PhD Positions in Marine and Fluvial Systems Group

The Marine and Fluvial Systems group, part of the Civil Engineering department, investigates primarily physical processes in coastal and river systems in the context of societal needs (such as flood safety and freshwater availability) as well as for economical needs (such as navigation, pipeline and cable trajectories). The challenges in these fields are rapidly increasing with evolving, and uncertain developments in the climate (linking to e.g. rate of sea level rise, wind climate, extreme river discharges, fresh water availability, drought). Moreover, society is changing rapidly (the energy transition stimulating e.g. offshore wind farm development and coastal urbanisation which makes us more and more dependent on reliable natural flood defenses such as dunes next to as hard river and sea dikes). Giving the integral nature of the challenges, we often connect to other disciplines such as mathematics, ecology (vegetated foreshores), geotechnics and governance-related sciences.

Marine and Fluvial Systems Group expects in 2021 openings for PhD positions on modelling river hydraulics for high and low flows; aeolian sediment transport on the sand grain scale; global land motion, sea level rise and coastal flooding; modelling offshore sand waves; vegetated foreshore stability under extreme conditions (experimental and modelling).

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