.
• Experience with supervised machine learning is  an advantage.
• Applicants must be able to work independently and in a structured manner and demonstrate good collaborative skills. 
• Applicants must be fully proficient in both written and oral English.

Personal and relational qualities will be emphasized. Ambitions and potential will also count when evaluating the candidates.

Special requirements for the position

The University of Bergen is subjected to the regulation for export control system. The regulation will be applied in the processing of the applications. The applicant should not have lived and had his/her main activity in the same country as the beneficiary institute (Norway) for more than 12 months during the last 3 years on the date of appointment. This is a requirement for all MSCA sponsored exchange scholarships.

In addition, the successful candidate should satisfy at the time of the recruitment the following mandatory characteristics: 

• having not been awarded a title of PhD

About the PhD position 

As a PhD Research Fellow, you must participate in an approved educational programme for a PhD degree within a period of 3 years. The deadline for applying for admission to the PhD programme at The Faculty of Science and Technology is 2 months after you start your position or after the start of the research project that will lead to the PhD degree. It is a condition that you satisfy   the PhD programme at the University of Bergen.

We can offer

• a good and professionally stimulating working environment.
• salary as PhD research fellow (code 1017) in the state salary scale. This constitutes a gross annual salary of NOK 540 500- (equivalent to pay grade 55). Further increases in salary are made according to length of service in the position.
• enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.
• good welfare benefits

Your application must include

• a brief account of the applicant’s research interests and motivation for applying for the position.
• the names and contact information for two referees. One of these should be the main advisor for the master’s thesis or equivalent thesis.
• CV
• transcripts and diplomas showing completion of the bachelor’s and master’s degrees. If you have not yet completed your master’s degree, please submit a statement from your institution confirming the expected date of award of your master’s degree.
• relevant certificates/references.
• approved documentation of proficiency in English.
• a list of any works of a scientific nature (publication list). any publications in your name.

The application and appendices with certified translations into English or a Scandinavian language must be uploaded at Jobbnorge.

General information:

Detailed information about the position can be obtained by contacting: 

Professor Cristian G. Gebhardt, Geophysical Institute and Bergen Offshore Wind Centre, e-mail: Cristian.Gebhardt@uib.no, tel.: +47 55 58 26 23.

For HR related questions contact HR advisor Maria Svåsand (maria.svasand@uib.no)

Diversity is a strength that enables us to solve our tasks even better. UiB therefore needs qualified employees regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, worldview, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and age.

The University of Bergen applies the principle of public access to information when recruiting staff for academic positions.

Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of persons who have applied. The applicant must be notified if the request to be omitted is not met.

The successful applicant must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at all times.

We encourage applicants with disabilities, immigrant backgrounds, or gaps in their CV to apply. By indicating such circumstances in your application, you may receive favourable consideration. We ensure that at least one qualified applicant from each of these groups is invited for an interview as part of our commitment to inclusivity and equal opportunity. For further information about the recruitment process, click here.